Realization

A small laugh escaped, though there was little humor to it. "Trust me, I know that, knew it then. You have to understand though what it was like. Constant insults, everything was fair game; my family, my friends, my education, my job and so much more about me." Unable to stand it anymore, she pushed herself to stand and couldn't help but to walk restlessly about the apartment.

"I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to have children, so devastated by even the thought that I went to have tests done." She trailed a finger over a shiny silver frame and caressed the cheek of the little boy she wanted to adopt, thinking idly of everything she would do for him. "The doctor told me that I was physically healthy, not a single problem prohibiting me from having children. He then suggested oh so gently that it could be my husband."

Another humorless laugh escaped and she turned to face him, hugging herself as more sadness crept into her eyes. "So I went home, thinking of ways to bring it up. I hadn't told him I was getting the tests done, was scared for reasons I can't even remember."

"When did you realize it was fear?" he asked quietly, meeting her gaze steadily when she met his eyes and contenting himself with tracking her motions, her emotions, as she paced about the room.

"I don't know," she said, a trace of honest sincerity registering on her pale features. "I didn't realize until that night, as I cooked a romantic dinner and set the apartment up nice and cozy with candles and flowers and home cooked food, that I had ever been scared of him."

o.O.o

Word Count: 286