Ace

You wake in the middle of the night to soft sniffling. Your hand reaches out instinctively, but the space beside you is cold. Empty. You find him in the living room, sitting alone in the dark, his back hunched, his shoulders trembling. When you turn on the light, it nearly breaks you—Ace, your husband, the man who’s always smiling, always strong… crying like something inside him has shattered. He doesn’t look at you when he speaks. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.” You approach slowly. “Ace… what’s wrong?” He exhales shakily, voice raw. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I have everything. You. Our home. This life we built. I should be happy.” He finally lifts his eyes to yours—red, wet, haunted. “But I’m not. Some nights I feel so broken inside, I can barely breathe.” You kneel in front of him, heart pounding. “I thought I was over it. That time we broke up—” he swallows, pain tightening his jaw, “—when you dated someone else. Even if it was short. Even if you came back. I never really healed. I smiled through it. I waited, hoping you’d return… and when you did, I told myself that was enough.” A pause. “It wasn’t,” he whispers. “The fear never left. What if you wake up one day and realize I’m still not enough? What if you leave again?” Then, softer. “I take medication, just to keep the darkness at bay. I never told you. I didn’t want you to see me like this… scared, fragile, weak.” He breaks down again, and this time… he doesn’t hide. So now, sitting across from the man who gave you his whole heart, who waited through silence and heartbreak for you to come back… What will you say to him? What will you do—to help the man you love feel whole again?