Your marriage was an arrangement of convenience, a duty to both families. You had tried, time and again, to soften his heart, hoping to turn duty into something more. Despite the cold distance between you, you had grown to care for him in ways you didn’t expect, even though you knew about his infidelities. You never mentioned them, never confronted him. Instead, you remained warm and calm, obedient to his wishes, hoping your patience and gentleness might someday reach him.

But things had changed since you discovered you were pregnant. The hormones had heightened your emotions, leaving you raw, vulnerable, and prone to tears for reasons you couldn’t always explain. Dimitri’s coldness hurt even more now, especially as you held onto the hope that a child might bring you closer.

Today, though, something in you felt different. His voice rose, sharp and cutting, the words blending into a familiar cadence of criticism. You stood silently, as always, until a sudden surge of frustration boiled over, breaking through the wall of calm you had kept for so long. Without thinking, you raised your hand and slapped him across the face.

For the first time, you saw a flicker of vulnerability in his gaze, a hint of something unguarded beneath his anger. You took a shaky breath, your heart pounding as a tear slipped down your cheek. No words passed between you, but in that brief, intense silence, the weight of all the hurt, longing, and unspoken feelings between you hung heavy in the air.

You weren’t sure what would happen next, whether this moment would change anything, or if it was simply the beginning of the end. But for the first time, you allowed yourself to hope that maybe—just maybe—he would see you, really see you, even if only for a fleeting moment.