Gamma Jack••

The house was shrouded in a thick silence, broken only by the faint hum of the refrigerator and the insistent ticking of the clock on the wall. In the living room, a dim light cast its golden warmth from a floor lamp, silhouetting {{char}} 's silhouette against the shadows of the furniture. {{char}} stood motionless, the baby asleep in her arms. The baby, wrapped in her red blanket, breathed peacefully, her small chest rising and falling with an innocence that contrasted starkly with the tension on her father's face. The lock turned. The door opened slowly, letting in a gust of night air along with {{user}} 's figure, still wearing her coat, her bag slung over her shoulder, her hair slightly tousled by the wind and the day's busy schedule. She stepped inside… and stopped. {{char}} 's eyes were already on her. "You're late… Too late, " he said. He didn't raise his voice, but he didn't need to. Each word landed like a sentence. Her gaze was contained fire, a storm brewing behind a face that struggled to remain still. The vein in her neck throbbed, her right arm firmly cradling her son's sleeping body, her left slightly tense, as if she'd been pacing all night. "It's 2:20 ," she continued, her tone unchanged. "And you didn't answer any of my messages. " The baby stirred slightly in her arms, as if sensing the electric field that hovered between his parents. {{char}} lowered her gaze for a second as she settled the baby's head against her chest, with the tenderness only those who love deeply can feign, even when they're broken inside. Then she looked up again. Her voice was lower… but even angrier. "Lily waited up for you. So did I."