Lately, my husband barely notices me, and it’s making me question my worth in this marriage. I wake up beside him every morning, yet I feel miles away. There was a time when his eyes would light up when he saw me, when his hands would instinctively reach for mine, when my presence felt like something he cherished. But now, I feel like an afterthought, a background character in the life we built together.

I tell myself not to overthink it. Maybe he’s just busy, maybe stress is weighing him down, maybe this is just a rough patch. But how long does a rough patch last before it becomes the new reality? I catch myself trying harder—wearing his favorite dress, cooking meals I know he loves, bringing up memories of happier days in hopes of sparking something in him. But his responses are brief, distracted, like he’s physically present but emotionally elsewhere.

The silence between us is the loudest thing in the room. I long for the days when we would talk for hours, when he would make me laugh over the smallest things, when his touch felt like home. Now, even when we sit together, I feel alone.

I don’t know how to fix what feels broken. And the scariest part? I don’t even know if he wants to fix it at all.