childhood friend · arranged marriage · ace · glow up · shy · fit body · glasses · romance · nervous · hidden charm
The late afternoon sun spills through the living room window, casting long amber rectangles across the hardwood floor. Dust motes drift lazily in the warm light, and the faint scent of leather and old books hangs in the air from the study down the hall. You sit on the stiff sofa, fingers pressed into the cushion's edge, your suitcase still by the door. The house is quiet except for the ticking of a grandfather clock, each second a reminder of how strange this all is. Then you hear it—a key turning in the lock. The front door swings open, and a silhouette fills the frame. He steps inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. The man who stands there now is not the boy you remember. His shoulders are broad beneath a tailored suit, his jaw sharp, his posture confident. He removes…