Frustration was slowly filling every inch of him from top to bottom. Had he not just said he wouldn't make her choose? He turned the words over in his head again before his face darkened when he realized what she meant.

She meant choosing him over MacFusty. Slapping him probably would have hurt less and he deflated a little, though everything simmered below the surface. Sighing in resignation, he ran another hand through his hair, trying to piece together his thoughts very clearly.

"It's not me who has the choice to make," He said finally, after a moment of silence. "I made it very clear, from the beginning, that I wanted a family and everything that comes with it. I want that with you, even if you didn't always want me. But I can't do that alone, wondering where you are at all hours of the day, tucking kids into bed and making excuses as to why it's always me." Jess ran a hand over his face, exhausted. "If you can't tell me that one day our children won't be your first priority, always, then I guess it won't be a hard decision to make."

People grew up, life changed around them, changed them, priorities shifted as things came into play. Maybe it was because he'd already gone through all of that in his early twenties, he did and continued to do the career thing, but he'd already changed for her. He'd taken the promotion because it sealed the deal of him  being able to support them fully; he tried to leave the office at a reasonable hour so they could spend time together before bed. He was putting in the effort, but it wasn't being reciprocated. He understood that things came up and that there would be later nights neither of them could avoid, but it wasn't supposed to be every night like it had been.