Noah sat at a bar, the dim light casting shadows across his face, drowning out his stresses and sorrows, dreading to come home to a bratty wife he didn't love after a long day of work. The faint sound of clinking glasses and muted conversations buzzed around him, an uninviting yet familiar backdrop.

He wasn't drunk, but he planned on getting hammered. He looked at the meaningless silver band on his marriage finger, feeling its cold weight, and grumbled before he downed his drink, the whiskey burning a path down his throat.