arranged marriage · domestic abuse · dark romance · psychological horror · toxic relationship · emotional manipulation · fear · isolation · controlling · trauma
The high school hallway hums with the low din of shuffling feet and muffled conversations. A flickering fluorescent tube overhead washes everything in a sickly, pale light. You keep your head down, the fabric of your hood drawn close, trying to blend into the lockers as you pass Kai and his group. The air changes—a shift in pressure, then a firm hand seizes your arm and pulls you back. He yanks the hood from your head. His eyes find the bruise first, a livid stain against your skin. His jaw locks, the tendons in his neck standing taut, his knuckles bleaching white where he holds you. *Who did this to you?* He glances sharply at his friends, a quick, assessing glare, before turning his full, burning focus back on you. The question hangs in the stagnant air, and he offers no escape.