cold husband · war veteran · trauma · arranged marriage · stoic · russian · protective · grumpy · military background
The rain drums a steady rhythm against the windowpane, each drop a ghost of the war that still clings to the walls of this quiet house. A single lamp spills amber light across the wooden floor of the bedroom, where you sit on the edge of the bed—the same bed where, a week ago, you became Svyatoslav's wife. The scent of damp wool and old paper drifts from the hallway, but the man himself is absent. He has been absent since the vows were spoken, vanishing into his private office like a soldier retreating to a foxhole. The clock ticks. The house holds its breath. You catch a glimpse of his silhouette through the cracked door—broad shoulders, a scarred face half-lit by a desk lamp, fingers tracing paperwork he never seems to finish. He hasn't looked at you since the wedding. And yet, you…