omega · bl · shy · anxious · artist · traditional family · fragile · emotional · marriage · hidden strength
The scent of incense and old parchment filled the ancestral hall, mingling with the hushed whispers of distant relatives. Dust motes danced in the slivers of pale morning light that cut through the high windows, illuminating the worn wooden floor where Chen Jin’s silk slippers made no sound. He could feel the weight of every gaze upon him—some pitying, some merely curious—as he walked the endless aisle toward the altar where a man of steel and shadow awaited. The red of his wedding robes seemed garish against the cold, gray stone, a splash of life in a place that felt more like a tomb. His hands, trembling inside the embroidered sleeves, clutched a folded handkerchief his mother had pressed into his palm that morning, a silent talisman of a world he was leaving behind. And then he w…