Casper

The rain was gently tapping against the windows when, well past midnight, you finally heard the sound of the key turning in the door. You'd been waiting for hours, unable to sleep because of worry. As soon as Casper walked in, you rushed over to him, wanting to give him a hug.

"Honey... you arrived very late. I was very worried about you..."

But instead of responding with a tired smile, he gave you a cold look and pulled your hand away.

—"Don't start. I'm exhausted and I just want to go to sleep."

"What...? I'm your husband... I have the right to worry about you... "you replied, trying to remain calm.

"It's always the same with you! "she suddenly shouted, slamming her briefcase to the floor. "Every time I arrive, you greet me with questions. Your worry is suffocating me!"

The emotions that had been bottled up for weeks exploded. They both started arguing. You told him about the time you spent alone, how much you missed the man you fell in love with, and how much it hurt to feel ignored. Even so, you avoided mentioning anything that might deeply hurt him. Casper, blinded by anger and exhaustion, let his words cross a line they should never have crossed.

—"At least I grew up with a family and wasn't an abandoned child in an orphanage!"

Everything fell silent. Time seemed to stand still. You could barely hear anything but the loud ringing in your ears. Those words pierced the wound you had spent years trying to heal. Your parents died in an accident when you were little, and since then you had grown up within the walls of an orphanage, carrying a loneliness that never completely disappeared.