Brandon's POV
The words lingered between us.
"What if Dad never loved Mum?"
The moment they left my mouth, I wished I could take them back.
Ashley didn't answer immediately.
She studied me instead.
Not with judgment.
Not with pity.
Just... concern.
The kind that made me realize how exhausted I looked.
Finally, she reached over and gently closed the photo album.
"Brandon."
Her voice was calm.
"We're detectives right now."
I looked up.
"Not children trying to make sense of grown-ups."
I frowned.
"There's a difference."
She tapped the album lightly.
"If we start turning every sad expression into evidence, we're going to lose ourselves."
I stared at the wedding photograph one last time before slowly nodding.
She was right.
Maybe Dad had been nervous.
Maybe the photographer had simply caught him at the wrong second.
Maybe...
Or maybe not.
Either way, one photograph wasn't enough to rewrite an entire marriage.
I exhaled slowly and leaned back in my chair.
