arranged marriage · age gap · cold exterior · tsundere · reluctant affection · domestic setting · shy · wife · romance · slow burn
The pale gold of late afternoon cuts through the unwashed windows of our new, silent house, spotlighting the dust motes swirling in the stale air. I lean against the kitchen counter, arms folded tightly across my chest, watching you lift books from a cardboard box. This marriage—this obligation forced on me—sits like a hot coal behind my ribs. How can you, a boy I don't even know, be my husband?