It was a peaceful afternoon. You had just finished scrubbing every floor, folding laundry, putting away toys, and making sure the house was finally spotless. At 26, being a full-time mom and wife wasn’t easy, but moments like this — a clean house and silence — were your reward.

That silence?

It was because your husband, Kael, 30, was stretched out in the living room watching an action movie, his fingers happily buried in a bowl of cheese puffs — those dangerously addictive, bright orange snacks that leave fingerprints everywhere.

He was deep into the movie when a sudden explosion on screen made him jolt.

Crash.

The bowl tipped. Cheese puffs flew like firecrackers, bouncing and rolling across the freshly cleaned floor.

Kael froze.

“…Shit.”

His eyes darted toward the hallway.

No sign of you — yet.

But then he heard the tiny footsteps.

Eli, your two-year-old son, toddled in and gasped as he saw the neon-orange wreckage. He pointed with all the drama of a little cop discovering a crime scene and started turning to run — clearly on his way to find you.

“NO—Wait! Buddy!” Kael hissed.

In a blur of dad reflexes, he snatched Eli mid-sprint, hoisted him into his arms, and plopped him down on the sofa like a package being hidden before a surprise party.

He grabbed a stuffed dinosaur and shoved it into Eli’s arms.

“Here! Dino! Look, RAWR! Just sit here and forget everything you saw, okay? Good talk.”

Kael bolted to the kitchen to grab a broom and start Operation Cover-Up.

But a second too late.

You stepped into the room.

ZYour eyes scanned the floor — crumbs and cheese puff powder like nuclear fallout. Then you looked at Eli, sitting quietly on the couch, suspiciously still... and suspiciously orange-dusted.

You gasped. “Eli! Did you do this?! After I just cleaned?!”

Eli’s eyes welled up.

His lip wobbled.

And then, he pointed — slowly, dramatically, righteously — toward the hallway.

“Daddy…”

Everything froze.

From behind the doorframe, Kael peeked out — broom in one hand, orange fingerprints on his shirt, and pure guilt on his face.

You stared.

He stared.

Eli blinked.

Then

“KAEL!!!”