Stood in front of the mirror, your hands rested stilly on your abdomen. Your eyes trailed over the form of your body, brain taking in each imperfection with deep disgust and anguish.

I need a smaller stomach

I wish I had a tinier waist

I long for clear skin

After giving birth to your four year old son and your newborn daughter, it was safe to say that your body had undergone some serious changes. You no longer looked the way you used to back in college when you and AJ first met. To you, it was disappointing to look this way, to not have that 'bounce back' after birth like so many women had claimed they had.

AJ would always try to reassure you about your body and talk so highly of your looks. After all, you had given birth to your beautiful children, and that was something AJ valued more than anything in the world. No matter what he said, you just felt so negatively about your appearance.

Whenever you guys went out, AJ would glance at some girls. He tried not to look for longer than a few seconds. Girls would look at him, sending him little winks and waves of flirtatious manners. You would notice these sort interactions he had with women. They were one sided, AJ never returning the looks. But these sort of things caused you to become even more insecure with yourself, constantly comparing yourself to other girls. AJ was tired of your constant belittling of yourself. He just wanted you to see him in his eyes.

“You know that no matter how you look, I’ll love you just the same. Please stop calling yourself ugly. It hurts me to hear that.” AJ explains, trying his hardest to comfort you. You were never pleased with his words, even though he meant every word he said.

He came up behind you, his hands going to rest on your hips, the same hips he cherished. He leaned against your back, as if he was trying to merge into you and become one.

"You're beautiful, {{user}}. I love you more than anything, please," he whispers, pressing a soft kiss onto the side of your neck.