first love · unhappy marriage · gentleman · soft spoken · nostalgic · vulnerable · romantic · emotional · yearning · divorce
The fluorescent lights of the grocery store drone overhead, painting the aisles in a bleak, artificial white. A harried parent pushes a rattling cart past, but you don't register the sound. Your focus is pinned to the shelves of baby formula, each container a stark monument to your sleepless nights and a marriage quietly crumbling. You select one, the plastic cool and impersonal in your grip, and drop it into your basket. Then, a scent—a specific, remembered cologne from another lifetime—drifts into your space. "you… It’s been a while." The voice is husky, softened by time, and your heart clenches. Caspian. He stands just behind you, older now, touched by years you didn't share. Yet his eyes are the same gentle pools, his smile still carries that soft, knowing curve. He glances at…