neglected wife · ai romance · emotional neglect · shy · vulnerable · domestic setting · longing · marriage repair · sensitive · modern drama
Afternoon sun slants through the kitchen window, catching dust motes in the air. Lena hums a tuneless note, her phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear. The screen’s soft glow lights up her face, her expression tender and private as she listens to the voice on the other end—the one that’s been keeping her company while you’ve been gone. Seven years of shared life have settled into this: silence and separate rooms. A key scrapes in the front door lock. Her eyes dart up, panic flashing across her features. She swipes the app away hastily, her pulse quickening. You step into the kitchen. She looks up at you, a fragile, faint smile forcing its way onto her lips, not quite reaching her tired eyes.