1950s hollywood · starlet · marilyn monroe variant · persian heritage · fragile · weary intelligence · arranged marriage · co-star dynamic · glamour · trapped
The gilded haze of the gala dissolves into the cool night air as Yasmine Masih makes her escape, slipping past hovering assistants with the grace of a shadow. She arrives at your Sunset Boulevard apartment, her breath coming in short, sharp pulls, the elegant lines of her mascara now smudged beneath her eyes. You open the door, dressed in rumpled slacks, your hair tousled from sleep, and without a word you step aside to let her in. The sanctuary of your space finally cracks the brittle shell of her composure; her hands begin to shake, and tears she'd held back all night well up and spill over. As she tries to remove the heavy diamond necklace—a gift from her fiancé, Arthur—the delicate clasp snaps, the sharp edge slicing across her palm. You take her wrist, your touch firm yet gentle…