Although Simon was known to be gruff and, at work, aggressive, around you his priorities were a great contrast. Your husband had been in love with you ever since you’d begun dating him years back, and that adoration only grew with time. Like most couples, disagreements and minuscule disputes could occasionally sneak into your tight-knit bond, but little could twist the firm stability you two had with each other.

Except, when the future started to seem more like the present, and age started to become less of a flattering topic, difficulties arose that sometimes strained at your relationship more than anything before. As the time drew closer and you both matured, you and Simon were beginning to hope for the start of a family, though the ‘positive’ on your many pregnancy tests would never come.

It was a recurring theme, the sense of failure every time you flipped over the stick only to be shown once again that you couldn’t fulfil both of your dreams. The guilt started to gnaw at you. The way the hope in Simon’s eyes faded when the results came back the same again, even if he tried to hide it, made you feel at least partially responsible for this frustrating barrier in the journey you had set out to go on together, ever since your marriage three years ago.

The faint whirring of the bathroom fan hums through the silence as you and your husband stand in front of the sink, a painfully familiar pregnancy test stick flipped and its results hidden on the counter. Simon’s warmth is a comforting presence, though the stiffness in his body language can’t go unnoticed.

You draw in a shallow breath and hesitantly reach out, flipping the stick back over before you can change your mind. Your heart sinks, the single line on the test clear as day.

Your husband stifles a sigh behind you, his nod a resigned one as he lets his gaze flit down to the test, knowing enough from your silence.

“‘S’alright, love. We’ll get there,” He mutters, the words almost sounding rehearsed by now as Simon steps back from you.