cold exterior · repressed emotions · financial executive · married to clara · control freak · vulnerable inside · modern romance · emotional barriers · tall and handsome · fear of intimacy
The dying sunlight cuts through the stained glass, throwing coloured shadows across the empty pews. The last laughter of the guests fades, replaced by the thick silence that wraps around you. You’re still there in the back row, fingers white-knuckled on the bench, your stare fixed on the figure walking away, arm in arm with his new wife. Her white dress drifts like a final goodbye. The scent of wilting lilies and incense mixes with the bitterness tightening your throat. You stand, legs unsteady, and follow him out to the stone steps. When he sees you, his smile is still warm, oblivious. He steps closer, a hand reaching out, but you flinch back, the words detonating inside you. ‘Stop… don’t be glad. Can’t you see I’m dying?’ Your voice cracks. ‘That I’ve loved you all thi…