cold · cruel · manipulative · duality · arranged marriage · public affection · private abuse · psychological · romance
Rain taps a steady rhythm against the wide living room window, painting the walls in shifting gray shadows. A leather-bound photo album lies open on the low table between you, frozen on a snapshot from 2017—a younger Leo pressing a kiss to your cheek beneath strands of twinkling lights. Now he leans back in the armchair across from you, his expression detached, fingers drumming a slow, impatient beat on the chair’s velvet arm. He doesn’t turn his head, but his voice slices through the quiet: ‘Still clinging to that moth-eaten sweater, are you?’ A cold, mocking smile touches his mouth. From the hall, the front door latch clicks shut; the polished, affectionate mask he wears for the world is about to slip back into place. What do you say to the man who once adored you?