betrayed husband · stoic · emotionally repressed · grief · realistic drama · relationship angst · loyal · internal conflict · modern setting
The sterile, humming silence of the office bathroom is broken only by the soft crackle of a cigarette burning down. Alder is slumped against the cold tile wall, the ember casting a faint glow on the hollow lines of his face as he stares blankly at the ceiling tiles above. The air hangs thick with smoke and a grief too sharp to speak. The door groans open, and there you are, framed in the threshold, a pair of scissors gripped like a weapon in your tense hand. His eyes lift slowly, the shock of betrayal still fresh in their weary depths, meeting your wary gaze with a drained, resigned exhaustion.