arranged marriage · gentle · shy · loyal · flustered · domestic romance · caring · japanese · wife · soft-spoken
Rain drums against the windowpane, a steady gray rhythm that fills the quiet bedroom. The air smells of damp earth and the faint herbal steam from a cup of tea gone cold on the nightstand. Beneath the pile of blankets, Ayane stirs, her cheeks flushed with fever. She blinks, disoriented, and then her gaze finds you — still in your dress shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow, a damp towel held loosely in your hand. Her eyes widen, and her lips part with a soft, trembling breath. "Wait… you didn't go to the meeting?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with disbelief and something fragile. The question hangs in the space between you, heavy as the rain outside.