The afternoon sun poured into the living room, casting a warm glow over the space, but the atmosphere between Remy and Drea was anything but bright. The tension between them had been simmering all day, a lingering unease from the night before when they had argued yet again—this time about time. Time they weren't spending together, time they weren't giving to each other, and time that always seemed to be slipping away between work, Brielle, and the everyday demands of life.
Drea was in the kitchen, her movements sharp as she washed the dishes, the sound of water splashing against the plates almost drowning out her thoughts. Almost. Her mind was racing, frustration building up inside her. She had been trying, really trying, to keep things balanced, to make space for their marriage amid the chaos of their new life as parents. But it always felt like Remy's attention was elsewhere—on her work, on her businesses, on anything but them.
Remy was sitting on the couch, her phone in hand as she scrolled through emails, her face set in a frown of concentration. She hadn't looked up once since Drea had started cleaning up after lunch, and that only added to Drea's irritation.
"Are you going to help me with this or what?" Drea's voice cut through the silence, sharp and tinged with frustration.
Remy glanced up, a look of surprise crossing her face. "What? Help with what?"
"The dishes, Remy. The house. You know, the things we both live in," Drea snapped, her hands gripping the edge of the sink as she tried to rein in her emotions.
Remy sighed, putting her phone down and standing up. "I've been working all morning, Drea. I'll help, but you don't have to get mad about it."
"Working all morning?" Drea scoffed, turning to face her. "You mean staring at your phone and ignoring me all morning."
"I wasn't ignoring you," Remy said defensively. "I've got a lot going on with Chrome 23, and you know that. I can't just drop everything because you want me to wash a couple of dishes."
Drea's eyes narrowed, her anger flaring. "It's not about the dishes, Remy. It's about us. You're never here. Even when you're home, your mind is somewhere else. I feel like I'm raising Brielle on my own half the time."
"That's not fair, Drea," Remy shot back, her voice rising. "I'm doing my best to juggle everything. I've got businesses to run. I can't be at your beck and call all the time."
"And what about me?" Drea demanded, her voice shaking slightly. "What about us? What about our marriage? You can't just put me on the back burner because you're busy. I need you here, Remy. We need you."
Remy ran a hand over her face, clearly frustrated. "I'm doing the best I can, alright? It's not like I'm out there messing around. I'm working to build something for us, for Brielle."
Drea shook her head, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. "I didn't marry you to be put second to everything else in your life. I married you because I thought we were in this together. But lately, it feels like I'm the only one trying to make this work."
Remy's jaw tightened, her patience fraying. "You act like I'm just sitting around doing nothing. I'm out here grinding for us. You knew what my life was like when you married me."
"And I thought you'd make space for me in that life," Drea shot back, her voice thick with emotion. "I didn't think I'd have to fight for your attention every day."
Remy clenched her fists, the tension in the room rising with every word. "What do you want me to do, Drea? Quit everything? Stay home and do nothing? That's not who I am, and you know that."
"I don't want you to quit," Drea said, her voice breaking. "I just want you to show up for me. For us."
The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of the argument hanging between them like a thick fog. Remy paced back and forth, her frustration mounting. She didn't know how to fix this, how to balance everything without feeling like she was failing in some part of her life.
"I feel like I'm doing everything I can," Remy muttered under her breath, more to herself than to Drea.
"Everything you can?" Drea repeated, her tone incredulous. "You barely even look at me anymore. You're always off in your own world."
Remy stopped pacing, turning to face Drea with a hard look in her eyes. "Maybe I wouldn't have to escape into my own world if things were different," she said coldly.
Drea blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in Remy's tone. "What are you trying to say?"
Remy hesitated for a moment, the words on the tip of her tongue before she could stop herself. "I should've married someone else."
The moment the words left her mouth, the air in the room seemed to freeze. Drea's face paled, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at Remy, the hurt written all over her face. The weight of what Remy had just said hit her like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of her.
"W-What did you just say?" Drea whispered, her voice trembling.
Remy's eyes widened as if she realized too late what she had said. She took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. "Drea, I didn't mean it like that—"
"You should've married someone else?" Drea repeated, her voice growing louder, more anguished. "Is that what you really think? After everything we've been through, after everything we've built together, you think you should've married someone else?"
"No, that's not what I meant—"
"Then what did you mean, Remy?" Drea's voice was shaking now, her eyes filling with tears that she refused to let fall. "Because that's what you just said."
Remy took a deep breath, trying to backtrack, but the damage was already done. She could see the hurt in Drea's eyes, the doubt that had taken root in her heart. "Drea, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was just frustrated, and I said something stupid."
"Stupid?" Drea scoffed, wiping at her eyes angrily. "You don't just say something like that out of frustration, Remy. You don't just throw away your marriage like that."
"I'm not throwing away our marriage," Remy argued, her voice growing desperate. "I'm just... I'm tired, okay? We're both tired, and I said something I shouldn't have. I didn't mean it."
But Drea wasn't hearing it. Her heart was pounding in her chest, the sting of Remy's words cutting deep. She had always known that marriage wouldn't be easy, that there would be hard times, but she had never expected to hear those words from Remy, the person she thought she could trust with her heart.
"I thought we were supposed to be in this together," Drea whispered, her voice barely audible. "I thought you were my partner."
"I am," Remy insisted, reaching out for Drea, but Drea pulled away, her arms crossing over her chest defensively.
"Then why would you say something like that?" Drea's voice cracked, the hurt in her eyes almost unbearable for Remy to look at. "Why would you even think it?"
Remy ran a hand over her face, the weight of her mistake sinking in. "I don't know, Drea. I was mad, and I wasn't thinking. You know I love you. You know I don't mean that."
"But now I don't know," Drea said, her voice shaking. "Now I don't know if you're really in this with me. If you even want to be."
Remy's heart dropped, panic starting to take hold as she realized how much she had messed up. "Drea, please. Don't say that. I'm committed to you, to us. I swear."
Drea shook her head, stepping away from Remy, her arms still wrapped tightly around herself. "I need some time," she said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. "I need to think."
"Drea, please—"
But Drea didn't wait for her to finish. She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Remy standing there, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched her wife walk away. Remy's words hung in the air like a dark cloud, casting a shadow over everything they had built together.
Remy sank onto the couch, her head in her hands as she replayed the argument in her mind. She had messed up—big time. And now, she didn't know how to fix it.
The house was too quiet now, too still. And all Remy could do was sit there, the weight of her mistake pressing down on her like a heavy burden.
For the first time, Remy wasn't sure if love would be enough to fix what she had broken.
