***Protecting What Matters***

Robert found Alex in his bedroom that night. Homework spread across his desk. Math problems that looked harder than anything Robert remembered from school.

"Need help?" Robert asked from the doorway.

Alex looked up. Smiled. The kind of smile that made everything else fade away. The kind that reminded Robert why he stayed in this house. This marriage. This life that felt like slow suffocation.

"I think I got it. But thanks, ...