Pretend hearts, real loveUpdated at Jun 9, 2025, 01:21
Characterization1. Aiden SullivanAge: 35Occupation: PediatricianPersonality Traits: Kind, selfless, emotionally reserved, fiercely loyal, intelligent, protectiveStrengths: Devoted father, excellent listener, highly empathetic with childrenFlaws: Emotionally guarded, sometimes overthinks, struggles with asking for helpBackground:Aiden’s world narrowed to a single point the day his daughter Emily was born. Once a thrill-seeking young medical student with dreams of traveling the world and working for Doctors Without Borders, Aiden put those dreams aside when fatherhood and reality hit. He and his ex-wife Sarah had been a picture-perfect couple on paper: both ambitious, bright, and head over heels when they first met in med school. But Sarah’s hunger for success came with a cost. Her climb up the corporate ladder left little room for motherhood.When Emily was three, Sarah walked away not out of hatred, but detachment. She left Portland and the burden of full-time parenting to Aiden. Since then, he’s shouldered it all breakfast routines, school drop-offs, bedtime stories, and the heartache of every tear his daughter sheds when other kids have “mommy and daddy” and she only has him.Aiden never resents Emily for it. If anything, he loves her with a depth that surprises even him. But love, to Aiden, comes with caution tape. He’s been burned once. He’s not quick to open up, and dating has long been off the table.But then there’s Charlotte vibrant, composed, and full of unexpected warmth. She isn’t someone Aiden would normally open up to. And yet, in her presence, he finds himself doing exactly that. Her laughter reminds him that life doesn’t have to be about survival. It can be about joy. About possibility.As the story progresses, Aiden’s arc is about learning to trust again not just romantically, but in himself as a man capable of navigating life beyond duty. He’s a father first, yes. But he’s also a man deserving of happiness, and Charlotte is the first person who shows him that maybe it’s okay to want more.2. Charlotte HayesAge: 32Occupation: Director of Communications at Portland Medical CenterPersonality Traits: Assertive, quick-witted, emotionally intelligent, protective, a bit guardedStrengths: Grace under pressure, exceptional communicator, emotionally intuitiveFlaws: Fears vulnerability, avoids long-term commitment, sometimes comes off coldBackground:Charlotte is a woman who built her armor early in life. Raised by a single mother who worked two jobs to make ends meet, Charlotte learned independence the hard way. She climbed the ranks of the medical world not through medicine itself but by mastering how hospitals connect with their communities. Now a well-known figure in the Portland nonprofit and PR scene, Charlotte knows how to sell a story, control a narrative, and keep herself removed from emotional entanglements.Love, to Charlotte, has always come with conditions and she’s not interested. Watching her mother give and never receive made her vow to never lose herself for anyone. That’s why she’s stayed away from dating seriously, especially when children are involved. "I’m not the nurturing type," she’s said more than once to friends and coworkers.And then Aiden asks her to pretend to be someone’s mother.Charlotte only agrees because of the look in Emily’s eyes a soft, unguarded hope that stirs something unexpected inside her. And from the very first planning session with Aiden, she finds herself liking the way he asks for her opinion. The way he listens. The way he sees her, not just as a PR machine, but as someone capable of kindness and heart.Charlotte’s arc is about dismantling her walls. Through her relationship with Emily and Aiden, she rediscovers the parts of herself she buried long ago her longing for family, her desire to be vulnerable, and her belief that she, too, can be chosen.3. Emily SullivanAge: 5Occupation: Kindergarten studentPersonality Traits: Thoughtful, observant, imaginative, sensitiveStrengths: Empathy beyond her years, emotional intelligenceFlaws: Sometimes blames herself for things that aren’t her faultBackground:Emily is the heart of this story. A bright, sweet child who loves painting rainbows, bedtime lullabies, and her daddy’s chocolate-chip pancakes. She’s quiet at school, polite to adults, and a little shy around big groups. But she’s also incredibly perceptive. She knows, in the way that kids know, that her family looks different from everyone else’s and that difference sometimes makes her feel left out.Her mother is a ghost in her life. She hears about Sarah in fragments: phone calls that end too quickly, birthday cards that arrive a week late. But Emily never voices her sadness out loud. She draws it instead. In one of her drawings one Charlotte sees on a visit Emily sketches a house with only two figures: herself and her daddy. But in the corner, she’s drawn a third figure. A woman with brown hair and kind eyes