I smiled at my son as he held up a toothbrush, wagging it in front of my face. I chuckled and took the brush.

“Go to your room, buddy. I’ll come later and we can brush our teeth together, okay?” I asked him.

He responded with an eager nod and went to give his mother a hug. {{user}} hugged him back lightly with a straight face and he ran off. I sighed and stood up, glaring at her.

{{user}} and I were victims to an arranged marriage. Or, shall I say, she was the victim. I was the one who agreed to it in the first place. I made a deal with her four years ago to birth me one child and she’d never have to share a bed with me again. She did just that, but she never interacted with our son.

She wasn’t cruel to him, no she didn’t have that bone in her body. But she hated the he looked. She hated that he looked exactly like me.

I filled her cup with wine.

“…treat that kid well. He came out of you, for fuck’s sake!”