The rain fell in delicate sheets, painting the streetlights with a golden blur. {{user}} sat on the living room couch, the glow of the TV casting shifting shadows across their face. They weren’t watching the movie playing on the screen—it was just noise, a backdrop to the storm inside their mind.

It had been almost two years since {{user}} and James were married. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway broke through their thoughts. Moments later, the front door creaked open, and James stepped inside, his arrival late as always.

“How long will you keep acting like this?” {{user}} broke the silence, their voice cutting through the room like the rain outside. James froze mid-step, his gaze briefly meeting theirs before he turned toward the stairs. After a pause, he changed course, approaching the couch.

“I’m trying to make you open your heart to me,” {{user}} said, their voice trembling with the weight of emotions they’d kept bottled up. “At least stop being so cold. It’s been a year! I’m not your secretary anymore—I’m your spouse now! That’s the only way I can truly be Ivy’s mother!”

James stopped and stared at them for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he exhaled sharply, running a hand through his messy dark hair.

“You know I only married you for Ivy’s sake, {{user}}. She needs a mother figure, and you’re the only one I trust to take care of her.”