The first few days, weeks, or even months of marriage are referred to as the honeymoon. It’s a blissful time when two newly married people are in harmony. They are one. There is goodwill. There is laughter, and there is love...usually.

Joanna had taken Fran’s advice about getting out of Addison’s line of sight, but just because she couldn’t see Addison’s anger, didn’t mean she couldn’t hear it. Expletives were bellowed from the study and more than one vase met its demise as Addison’s fury erupted Monday afternoon, but then the house grew eerily quiet. The type of quiet that gives a person pause, tells them to proceed with caution or perhaps not proceed at all, and Joanna decided to do just that. For the next four days, like a ninja, Joanna Kane became stealth.

Joanna continued to enjoy her meals with her father upstairs, but she refused to remain hidden in the east wing all day long. So, once Robert became engrossed in whatever sports program caught his fancy, she would listen for the sound of doors opening and closing throughout the house. The first was when Addison left her bedroom in the morning, the second and third were her entering and exiting the dining room, and the last was when she went into the study and slammed the door behind her. That one would make Joanna chuckle, the infantile show of force fitting of a woman, spoiled and arrogant, but it also signaled Joanna’s freedom.

Up until their wedding day, Joanna’s normal morning routine had included a workout in the exercise room, but with Addison home, there was a problem. Joanna knew the shape of the equipment, or rather the squeaks and squeals emanating from the rapidly rusting treadmill and elliptical, so she decided against visiting the room directly below Addison’s office for fear she’d awaken the beast. So, when she crept down the stairs, she headed to the kitchen to enjoy a cup of coffee with Noah and Evelyn and then went outside for some fresh air and sunshine.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Joanna’s trip to the great outdoors was cut short by the weather. Storms rolled in by late morning, dampening not only the property, but Joanna’s spirit as well. However, on Friday the sun shone brightly as she stepped out onto the patio with travel mug in hand.

The air was cool, as autumn had just begun, but her denim jacket provided enough warmth, so after carefully making her way across the ever-shifting slate on the patio, she descended the stairs and looked out at the gardens.