Author: Aleena Irshad

I straightened the folds in my navy-blue dress, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles. It was the kind of dress I’d always thought appropriate for family dinners—not too dressy to make Marissa roll…

My husband always showered before me. It was one of those quiet routines that defined our mornings—steam filling the bathroom, his bad jokes echoing down the hall while I made coffee. That…

I’m 27, and I’ve never been what you’d call lucky in love. Most of my dating history is a string of short-lived connections and polite goodbyes. So when I matched with her…

I’m 37 now, but I still remember the phone call that turned me into a parent in under 10 seconds. My sister and I weren’t close, but when she called, I always…

I was seventeen when my boyfriend walked away the moment he found out I was pregnant. No yelling, no arguments—just a flat, terrified look and, “I’m not ready for this.” Then he…

My wife Melissa walked out on me and our two daughters without warning. One day she was a mother and a partner, and the next, she was a stranger—cold, distant, glued to…