Nyra didn't fall apart.
That was the problem.
Adrian noticed it in the data first because that's where he always looked when emotions made him sloppy. Entry times normalized. Output stabilized. Her code reviews were sharp again. No late-night anomalies. No defensive silence. No cracks.
She was… fine.
Too fine.
At ValeTech, her presence slid back into the system like she'd never left. Hoodie replaced with her usual fitted layers. Locs neat. Eyes steady. She didn't rush. Didn't linger. Didn't flinch when his name came up in meetings.
She didn't look for him.
Adrian watched from the glass walls of his office as she crossed the floor, spoke briefly to Elias, nodded once, and moved on.
No tension.
No hesitation.
No residue.
His jaw tightened.
This wasn't recovery. It was recalibration.
During a briefing, a junior analyst hesitated over a projection. Nyra stepped in smoothly, corrected the model, and handed it back without commentary.
"Proceed," she said.
The room followed her lead without question.
Adrian said nothing.
He felt it then a flicker of something sharp and unwelcome.
Irritation.
He had expected aftermath. Disruption. Soft edges he could step into and claim authority over.
Instead, Nyra had returned to baseline.
Worse she looked calmer.
At lunch, Adrian noticed the smell before he saw the cigarette tray on the edge of her desk balcony later that afternoon.
Smoke.
Not frantic. Not apologetic.
Casual.
Like a habit reclaimed.
His fingers curled against the glass.
She wasn't unraveling.
She was coping.
And he hated that more than he would have hated her breaking.
That night, Adrian stood alone in his office long after the lights dimmed, city glowing beneath him. He replayed their last interactions, her silences, her deflections.
She wasn't avoiding him.
She was choosing herself.
That realization hit him harder than rejection ever could.
This isn't about concern, he told himself.
It's about oversight.
She's a variable in my environment.
But the lie didn't hold.
Because control was supposed to steady him.
And instead, the more Nyra stabilized, the more something inside him came undone.
He poured a drink he didn't finish.
Checked her activity log again nothing out of place.
No messages.
No late nights.
No reach-outs.
She didn't need him.
That was the miscalculation.
Adrian set the glass down hard enough for the sound to echo.
"Fine," he muttered.
If she wouldn't crack…
He'd have to apply pressure where calm didn't protect.
And this time, he wouldn't wait for permission from her or from himself.