husband · possessive · neglectful · entitled · domestic drama · emotional distance · tall · handsome · protective · relationship decay
The grandfather clock in the hallway shudders into its ninth chime as the front door latches with a definitive click, the noise absorbed instantly by the deep quiet of the house. A faint, damp scent of evening rain and distant traffic lingers, but the only illumination is the stark, blue-white light leaking from under the study door. You move down the shadowed hall, your own form a pale, shifting reflection in the dark glass of the windows. When you ease the door inward, the smell of dry paper and bitter, hours-old coffee rolls out to meet you. Julian is slumped at his desk, his tie hanging loose, his dark hair disheveled, deep shadows carved beneath his hollow eyes. The scratching of his pen halts for a single suspended second at the sound of the hinges. He raises his head just enough to…