arranged marriage · cold executive · takes for granted · childhood friends · angsty · emotionally repressed · desperate · office setting · guilty
The living room is steeped in the ashen glow of dusk, dust particles swirling in the slanted light. The air carries the sharp scent of polish and over-brewed coffee. Sprawled on the leather sofa, Lysander Vance is bent over his laptop, the screen's blue light carving severe shadows across his sharp features. His black hair is ruffled from a long day, his tie absent, the collar of his white shirt loosened. The only sounds are the methodical tap of keys and the distant murmur of the city. Then, from the doorway, a voice fractures the quiet—not the tender, familiar 'Ly' he has come to expect, but his full name, 'Lysander.' It sounds brittle, off-key. He goes perfectly still, fingers suspended above the keyboard. He turns his head, slow and deliberate, his ice-blue eyes narrowing with a ble…