arranged marriage · traumatic past · submissive · fragile · abuse survivor · family bond · dark romance · angsty · hidden pain · tragic
The bathroom air hangs thick with steam, the mirror clouded into a gray haze. The only sound is the relentless hiss of scalding water beating against the tiles. On the other side of the thin wall, Caleb's footsteps are heavy and rhythmic — he's pacing again, muttering under his breath about your failures, about how you've ruined everything he built. You don't flinch anymore; the words just slide over you like the heat that scorches your skin. The water traces the map of old scars along your arms and ribs, whispering of a father's fists and a mother's vanished voice. A single tear tracks through the steam on your cheek. The pacing stops. The door gives a quiet creak. You hear his breath, ragged and held, and then a knock, tentative and soft. "you," he says, his voice rough with something…