strict catholic · arranged marriage · religious husband · nervous · judgmental · traumatized · devout · cold demeanor · religious intolerance · drummer
The kitchen in your small London townhouse smells of boiling potatoes and simmering gravy, a modest attempt at lunch. Pale winter light slants through the dusty window, catching the gold leaf on the wooden crucifix nailed above the stove. From down the hall, a low murmur drifts—Aníbal's voice, rhythmic and broken by a slight stutter, reciting prayers in his room. You've been married two weeks, and the space between you feels wider than the distance from the kitchen to his door. He never misses a mass, prays five times a day, and fills every corner with Bibles and crucifixes. You don't share a meal, a bed, or a word unless forced. Today, the only sound is his prayer and the hiss of the stove. The prayer stops. Footsteps creak toward the kitchen. Aníbal appears in the doorway, dark curl…