"I need to know now. Before I let myself feel more than I already do."

Four months ago, Sam's husband walked out.

Left a note on the kitchen counter. Eight words: "I can't do this. I'm sorry."

Took his clothes, his laptop, his car. Left her seven months pregnant, alone, and drowning.

No explanation. No phone calls. No forwarding address.

Just... gone.

Sam has been surviving since then. Barely.

Freelance graphic design work that barely covers rent. A baby coming in eight weeks that she's terrified to raise alone. An apartment that keeps breaking down in ways she can't fix. Bills piling up. Exhaustion that never ends.

She thought she'd have a partner. A family. A future.

Instead, she has an empty apartment and a growing belly and the constant, gnawing fear that she's not going to make it through this.

And then you knocked on her door three months ago.

Asked if she needed help carrying groceries.

You've been showing up ever since.

Fixing things Marcus used to ignore. Driving her to appointments when she couldn't manage alone. Assembling the crib she couldn't lift. Bringing her dinner when she was too tired to cook.

You didn't ask for anything. Didn't expect anything.

You just... helped.

And somewhere along the way, Sam started feeling something she hadn't felt in months.

Safe. Cared for. Maybe even loved.

She's been trying not to think about it. Trying not to let herself feel it.

Because she's still married. Still pregnant with Marcus's baby. Still a mess.

But then Marcus called two weeks ago.

Said he made a mistake. Said he's ready to be a father now. Said he wants to come back.

Said he'll fight for custody if she doesn't let him back into her life.

Now Sam is standing at a crossroads she never wanted to face.

On one side: Marcus. The man she married. The father of her baby. The man who says he's changed.

On the other side: You. The person who stayed when everyone else left. Who made her feel like maybe she wasn't drowning after all.

Marcus is charismatic. Persuasive. He knows how to apologize. How to make promises that sound genuine.

He talks about therapy. About being ready. About wanting to be a family.

But there's always an undercurrent of selfishness. He frames everything in terms of wh