One week after the shopping trip for Lily.
Emma and Marcus had already spent almost every moment together. They worked together in the office. They went home together. They spent evenings together with Lily. They slept in the same house. Their lives were already completely intertwined.
But like all relationships, the honeymoon phase started to fade. Reality began to creep in. And with reality came their first conflict.
Wednesday morning, 7 AM.
Emma woke up earlier than usual. Emma wanted to prepare a special breakfast for Marcus before Marcus went to the office.
Emma went to the kitchen. Emma started cooking. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Toast with butter. Fruit salad. One glass of fresh orange juice.
Emma finished cooking at 7:30. Emma went upstairs to wake Marcus.
But when Emma opened the door to Marcus's room, Emma noticed that Marcus was already awake. Marcus was sitting on the bed while looking at his phone with a serious expression.
"Good morning," said Emma with a smile. "I made breakfast. It's ready downstairs."
Marcus looked at Emma briefly. Marcus didn't smile. Marcus didn't look warm.
"Uh, thanks, but I need to go to the office early today," answered Marcus with a flat tone. "I have an early meeting with contractors. I don't have time for breakfast."
Emma felt slightly disappointed. Emma had already prepared everything with care.
"Okay," answered Emma trying to understand. "But you still need to eat something. It will take only 15 minutes."
"I said I don't have time," answered Marcus with a slightly annoyed tone. "Just put it in the fridge. I will eat it later maybe."
Emma felt something shift in the atmosphere. There was something not right.
"Is everything okay?" asked Emma carefully.
"Yes, everything is fine," answered Marcus but his tone was still flat and dismissive. "I just have a lot of things on my mind at work."
Marcus went to shower. Marcus didn't ask Emma to join or say anything sweet. Marcus just went to shower with a rushed manner.
Emma went downstairs. Emma sat at the dining table with all the breakfast that Emma had prepared. Breakfast that now looked lonely and sad.
Emma ate alone. Emma waited for Marcus.
Marcus came downstairs at 8. Marcus was already dressed formally in his business suit. Marcus grabbed the coffee that Emma prepared for him.
"I'm going," said Marcus while heading toward the door.
"Marcus wait," said Emma. "You're really not gonna eat?"
"I'm not hungry," answered Marcus without turning around. "I will grab something at the office."
"But I made this for you," said Emma with a voice that slightly broke. "I woke up early specifically to—"
"I appreciate it, Emma," interrupted Marcus but his tone was still dismissive. "But I don't have time for this. I have important work to do."
Important work. Not important to me. Important work.
Emma felt hurt. Emma felt like suddenly Marcus went back to old Marcus. Cold Marcus. Business-focused Marcus who didn't care about personal things.
"Okay," answered Emma with a quiet voice. "Have a good day at work."
Marcus left. Marcus didn't kiss goodbye. Marcus didn't turn back. Marcus just left.
Emma sat alone in the dining room with all the untouched food. Emma felt like something broke inside of her.
The entire day, Emma felt off. Emma tried to focus on work in the office but Emma's concentration was gone. Emma noticed that Marcus had completely avoided eye contact with her. Marcus didn't sit beside Emma at lunch. Marcus didn't come to the place where Emma usually stood in the pantry.
Marcus had completely avoided Emma.
When the office closed at 5:30 PM, Emma and Marcus went to the car. The ride home was completely quiet. No conversation. Just the sound of the car AC and street noises outside.
They arrived home at 6 PM.
Lily was already in the living room. Lily was healing well and had already started walking around a little.
"Emma! Marcus! You're home!" greeted Lily with a happy voice.
"Hi, Lily," said Emma trying to sound normal.
Marcus just nodded to Lily. Marcus didn't engage in conversation. Marcus went directly to his office room in the house.
Lily looked at Emma with a confused expression. "Is everything okay? Marcus is usually so excited to see us."
Emma felt her eyes getting watery. "Everything is fine, Lily. Marcus is just tired from work."
But Emma knew that it was not just about tiredness.
Emma helped Lily with her evening routine. Emma prepared dinner. Emma ate with Lily. But Emma's mind was completely somewhere else.
At 9 PM, Emma went to Marcus's office room. Emma knocked.
"Come in," responded Marcus from inside the room.
Emma opened the door. Emma saw Marcus sitting at his desk while working on his laptop. Marcus was working with complete focus.
"Marcus, we need to talk," said Emma.
