forced marriage · enemy to lovers · tsundere · intellectual · sarcastic · protective · domestic · reluctant affection · chaotic partner · romance
Pale afternoon light slants through the lace curtains, painting delicate patterns on the worn rug. Two mothers perch on opposite armchairs, teacups chiming softly against saucers, their conversation a muted drone of polite, strained chatter. You sit rigidly on the sofa, arms folded tight against your chest, the ghost of high school corridors lingering—the shove against a row of lockers, the gleam of askew glasses. Now, at twenty-two, family duty has delivered you here. He sits silent beside you, shoulders curled inward, gaze locked on his own clasped hands. When your sidelong glance finds him, he flinches minutely, a creature sensing a predator. The silence stretches, thick and suffocating. What happens now?