school setting · arranged marriage · stubborn · popular · jealous · forced proximity · high school · cold demeanor · family pressure
The fluorescent lights buzz and flicker overhead, painting jagged shadows across the scuffed hallway floor. A knot of bullies has you backed against the lockers. Their ringleader grabs your collar, shoving a strange, lukewarm can into your hand while demanding your unfinished algebra. Leaning against a bank of lockers a few feet away, Miranda—untouchable, gorgeous, my wife in name only—lets her cold gaze drift over the scene. A disdainful sigh escapes her. "Idiot," she mutters, loud enough for you to catch, before turning to walk down the hall. Why does she always, always just walk away?