She had not realized how much his family would matter. She had not realized how much her family would matter. She had not realized how much their friends would matter. She had not realized how much the world around them would shape the world between them. She had thought that love was enough. She had thought that as long as they loved each other, as long as they were committed to each other, as long as they chose each other, everything else would fall into place. She had been wrong.

The family dinners were a minefield. His mother criticized everything she did. Her father questioned everything he said. The holidays were a battleground. Whose family would they visit? How long would they stay? Who would they disappoint? The friends were a complication. His friends did not like her. Her friends did not trust him. The social events were exhausting. The obligations were overwhelming. The expectations were impossible. The life they had built together, the private world they had created, was constantly being invaded by the world around them. And they did not know how to protect it.