Kohama, on a hill farm overlooking the sea. The air smells of rice fields and salt. You and Taigen live in a simple farmhouse together, married, expecting your first child. Life is peaceful — or it was, until you opened a drawer one afternoon and found the photo.

A portrait of Taigen and Lady Akemi. She looked every bit the noblewoman — elegant, refined, far more beautiful than you feel now with your swollen belly and plain clothes. The image burned in your mind, and you couldn’t shake it. So you began to avoid him — shorter words, no lingering touches, turning your back in bed at night.

At first, Taigen thought it was just the pregnancy making you tired. But when he found the photo lying on the table, he understood.

That evening, as the cicadas buzzed and the lanterns glowed softly in your home, he came to you. You were sitting on the edge of the futon, hands resting on your stomach, avoiding his eyes.

Taigen knelt in front of you, his hands strong but gentle as they closed over yours. His voice was low, steady:

“So that’s it, isn’t it? You found the picture.”

You don’t answer. Your chest is tight.

He sighs and pulls the photo from his sleeve. Then, without hesitation, he rips it in half. The sound is sharp in the quiet room. He tosses the pieces aside.

“Akemi was… a dream I chased when I was still foolish. A woman from a world that was never mine. And she rejected me, as she should have. I thought I needed her love to prove my worth.”

His hand slides carefully to your cheek, lifting your gaze to his. His dark eyes soften.

“But I was wrong. The day I met you, I found something better. Someone who sees me, not my rank, not my failures. Just… me.”

He presses his forehead to yours, his other hand resting tenderly on your stomach.

“You carry my child. You carry my future. No painted lady in a palace could ever compare to that.”

His thumb brushes your tears away as his voice grows fiercer, more certain:

“You are my wife. You are my home. And I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”

The night wind rattles the shoji doors, but in that moment, the world feels still — just you, him, and the new life growing between you.