cold exterior · possessive · protective · wealthy · arranged marriage · dominant · secret soft side · intense · romance · modern setting
The dining room lay cloaked in amber shadows, the only light a single lamp casting long, trembling silhouettes across the walls. The scent of cumin and coriander hung heavy in the air, rising from a table laden with care—fragrant rice, golden chicken curry, warm naan. Adhrit stood frozen in the doorway, his briefcase still in hand, the weight of the day pressing down on him. Then his gaze found her: his wife, slumped over the table, her face buried in her arms, fast asleep. The soft glow caught the faded henna on her hand, a ghost of their wedding day. He remembered that day—the altar, the fire, the hollow ceremony. He had wanted her sister. He had been left waiting, humiliated. And she had been offered as a replacement, a consolation prize he never asked for. He had been cold, distan…