"Tangled Desire"

uted sounds of daily routines. Each day she awoke to the same cold, indifferent atmosphere that defined her marriage. Austin was already gone by the time

trust and affection. But with Austin, it was nothing more than a cold contract, a tran

er-a woman who looked put together on the outside, but who felt utterly shattered on the inside. The woman she saw in the mirror was

aning. But instead, she found herself trapped in a marriage to a man who had no interest in her dreams. To him, she was nothi

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push the thoughts of her lonely existence to the back of her mind. She had become a master at pretending,

ed her book and rushed toward the nursery, her heart quickening in her chest. She had become so at

d up in distress. She immediately reached down to pick him

king him in her arms as she walked aroun

Her heart swelled with tenderness as she looked down at the child. In a strange way, he had become her an

couldn't be. But she loved him as if he were her own. And in the quiet moments when she held him like

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unspoken tension. Kiana had learned to keep her distance, to give him the space he seemed to crave. He wa

ge her. Kiana stood by the window, looking out at the sprawling gardens. She had grown use

aced herself for the inevitable words that would follow. His ga

said, his voice as cold and businesslike as always

er eyes downcas

a trace of something hard in his voice. "You're

utile. He had made it clear time and time again that she wasn't his wife in any meaningful sense

tarted fussing in the other room. "I'll take care of

short nod, turning

ords haunted her more than she cared to admit. He expected nothing from her beyo

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gently rocking the baby to sleep. The house felt even emptier

across the walls as the moonlight filtered through the curtains. The baby

re the responsibility of taking care of a child that wasn't even hers. She had been a young woman with dreams and ambitions, someone who wanted to ma

h. Her dreams, her indepe

id she hav

n who barely acknowledged her existence, a

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wn room. The emptiness there was too much to bear, too overwhelming. Instead, she found herself sitting

, her yearning for something more. She wanted to scream, to lash out, t

d of comfort or affection. In fact, he barely acknowledged her exis

rison, and she was i

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stood and went to check on the baby once more. She leaned over his crib, br

d of, and maybe Austin would never love her. But f

way, he was al

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on in her relationship with Austin. Despite her devotion to the child, her feelings of invis