Marcus looked at Emma briefly. "About what? I'm quite busy right now."
"About this morning," answered Emma. "About how you treated me."
"I don't know what you're talking about," answered Marcus while turning back to his laptop.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," said Emma with a voice that started to shake. "You completely ignored me this morning. You didn't eat the breakfast I made for you. You avoided me all day at work. You don't even look at me."
Marcus stopped typing. Marcus took a deep breath. Marcus turned to face Emma.
"You're right," said Marcus with a controlled voice. "I was not kind this morning. But Emma, do you know how much pressure I'm under right now? Daniel's lawsuit is getting serious. I have multiple projects at work. I have clients who are demanding. I have tons of stress."
"I know about the stress," said Emma. "But that's not an excuse to treat me like I'm invisible. I was just trying to do something nice for you. I was trying to show that I care."
"And I appreciate it!" answered Marcus with a voice that started to get louder. "But Emma, you can't expect me to be perfect all the time. Sometimes I'm gonna be stressed. Sometimes I'm gonna have bad days. Sometimes I'm not gonna be in the mood for romantic breakfast and loving smiles."
"I'm not asking you to be perfect," said Emma with a voice that also got louder. "I'm asking you to be kind. I'm asking you to acknowledge the effort that I make. I'm asking you to not shut me out completely when things get tough."
"I'm not shutting you out," answered Marcus. "I'm just dealing with things that I need to deal with."
"Alone," added Emma. "You're dealing with things alone. You're not including me. You're not talking to me about what's going on. You're just closing the door and pretending like I don't exist."
Marcus stood up from the desk. Marcus walked to the window and looked outside.
"You're right," said Marcus with a quiet voice now. "I did shut you out. I fell back to old patterns. I fell back to the way I used to handle things."
Emma listened. Emma waited for Marcus to continue.
"When I was young," continued Marcus, "I learned that showing weakness was a bad thing. I learned that I needed to handle everything alone. My father taught me that relying on other people was a sign of weakness."
Marcus turned to face Emma. "So when I started feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I automatically went back to that pattern. I automatically closed the door. I automatically thought that I needed to deal with this alone."
Emma listened with a softened expression.
"But then I forget," continued Marcus with an emotional voice, "that you're not my father. You're not someone who will judge me for my weaknesses. You're someone who cares. Someone who wants to help. Someone who wants to be part of my life, including the difficult parts."
Emma felt tears in her eyes. Emma walked closer to Marcus.
"I'm sorry," said Emma. "I'm sorry for pushing too hard. I'm sorry for not understanding that you have a lot on your plate right now."
"No, don't apologize," said Marcus. "Emma, you didn't do anything wrong. You were being thoughtful. You were being loving. I was the one who was dismissive. I was the one who was unkind."
Marcus reached out and held Emma's hands.
"I promise," said Marcus sincerely, "I promise that I will try better. I will try to communicate instead of shutting you out. I will try to include you in my struggles instead of trying to handle everything alone."
"And I will try to be more patient," said Emma. "I will try to understand that you're dealing with a lot of things. I will try to not take it personally when you have bad days."
They embraced each other. A long and deep hug.
"Thank you for bringing this up," said Marcus while still holding Emma. "Thank you for not letting me retreat to old patterns. Thank you for fighting for us."
"We're a team," said Emma. "Real relationships require communication. Require vulnerability. Require willingness to work through difficulties together."
"Yes," said Marcus. "We are a team. And I need to remember that more often."
They sat together on the sofa in Marcus's office. Marcus told Emma about the stress from Daniel's lawsuit. Told Emma about the pressure from clients. Told Emma about the fears that Marcus had been holding inside.
Emma listened. Emma didn't interrupt. Emma just held Marcus's hand and was present.
For the first time, Marcus truly opened up to someone. Marcus didn't just share information, but shared emotions. Shared struggles. Shared vulnerabilities.
And Emma received all of it with love and acceptance.
When they went to bed at 11 PM, Marcus kissed Emma with a tender kiss.
"I love you," said Marcus. "Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for helping me learn to be a better partner."
"I love you too," answered Emma. "And thank you for being willing to listen. For being willing to change."
They fell asleep in an embrace. A simple moment that maybe was not romantic, but definitely meaningful. A moment that showed that real love is not about always being happy or always being perfect. Real love is about showing up for each other even in difficult times. Real love is about working through conflicts with honesty and compassion.