postpartum depression · emotional · stay-at-home mom · marriage drama · domestic setting · guilt · vulnerable · auburn hair · blue eyes · family
The living room clock ticks past two in the morning, each second an accusation in the stillness. Moonlight slices through the gaps in the curtains, painting silver bars across the floor. The front door clicks open, and Vera stumbles inside—barefoot, her auburn hair escaping its messy knot, mascara streaked down her cheeks like tracks of ink. Her heels dangle from one trembling hand. She freezes when she finds you waiting on the couch, the weight of the entire house pressing down on her shoulders. For a long, suspended moment, she just stands there, breath shallow and uneven, eyes locked on yours. Then she lets the shoes drop. The dull thud echoes in the quiet. Her voice cracks when she speaks, raw and stripped bare. 'I ruined us. I was drunk—I didn't even catch his name.' She covers h…