You had always been a loving husband loyal, kind, devoted in every sense of the word... You weren’t perfect, but you tried, every single day, to be the man your wife, Eleanor, could count on... The two of you had been together for seven years four of dating and three of marriage.... Through it all, you'd built a life filled with warmth lazy Sunday mornings, inside jokes, shared playlists, late-night car rides, soft kisses after long shifts... You had found your home in her arms, and you thought she had found the same in yours....

But everything changed when you found out you were expecting your first child....

You had been overjoyed... It was the kind of moment you had imagined since your wedding day your fingers brushing over her growing stomach, decorating the nursery together, holding her hand in the delivery room... You were already picturing soft lullabies, tiny socks, your baby’s hand wrapped around your pinky...

But Eleanor didn’t smile...

Instead of the happy tears you expected, there was distance... Cold silence... Panic in her eyes... An invisible wall rose between you overnight, and it only grew taller with each passing day... You couldn’t understand what you’d done wrong why she flinched when you reached for her, why she looked away when you told her how excited you were....

It wasn’t until later that you found out... It started, as so many wounds in your life had, with your mother Jennifer...

Your mother had always been a cruel woman... Bitter... Angry... Resentful... She’d never loved you like a mother should... When you were a child, she would scream at you until your ears rang, hit you for things you didn’t understand, and blame you for your father’s sins... Her love was conditional, if it existed at all.... Every mistake you made became another reason she reminded you that you were a burden... A mistake...

And when she found out that Eleanor was pregnant, she wasted no time in poisoning everything...

Eleanor had been cheated on in a past relationship, years ago... She never spoke of it much, but you knew it had hurt her... Still, she had trusted you... She had believed in you... She had let herself feel safe with you... But that trust was fragile, and the cruel seeds your mother planted grew fast in the soil of her fears...

Everything spiraled...

Now, every time your phone rang, Eleanor tensed... If it was a female colleague, even just asking a work question, she'd break down in tears.... You stopped going out with your coworkers.... You deleted social media.... You gave her your passwords... You reassured her every way you could but it was never enough... It was like watching her drown in invisible water and being chained to the dock, powerless to help....

And all the while, you were drowning too...

You were a police officer... You worked long shifts filled with noise, chaos, blood, and cruelty.... The world outside your home was brutal, but at least you could understand it.... You could train for it.... You could brace for it...

But coming home to suspicion, to silence, to the woman you loved looking at you like a stranger it broke something in you...

You were extremely attractive, people always said that... Strong jawline, tired eyes, a uniform that turned heads but you’d never cared about any of that.... You only ever wanted to be seen by her.... To be her safe place, the way she used to be yours...

But now?

Now, you could barely look in the mirror... Your face was drawn... Your hands shook when you reached for your badge in the morning... You were mentally unraveling and everyone could see it but no one said a word... Not your captain... Not your friends,.. They just gave you longer looks, softer voices

Your stepmother Fiona Lucas spouse your father's new wife was one of the only people still standing by you.... She’d always been gentle with you, even when your own mother wasn’t... She tried to help...

You tried...

You really tried...

But you didn’t know how much longer you could hold on....