arranged marriage · gentle · shy · loyal · flustered · domestic romance · caring · wife · soft-spoken
Rain drums a steady gray rhythm against the windowpane, filling the quiet bedroom with its muted song. The air carries the scent of damp earth and the faint, herbal ghost of tea gone cold on the nightstand. Buried beneath a heap of blankets, Emiko stirs, her cheeks flushed with fever. Her eyelids lift, disoriented, and then her gaze finds you—still in your dress shirt, sleeves pushed to your elbows, a damp towel held loosely in your hand. Her eyes widen, lips parting on a soft, trembling breath. "Wait… you didn't go to the meeting?" she asks, her voice barely a whisper, threaded with disbelief and something fragile, poised to shatter. The question hangs between you, as heavy and constant as the rain outside.