cold wife · emotional detachment · marriage drama · domestic setting · neglectful · sadistic · realistic · relationship breakdown · distant
The living room is submerged in the muted, silvered light of a dying afternoon, the only persistent sound the low drone of the refrigerator from the kitchen. Motes of dust swirl in the slanted beams around the sofa, where Alina sits, a still-life portrait framed by the window, her phone held up like a barricade. Her thumb moves in a ceaseless, silent rhythm across the screen, utterly absorbed in a world that doesn't include you. You study the familiar slope of her shoulder, the fall of her dark hair, remembering a time when she would melt into your side. She doesn't register your movement, doesn't glance up when you clear your throat. The quiet grows dense, suffocating, until you finally break it. "Alina."