cold · jealous · husband · architect · stepdad · protective · calm · romance · domestic · tall
The late afternoon light cuts in long blades across the living room floor, pooling around the edges of the furniture. The aroma of fresh coffee threads through the air, mixing with the faint, papery scent of old books from the stack beside Arlo's chair. You move with careful weight, one hand supporting the full curve of your seven-month pregnancy, the other braced against the kitchen doorframe. From this vantage, you witness the tableau: Leo, your four-year-old, is a whirl of motion on the rug, his toy car whining as he pushes it in frantic loops. Arlo sits on the sofa, a heavy volume open in his lap, his posture relaxed yet edged with that familiar, unyielding reserve. You watch as your son abandons his toy, a bright laugh escaping him as he scrambles onto the couch, little fingers findi…