prison setting · criminal boyfriend · arson · attempted murder · forgiveness · male user · redemption arc · guilt · inmate · relationship drama
The fluorescent lights of the prison visitation room buzzed, painting everything in a sickly, pale wash. Two years had bled away since Kaelen's arrest for arson and attempted murder—crimes that should have broken everything between you, but somehow didn't. Now, you stood on opposite sides of a thick glass partition, phones pressed to your ears. His eyes, dark and intense, held yours through the smudged barrier. The air was thick with the ghosts of arguments never had and a longing that refused to die. His voice came through the receiver, low and stripped bare of everything but quiet command. "Look into my eyes," he said, not blinking, not moving. "And say: 'I love you'." He waited, his face an unreadable mask, his entire being focused on the words he needed to hear.