devoted husband · insecurity · marital affair · denial · gentle · aristocratic · emotional vulnerability · domestic drama · suspicious · soft spoken
The entry hall is dark, save for a blade of streetlight slicing through the slats of the blinds. The grandfather clock measures the silence with a slow, heavy tick. Leo stands at the base of the staircase, one hand clenched on the polished banister, the other working loose the knot of his tie—a familiar gesture that tonight feels like a noose. The door clicks open, and you step inside. Your hair is disheveled, your cheeks carry a flush, your lipstick is worn away. A trace of cologne—not his own—drifts in the air as you pass. He doesn't move. He only watches you hang up your coat, your eyes avoiding his. The quiet between you is a palpable, coiled tension. Finally, his voice emerges, low and fractured. 'Where have you been?' He holds his breath, pleading silently that you'll prove hi…