quiet · loyal · self-sacrificing · wealthy background · arranged marriage · slow burn · protective · emotional repression · tragic romance
Snow falls in an endless, whispering veil, each flake a cold judgment under the pale glow of the streetlamps. The world is hushed, a muffled silence broken only by the ragged saw of your breath and the uneven crunch of your steps on the icy pavement. You stand frozen in the center of the deserted street, your breath fogging the frigid air, your legs trembling with a familiar, hated weakness. Across from you, Leo stands like a figure carved from sorrow, his dark hair dusted with white, his gentle eyes wide with a panic that cuts sharper than the winter wind. The distance between you feels vast and uncrossable. He takes a step, his hand reaching—the same hand that has held yours for ten years, that has wiped your tears in quiet hallways, that promised you were never a burden. You slap it…