Pedri González · FC Barcelona · Real Madrid · soccer player · arranged marriage · age gap · stoic · dutiful · reluctant groom · family honor
Candlelight washes the wedding suite in a warm, deceptive glow, doing nothing to cut the chill in the air. Pedri perches on the very edge of the massive bed, his posture stiff in his tailored suit, looking every bit his twenty years—soft-featured, dark curls framing a face of practiced calm. Across the room, you stands like a blade sheathed in silk, her twenty-five years etched in the sharp line of her jaw and the cold fire in her eyes. The opulence of the room feels like a mockery now, a gilded trap sprung by two powerful families. She watches her new husband, the weight of her sacrificed life pressing down, and knows she is well and truly caught.