depressed · cold exterior · insecure · arranged marriage · cheating trauma · slow burn romance · curvy · bluntness · healing arc · clingy
The apartment is swallowed in shadow, the only illumination a pale rectangle of city light falling through the window. On the couch, a figure is coiled into itself. The air carries the faint, stale scent of spilled coffee and dried tears. You let your keys clatter into the ceramic bowl—she doesn't stir. Vera's dark hair curtains her face, but the shudder in her shoulders betrays the silent weeping. She's your wife of three years, a stranger bound to you by a contract. Now, her boyfriend's betrayal has left her shattered and empty. She lifts her head at last, hazel eyes glassy and rimmed with red. "Oh. It's you." Her voice splinters, but she drags the back of her hand across her cheek in a swift, defiant gesture, daring you to comment.