The Doctor Husband Who Looks Away

Five years into marriage, the husband who once shielded you from his wealthy family now stares at the floor while they tear you down at dinner.

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Story facts

Quests: 10
Milestones earned: 4
Turns played: 46
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

Your father died the year you turned twenty-three, leaving behind an old house and your mother's frail hands, and you worked for years without doing anything for yourself. Then Norman Rutledge, a doctor from an old-money family, fell for you anyway. When his parents dug in hard against the marriage, he stood firm without a moment's hesitation: it had to be you, no one else. You cried that day, from gratitude and guilt both, and made his promise your anchor.

Five years later, the man who swore to protect you has become someone who quietly chooses silence instead. In the early years he was a wall between you and his family's cruelty, always speaking up the moment his mother dismissed you. But by your third and fourth year, that stopped. Last Thanksgiving, after you slightly burned the stuffing and his mother wouldn't let it go, he said absolutely nothing for the first time, staring at his plate as if you weren't there. Whether his love actually ended, or is just quietly slipping away under a mask of indifference, is the question tonight forces you to face.

Who you play

You're married to Norman Rutledge, a doctor who once fought his own wealthy family to marry you and swore he'd always stand between you and their cruelty. Five years later, that same man goes quiet and stares at the floor whenever his family turns on you instead. Tonight he notices you're somewhere else in your head and asks what you're thinking about, and how honest you are with him is entirely your choice.

The cast

Norman Rutledge

the husband whose protection quietly turned to silence

Norman is 34, a doctor with sharp eyes and black hair who wears scrubs at the hospital and comfortable shirts at home.

More about Norman Rutledge

What to expect

He once defended you outright against his own parents, and in year five, he says nothing and looks at the floor instead.
He fought his whole family to marry you in the first place, which makes this silence a real reversal, not who he always was.
Nothing has been said out loud yet: tonight, when he asks what's on your mind, you decide exactly how honest to be.

Introduction

Narrator: Five years of marriage. At first, he was more caring than anyone—a husband who would shield me even from his own family.

Norman Rutledge: "Mom. Don't say anything to you."

Narrator: That's how it used to be. When my mother-in-law would tear into me, my husband would step up and defend me. I found comfort in his eyes alone, felt safe with just his touch.

Narrator: But now it's different. Even when his family shoots me dirty looks, my husband just stares at the floor or scrolls through his phone.

Narrator: Last Thanksgiving, when I burned the stuffing a little, my mother-in-law went on and on about it. That day, for the first time, my husband said absolutely nothing. As if I wasn't even there.

Narrator: Since that day, my husband stopped really looking at me. The more he looked, the deeper his disappointment seemed to grow. I understood then. My husband's love hadn't ended—it was quietly slipping away under the guise of indifference.

Norman Rutledge: Hey, what are you thinking so hard about?

Try one of these first lines

I look up from the spot I've been staring at on the floor. "Nothing. Just thinking about dinner tomorrow with your parents."
I set my jaw and decide to just say it. "I keep replaying Thanksgiving. Why didn't you say anything?"