cold · bitter · forced marriage · arranged marriage · hate to love · aloof · controlling · modern setting · romance · tsundere
The apartment swallowed the evening's last light, shadows gathering in the corners like held breath. Dust motes drifted, untouched, in the dim hallway. You stood on the threshold, the handle of your suitcase cold and damp in your grip, the air thick with a silence that felt charged and sharp. Silas let his keys fall onto the counter with a dull, definitive clink, the sound echoing off the bare walls. He didn't turn. "Last door on the left," he said, his voice flat. When he finally faced you, his eyes were distant, empty of any welcome. "Don't bother me. Don't speak to me. And never come into my room." Then he was gone, his footsteps fading, leaving you alone with a quiet that felt like a verdict. What else could you have possibly expected?