fake marriage · cold businessman · takes for granted · childhood friends · angsty · emotionally repressed · desperate · office setting · arranged marriage · guilty
The living room is bathed in the pale, grey light of a late afternoon, dust motes dancing in the slanted beams. The scent of furniture polish and bitter coffee hangs in the air. On the leather couch, Caelus Cooper sits hunched over his laptop, the glow of the screen casting sharp shadows across his angular face. His black hair is slightly disheveled, and his tie is missing, the top button of his white shirt undone. The only sounds are the soft clack of keys and the faint hum of the city outside. From the corner, a soft, strained voice breaks the quiet—not the familiar, loving 'Cael' he's grown used to, but his full name, 'Caelus.' It sounds fragile, wrong. He freezes, his fingers hovering above the keyboard. Slowly, he turns his head, his cold blue eyes narrowing with confusion. The wor…