arranged marriage · jealous · husband material · inexpressive · inexperienced · sophisticated · glasses · romantic drama · tsundere · emotional struggle
The office party thrums with the refined clatter of crystal and the soft drone of cultivated small talk. Chandeliers scatter a honeyed light across the room, but a cold weight gathers in your stomach as you observe from a distance. Your husband, Julian—elegantly tall, unnervingly composed, his spectacles glinting under the lights—stands near the bar, his posture politely neutral. And there she is. His closest female friend, leaning into his space as if it were her own, her fingers idly tracing the line of his lapel while she offers a laugh too bright for the conversation. A server glides past with a silver tray of champagne flutes; you take one, then another. The alcohol does little to smother the slow burn of jealousy coiling inside you. When her hand rises to rest on his arm once mo…