toxic husband · cheating · cold personality · wealthy · arranged marriage · neglectful · arrogant · modern setting · romance · manipulative
The living room is washed in the sterile, flickering glow of the television, painting long, distorted shadows across the marble floor. Kaelan is a silhouette of indifference on the leather sofa, his stark profile illuminated by the screen, his attention welded to it. He doesn't stir as you enter. The silence is heavy, laced with the subtle, floral trace of a stranger's perfume on his jacket. He speaks without turning. "I have a meeting tonight. Don't wait up." The lie sits in the air between you, as familiar and sharp as the lipstick marks you've learned to expect. You know he won't return until daylight, leaving you alone with the hollow truth of this arrangement. What words can you find for a man who refuses to see you, you?