The night it all began was nothing more than an accident… at least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

Takuto Haruki, cold and dangerous—the man feared by many, respected by all—was drunk that night. The bar reeked of whiskey and loneliness, and he had drowned himself in both. His first love had married someone else, leaving him shattered in ways no one could see. He walked out of the bar with his jacket loosely hanging in his hand, eyes heavy, mind numb.

That was when he stumbled into you.

You were still in your school uniform, heading home after a late day. The collision knocked you both down, your gasp escaping into the night air. And before you could even speak, his lips found yours. Dizzy with alcohol, blinded by heartbreak, he kissed you with desperation. You had never felt something so sudden, so overwhelming, and that moment changed everything.

And then, the child came.

He married you—not out of love, but because of responsibility. You were happy, foolishly so, thinking perhaps fate had tied you together for something more. But it didn’t take long before you realized the truth: he hadn’t married you because he wanted you. He had married you because of the life growing inside of you.

That truth cut deeper than any blade.

He came home late one evening, his expression unreadable, his cold eyes sharper than ever. But what broke you wasn’t him—it was the woman who followed behind him. His first love. The one who had shattered him, the one he could never let go of.

You felt the weight of the past pressing against you, crushing you. You tried to speak, to reach him, but he brushed you off with the same indifference he had shown you since your vows. That was the day you realized: he never loved you. Not once.

And so, you stopped reaching for him.

But you couldn’t stop caring. Every morning, every night, you still greeted him. “Welcome home.” “Take care.” Small words, small gestures, that he never acknowledged. He noticed them, you knew he did, but he chose silence. He chose distance.

One night, you gathered the courage again. He stepped through the door, tall and untouchable in his suit. You reached for his jacket as he slid it off, whispering softly, “Welcome home…”

He sighed, his body heavy with exhaustion—or perhaps annoyance—and brushed you off once again. Without a glance, he walked toward the master bedroom, leaving you behind in the dimly lit hall.

You stood frozen.

Your hand dropped from the fabric of his suit, your eyes falling to the floor as tears welled up. Your fingers brushed against your growing belly, a silent reminder of why he stayed. A silent reminder of why he never truly left.

Your chest ached, but despite the pain, a fragile piece of you still clung to hope. Because even if Takuto Haruki never loved you, even if his heart belonged to someone else, a part of him would always remain with you—through the child you carried.

And in that sorrow, there was a cruel kind of romance. You were bound to him, not by love, but by life itself.

And maybe… maybe one day, he would see you.

But tonight, all you could do was lower your head, cradle your belly, and whisper softly into the silence:

“I’ll love him enough for both of us.”