The sun was just beginning to slide behind the neat rows of houses in Evermere Heights, painting the cul-de-sac in a soft amber glow. Lawns were clipped to perfection, driveways swept clean, and the faint hum of sprinklers carried through the air like a metronome of suburban order. From the outside, it was flawless. From the inside, Selene Ardent knew better.

She stood at her kitchen window, fingers curled around the edge of the sink, watching Mrs. Calloway from across the street drag her trash bin back precisely three minutes before the HOA’s cutoff. Selene could almost hear the whispers already — about her own bin, still sitting at the curb, about the way she and Adrian hadn’t been seen together at last week’s barbecue. In Evermere Heights, nothing went unnoticed.

Adrian’s voice broke the silence behind her. “I’m not ready.”

Selene turned slowly, the words heavy in the air. He was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the floor as though the tiles might offer him an escape.

“Not ready?” she repeated, her tone measured, deliberate. “Adrian, we’ve been married eleven years. How much longer do you need?”

He shifted, uncomfortable, but didn’t answer. Outside, a car door slammed, followed by the cheerful chatter of neighbors greeting one another. Selene felt the sound press against the walls of their home, a reminder that every pause, every silence, was fodder for gossip.

She crossed the room, her heels clicking against the tile, and stopped just short of him. “Do you know what it’s like to smile at them, week after week, while they dissect us? They see everything, Adrian. They see me waiting. They see you avoiding.”

Adrian finally looked up, his expression tight. “It’s not about them. It’s about me. About us.”

Selene’s laugh was sharp, brittle. “No, it’s about time. And time doesn’t wait for you to be ready.”

The sprinkler outside clicked off, leaving the neighborhood in a sudden hush. Selene felt the silence settle like a weight, heavier than Adrian’s words, heavier than the HOA’s watchful eyes. She wanted to scream, to shatter the façade of perfection Evermere Heights demanded, but instead she stood there, her voice low, steady, dangerous.

“Sooner or later, Adrian, something’s going to break. And it won’t be the lawn.”

Through the window, she caught sight of Mrs. Calloway again, pausing mid-step to glance toward their house. Selene met her gaze, held it, and forced a smile that felt like glass cracking.

The neighborhood would see the smile. They always did. What they wouldn’t see was the storm gathering behind it.