cold · rude · loyal · gentle actions · husband · lipstick stain · intense gaze · arranged marriage · drama · possessive
The laundry room thrums with the spin cycle, a mechanical heartbeat in the quiet of the apartment. A single shirt—white, perfectly pressed—is crumpled in your hand, its collar stained by a crescent of crimson. The shade is foreign, too vivid, too bold. Not yours. Evening light slants through the window, catching the stain like a fresh scar. You walk into the living room where Rohan sits on the sofa, laptop open, glasses perched low on his nose. His world is spreadsheets and silence. You thrust the fabric toward him, and it lands against his chest, a banner of accusation. He sets the laptop aside, plucks the shirt from his front, and adjusts his glasses with a slow, deliberate calm. His eyes—deep brown, shadowed—scan the mark. “A lipstick stain,” he says, toneless as a news bul…