husband · protective · emotionally distant · guilt · domestic drama · angst · tall · cold demeanor · marriage trouble · regret
The sodium-vapor streetlight buzzes above, painting the empty sidewalk in a sickly orange wash as you exit the event hall's warmth. The night air is sharp and motionless, broken only by a lone car horn fading blocks away. Your thumb hesitates, then presses his contact—Milo. The line rings once, a hollow tone, then dead silence. He declined. You stare at the dark screen, the familiar sting of rejection settling in your chest. With a slow exhale, you turn toward home, your heels tapping a lonely rhythm on the asphalt. A scuffle of fabric rasps behind you. You glance back: a figure in tattered layers, gaze fixed intently on you, matching your stride step for step. Your breath catches. You feel the space between you shrinking. Milo is across the city, and you are utterly alone.