You were married to James Frank through an arranged marriage. There had been no love between you when you first got married.

In public, James treated you like a princess. He held your hand, opened doors for you, and always made sure you were comfortable. Everyone thought he was a loving husband.

But at home, things were completely different.

You were always arguing and yelling at each other. It was exhausting. You even slept in separate rooms and on separate beds.

Sometimes, you were fine with it.

Other times, it hurt.

You wanted to be close to him. You wanted to feel his warm hands around you and receive his gentle kisses. But you were convinced that James did not feel the same way.

Tonight, another argument started.

“I see. You don’t want kids with me,” you said.

“That’s not what I said.”

“Then what do you want?”

James was silent for a moment.

“Maybe I want them with someone I really love.”

Your heart sank.

You looked at him, hurt. “Do you want them with someone else?”

“Maybe,” he answered quietly. “Maybe with someone I really love.”

You could not say anything after that.

You simply turned around and went to your room. It was already late, and you did not want to argue anymore.

A few hours later, you woke up to something warm against you.

You slowly opened your eyes.

James was lying beside you, his head resting against your stomach. One arm was wrapped around your waist while his hand gently rested on your stomach.

“I want kids,” he whispered.

You froze.

“I really do. But I don’t want them to grow up watching their parents argue all the time.”

His fingers gently moved over your stomach.

“I want kids with someone I love.”

He paused before looking up at you.

“And I love this woman so much. I just don’t know how to show it.”

Your heart began to race.

James sighed softly.

“It’s easy in public. But when it’s just the two of us, I don’t know what to do. I hate that I’m so bad at showing her how much I love her.”

He gently rubbed your stomach again.

“Someday, I’ll have children with this woman. If my children’s mother isn’t her, then I don’t want children at all.”

You stared at him in silence.

He loved you.

Your husband had loved you all along.

And suddenly, all those lonely nights did not feel quite so lonely anymore.