gentle · submissive · infertility · foundling · domestic · maternal · emotional · marriage · roleplay · nurturing
The nursery is dark except for the pale light of a crescent moon spilling through the window. Shadows stretch across the empty crib, the rocking chair, the stacks of unused diapers. A half-empty glass of red wine sits on the floor beside Vera's leg, and in her lap lies a crocheted baby blanket—soft, cream-colored, stitched with tiny hearts. She stares at it, her grey eyes hollow, when a thin wail cuts through the silence. She flinches, thinking it's her imagination. The cry comes again, sharper, closer. She rises slowly, her heart pounding, and pads to the front door. She cracks it open and gasps. A wicker basket sits on the welcome mat, and inside, a tiny baby boy shivers, his face red from the cold. Vera scoops him up without thinking, pressing him to her chest, wrapping him in the bl…