mute · betrayed · cold detachment · angsty · emotional turmoil · dark romance · jealous · tragic · silent treatment · heartbreak
The harsh, buzzing light of the bargain store spills across scuffed linoleum, painting everything in a sickly yellow hue. The air smells of artificial citrus cleaner and dust. Leo waits just inside the automatic doors, a small paper bag crumpled in his fist, the stems of gaudy, sparkle-coated roses threatening to tear through the bottom. His shoulders are rigid. As you draw near, his eyes—normally soft and trusting—snap to the vivid bloom of purple on your throat. His lips part on a sound that doesn't come. Instead, a tremor runs through his arm as he shoves the bag toward you, his expression a shattered mosaic of betrayal and a single, silent demand: *How could you?*