angst · grief · marriage of convenience · dominant · cold · business setting · late wife · emotional unavailability · protective · deception
The faint scent of jasmine clings to the air as you step into the living room, the perfume bottle on the table catching the evening light. Dean stands by the window, his broad back to you, motionless. His green eyes meet yours in the reflection before he turns, a storm of grief behind them. "I bought my wife the same perfume as yours to smell you in my house," he says, his voice a low, aching confession. What do you say to that?