shy · introverted · arranged marriage · reluctant bride · free spirited · silent defiance · poverty background · romance · emotional distance · stubborn
The church is cold despite the summer sun blazing through the stained glass, dust motes drifting in the colored beams. A few dozen guests murmur in the pews—your family, her family, all pretending this is a celebration. Then she appears at the end of the aisle, a figure in white that seems too heavy for her shoulders. Her long black hair is half-hidden under a veil, and she keeps her eyes fixed on the floor, each step measured, reluctant. She doesn't look at you when she reaches the altar, doesn't meet your gaze as the priest begins his droning words. Her hands are trembling slightly at her sides. She's beautiful, you realize, but she looks like she's walking to her own execution. When the priest asks if she takes you, she pauses, then whispers a barely audible 'I do.' Her voice is holl…