“Okay, so then we have two options. One We don’t tell him, obviously. He needs to realise on his own what’s happening before he finds out from someone else. Two, we tell him, but try to act normal around him and keep the secret. It’s the best option for everybody involved.”“So you choose first?” she said, tilting her head to the side as a slight smile appeared on her lips. “Or you decide for me?”He smiled softly, nodding his head, looking at her. “I’m choosing for you, Celine. I can’t have any secrets between us. Do you hear me?”She smirked and laughed lightly, raising her eyebrows. “Are you trying to scare me?”“Am I succeeding?” he asked challengingly.“Oh, definitely.”He shrugged his shoulders and grinned playfully, looking away. He took a step closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest and burying his face in her neck. “We’ll have to talk to your mum and father tomorrow about our decision. For now, however, we should both try to get some

“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling shyly.“Anything for you,” he whispered back, cupping her face softly with his hands and pulling her towards him once more. She melted into his arms, placing her hands behind his neck and leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his lips, causing him to pull her closer to deepen it a little bit. They kissed until they were both gasping for air, their breath mingling with each other’s. Eventually, Roman reluctantly released her, resting his forehead against hers.She let out a shaky sigh. “Now that’s a start. Now, please, tell me you plan to keep doing that.”Roman chuckled quietly. “Of course I do. It’s my job, remember?”A wide grin spread across her face, causing Roman to chuckle some more and wrap his arms around her waist. “You are ridiculous. You are the most frustrating man I know. And don’t think I haven’t noticed. You’re trying to distract me from worrying.”“Oh no! So I’m not the only man who thinks that I’m handsome?” he questioned sarcas

The next morning, when Celine awoke, Roman was lying on the couch, facing her, sound asleep. His arm was slung over the top of her torso and he was snoring gently into her shoulder. He looked peaceful as his eyebrows were relaxed and his mouth hung slightly open. For a split second, he looked younger and less exhausted than he usually did. His hair was disheveled, sticking out at odd angles and there was an obvious flush on his face due to the heat radiating from the heater. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight. He looked so adorable and it gave her butterflies to see him looking so tired and worn out. She reached up with her hands to push some of his messy curls away from his forehead before running her fingers lightly over his temples, pushing them downwards gently as she did so. His eyes fluttered for a moment and she thought he was about to wake up, but instead, he nuzzled into her hand, sighing contently as he continued to drift further and further towards slumber.A

Celine continued crying quietly, occasionally letting out a small whimper or sniffle, until she finally lost the ability to hold back anymore. She sat against the cold white tiles, hugging herself tightly and allowing her body to relax as much as it possibly could. A part of her wished that she didn’t need to be rescued, that she could just fall asleep and never wake up again. Or that someone would come in and save her from everything else. Maybe Roman would come back after work and sweep her up into his arms and carry her to bed. Perhaps she could convince him to stay. To spend forever with her. To be happy together.But no matter how desperately she hoped that was going to happen, it wasn’t going to happen. Because he wouldn’t be back for another week and even if he was, that wouldn’t give her enough time to convince him that her problems were truly worth helping her deal with. It just wasn’t realistic.She wasn’t going to lie. It hurt. There was a part of her that still loved h

So, he would wait. He would patiently try to support his wife, and he would try to be there for her, and he would do his best to make sure that she was always happy. But above all else, he would have to keep reminding himself to stay calm. No matter how angry he was, no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to break down if he were to lose his composure. And if he broke down, there was no doubt that he would never forgive himself. Not for something like that. He might not understand what it was like to live with her constantly and watch her suffer, but he didn’t want to find out what the outcome might be if he actually broke down. So, for the sake of his family, he would remain strong and hold himself together. That way, if things did end up getting rough, he had a chance to save what little remained of his family and his sanity.And that was all that really mattered. Everything else, everything else was just distractions.His thoughts were broken away from their current tr