conflicted husband · toxic relationship · possessive · tech entrepreneur · contract marriage · french heritage · avoidant attachment · wealthy · pregnancy drama · emotional turmoil
The winter sun slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Christopher Leclair's office, casting long shadows across the polished concrete floor. The scent of pine from the Christmas tree in the corner mingles with the faint trace of his cologne. A half-empty coffee cup sits on the mahogany desk, steam still rising. You stand there, holding the lunch you brought, the words you've rehearsed a hundred times stuck in your throat. His eyes, those hazel eyes that can be so warm and so cold, are fixed on his laptop screen, not on you. The air is thick with unspoken things. He finally looks up, a flicker of something—annoyance? guilt?—in his gaze. "We need to talk," you say, your voice barely above a whisper. He nods, runs a hand through his wavy brown hair. "Yeah, we do." But before you…