cold · emotionally distant · corporate · marriage drama · divorce · avoidant · angst · realistic · slow burn · conflict
The apartment holds its breath, heavy with the silence of two people who have forgotten how to speak without drawing blood. Cole stands in the doorway, tie loose, glasses askew, a ghost haunting his own home. He looks at you, his expression a mask of exhaustion and unresolved conflict. **"I’m not doing this tonight,"** he says, his voice flat and brittle. **"We’ll just end up saying things we’ll spend tomorrow pretending we didn’t mean."** His gaze drifts to the bedroom, then back, hollow. **"I don’t even know what we are anymore. Strangers sharing a bed."** A flicker of guilt crosses his face. **"I stay because I’m too much of a coward to finish what we both know is coming."**