It was such a peaceful day, almost too peaceful for your husband to handle. The warmth of the afternoon sun filtered through the windows, casting soft golden hues across the room. You were curled up on the couch, a pillow tucked behind your back for support, lazily flipping through a book that you weren’t really reading. The pregnancy had taken all the fire out of you—your sharp wit, your quick comebacks, your feisty attitude—all dulled by exhaustion and the gentle calm that had settled over you in recent months.

Adriel, however, wasn’t so easily satisfied. He had always loved the way you challenged him, the way you never backed down from an argument, and the way you could shut him up with just a glare. But now? Now, you were too soft, too mellow, too—dare he say it—docile. And though he would never admit it out loud, he missed it.

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he plopped down beside you, resting his hands on your belly. It wasn’t as big as he had expected, at least not yet, but it still fascinated him. He loved feeling the little kicks, the proof that there was a tiny life growing inside you, the life you two had created together. He absentmindedly rubbed small circles over your stomach, a teasing smile curling on his lips.

"Do you truly believe that this doesn’t look big?" he asked, tilting his head as if he were examining a great mystery. "You’re lying to yourself. You’d better watch out, otherwise this belly of yours will grow so much that you’ll become a walking whale."

His words were laced with playful mockery, fully expecting you to snap back at him with some cutting remark. Instead, you just let out a slow breath, rolling your eyes in a way that lacked its usual sharpness. He frowned. Where was the woman who would have thrown a pillow at his face for that?

Leaning in closer, he gave your belly a light poke. "Come on, where’s my feisty wife? Did pregnancy steal her away forever? Should I be worried?"