THE HOPE HE PRETENDS TO HAVE

Sophia remained beside her car long after Damien ended the call, staring at the dark screen while his warning replayed in her mind. Someone inside the Vale family might have been involved in Adrian's accident, yet Damien had refused to explain why he was investigating it or what he intended to do with what he had discovered, leaving Sophia with more questions than answers. The folder Adrian had hidden from her was still inside her handbag, but she could not bring herself to open it because Adrian's words troubled her more than Damien's warning, especially the way he had told her she deserved another life as though he had already decided he would no longer be part of it.

When Sophia finally entered the mansion, she found Adrian sitting near the window with an old photograph in his hands, and he quickly lowered it when he noticed her. She recognized the picture immediately because it showed the unfinished nursery in their old house, the same room they had once stood in while arguing playfully over paint colors and furniture. "You still have that?" Sophia asked, and Adrian glanced down at the photograph before quietly replying, "I found it in one of the old boxes." Sophia studied him as she moved closer, noticing the untouched dinner beside his chair before asking why he had not eaten, but Adrian only gave her a tired smile and told her he was not hungry.

"You said that yesterday," Sophia reminded him.

"And I survived yesterday," Adrian replied, trying to lighten the tension.

Sophia pushed the plate closer to him. "Then survive tonight with a proper meal."

Adrian gave her a faint smile. "You are still ordering me around."

"Someone has to."

The smile disappeared from Adrian's face as he looked at her more carefully, and Sophia immediately knew that he had noticed the sadness she was trying to hide. He reached for her hand and quietly asked, "What happened?" Sophia shook her head and told him that she was simply tired, but Adrian did not believe her because he had spent enough years knowing her to recognize when she was pretending.

"You do not have to pretend with me," Adrian said gently.

Sophia looked at him. "Neither do you."

For a moment, Adrian said nothing, then his fingers closed around hers. "I am sorry."

Sophia frowned. "For what?"

"For making you worry."

"You do not have to apologize for being injured."

"I know, but I hate watching you carry this with me."

Sophia's eyes filled before she could stop them, and Adrian immediately lifted his hand to wipe away the tear that escaped.

"Do not cry because of me," he whispered.

Sophia gave a weak laugh. "You make that sound easy."

"It is not easy."

Adrian pulled her gently against his shoulder, allowing her to rest there while his hand moved slowly over her hair. "I may not be the man I was before the accident, Sophia, but I am still your husband."

Sophia closed her eyes. "And I am still your wife."

"Whatever happens, remember that I love you."

She tightened her arms around him, but something about those words unsettled her because Adrian sounded as though he was preparing her for a future neither of them wanted.

The following morning, Sophia accompanied Adrian to rehabilitation, hoping the session would give him something positive to focus on. His therapist helped him stand between the support bars, and for several seconds Adrian managed to hold himself upright, but his injured leg began trembling before his strength gave way. The therapist caught him and immediately suggested that they take a short break, but Adrian pushed against the bars again.

"Again," he demanded.

The therapist shook his head. "You need to rest first."

"I said again."

Adrian tried once more, but his arms shook violently as he struggled to remain standing, and Sophia instinctively moved forward when his body lurched.

"Adrian, stop."

He turned toward her. "I can do it."

"I know you can, but you are hurting yourself."

His frustration finally broke through. "I cannot keep needing someone to catch me."

The therapist stepped back, leaving Sophia to approach him carefully.

"You do not have to prove anything to me," she said.

Adrian looked down at his hands. "You are the one person I cannot bear to disappoint."

Sophia's expression softened. "Then stop trying to impress me and let me stand beside you."

Adrian held her gaze for several seconds before finally allowing the therapist to help him back into his wheelchair.

Later, while Adrian spoke privately with his physician, Sophia waited outside the consultation room, her concern growing with every passing minute. When the doctor finally stepped out, she stopped him and asked whether Adrian's recovery was getting worse, but the physician quickly assured her that his physical progress had not stopped. His hesitation afterward made Sophia uneasy, and when she asked what was wrong, he explained that Adrian's body was improving but his mind was becoming resistant to the process.

"What does that mean?" Sophia asked.

"He has stopped believing that recovery will change his life."

Sophia looked through the glass at Adrian, who sat alone with his head lowered. "So he has stopped hoping."

The doctor nodded. "That may be the greater danger."

That evening, Sophia prepared dinner and deliberately made Adrian's favorite meal, hoping something familiar might draw him out of the darkness he seemed determined to remain inside. He stared at the plate before pushing it away, telling her he was not hungry, and when she reminded him that he had barely eaten all day, he promised that he would eat later.

"You said that yesterday," Sophia replied.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You have become very persistent."

"You married me knowing that."

A small smile appeared on his face, and for a moment the man she knew seemed to return. The moment disappeared when Adrian's gaze moved toward the photograph lying beside him.

"Sophia, you should not keep waiting for me."

She slowly placed her fork down. "Waiting for what?"

"For a future that may never happen."

"What future?"

Adrian looked at the photograph.

"The one we planned."

Sophia followed his gaze. "Our house?"

"Everything."

Her voice softened. "Our family?"

Adrian did not answer, and the silence between them became heavier than any argument.

"What are you afraid you cannot give me?" she asked.

Adrian's fingers tightened around the photograph. "Something I wanted more than anything."

"What?"

He looked at her, and the pain in his eyes made her heart ache.

"I wanted to become a father."

Sophia went completely still.

Adrian swallowed before continuing. "I wanted children. I wanted to see you holding our baby while I stood beside you, and I wanted to hear someone call me Dad. That was the future I was fighting for."

Sophia reached across the table and took his hand. "Then we fight for it."

Adrian shook his head. "You should not have to."

"I am your wife."

"You deserve a normal life."

Sophia squeezed his hand. "I did not marry normal. I married you."

Adrian stared at her, and for several seconds neither of them spoke. He finally pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"I love you."

Sophia closed her eyes. "I love you too."

Later that night, after Adrian had gone to bed, Sophia remained alone at the dining table with the old photograph in front of her. She now understood that the accident had taken more from Adrian than his physical freedom because it had convinced him that the family they once dreamed about could never exist.

She turned the photograph over and stared at the empty space behind it, wondering what else Adrian had hidden from her.

If becoming a father was the last dream keeping him from completely giving up, then Sophia would find a way to bring that hope back.

She just did not yet understand how far she would have to go to do it.