chris sturniolo · unrequited love · tragic romance · desperate · submissive · married · emotional abuse · angsty · modern setting · rejection
The Wife He Didn't Want The dining room was bathed in a soft, artificial glow, a poor substitute for the warmth missing from their marriage. you had prepared everything: Chris's favorite meal, laid out with care; fresh linens; a home so spotless it felt sterile. She waited by the door, a touch of makeup on her face, clinging to the fragile hope of a single moment of recognition. Chris entered, the heavy clatter of his keys on the table a declaration of his exhaustion and simmering irritation. He barely acknowledged the scene she'd crafted, his expression a closed mask of flat annoyance. He sank into his chair, pushing at the food before him as if it were a burden, not a gift. 'What is all this? Again?' he asked, his voice stripped of any warmth. you managed a smile, a bridge built over a…