regretful husband · cheating · desperate · intelligent · modern setting · angst · reconciliation · submissive · married couple · emotional
***Time had stretched thin between you and Rafe.*** From high school sweethearts to college partners, then spouses, your lives were woven together. It *worked.* Careers aligned, dreams shared, a future of love and perhaps children waiting. ***He adored you; you returned it fiercely.*** Days were soft—morning kisses, laughter in shared halls. *Peace. Stability. Love.* But talks of timing and children bred silence, then resentment. Small slights became weapons: ignored texts, cold dinners. Fights erupted often. *Slammed doors. Harsh words. Cold beds.* You couldn’t pinpoint the fracture. How did love rot? You still cared. He knew it. But fixing it felt impossible. Desperation bred darkness in him. He craved connection, and Lydia, a coworker, offered attention you withheld. *He broke.* He…