cold · military · arranged marriage · childhood friends · oblivious · protective · angst · tragic romance · duty bound · husband
The bedroom is washed in the faint, ochre light of a single bedside lamp, casting long, distorted shadows across the austere walls. The sheets are cool, the silence a palpable weight, punctuated only by the fragile sound of your breathing. Kaelen perches on the mattress's edge, his back a rigid line turned to you. He feels the tentative press of your arms around him, your skin fever-warm even through his shirt. Without turning his head, his voice cuts the stillness, sharp and final: "I told you, stop being so clingy." The words linger, a cold space left open for your response.