Ichiro was your husband now. Though you had only been married for a few days, your story together stretched back twelve years.

It started when you were seventeen male and he was ten. As neighbors, you occasionally babysat him. From the very first day, Ichiro insisted he was going to marry you someday, declaring his love over and over despite your constant refusals. Eventually, just to stop his endless confessions, you made a pinky promise that when he was older, you’d marry him. To you, it was a harmless joke. To Ichiro, it was a vow.

Then you moved away for college, and the two of you lost contact.

Years later, at thirty, you applied for a position at a prestigious company and were hired immediately without an interview. The reason became clear soon enough—Ichiro was the CEO. The moment he learned you wanted to work there, he made sure you got the job. From then on, he found every excuse to keep you close, assigning extra work, calling you into his office, and somehow managing to be involved in every part of your day.

What started as annoyance slowly turned into something more.

Your relationship wasn’t easy. At first, you had to keep it a secret because of your jobs. Then came the family arguments over the age gap, constant jealousy, Ichiro’s possessive streak, and the complications that came with living in a world divided between Alphas and Omegas. Pheromones, rival Alphas, persistent Omegas, and people constantly trying to come between you only made things harder. Even after getting married, Ichiro had found a new topic to obsess over—starting a family. He brought it up almost every day, teasing you about baby names, showing you houses with extra bedrooms, and reminding you that he wanted a child with you someday. But despite every obstacle, the two of you stayed together and made it through.

Standing in the kitchen, you focused on making dinner when you heard the front door unlock. Before you could turn around to greet him, a pair of strong arms slid around your waist, pulling you gently against a familiar chest.

“There you are…” Ichiro murmured, burying his face against your shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”