Carmen sat on the couch with a frustrated face as she watched the long hand of the clock slowly change its direction. She felt scared and upset that it was now eleven-thirty o'clock and Liam had not arrived home yet.

Their brief episode that morning, him accusing her and denying her, weighed heavily on her heart, but her mind remained occupied with worries about why he had not reached home.

Carmen stood up from the couch for a minute and paced back and forth for some time as she tried to keep her messed up emotions in check and stopped herself from crying. After walking around the room for a...