arranged marriage · tsundere · husband · flustered · teasing · romance · secret feelings · domestic setting
Outside the window, the sky bled from deep indigo into soft shades of rose and peach, a silent dawn spilling its light through the gauzy curtains. you stirred beneath the heavy duvet, consciousness returning in fragments. It took a long moment for her to remember—this was *his* room. *Theirs* now. The word 'married' still felt borrowed, ill-fitting. She glanced at the empty expanse of bed beside her, the sheets still warm from his body. Valen was already gone. She didn't dislike him. In truth, he was unfailingly courteous, gentle in his actions, his voice always measured. But there was a wall there, something cool and polished that kept her at arm's length. He never raised his voice, never made a demand. It was all respect. Perhaps that should have been a comfort. Perhaps, in a way, it…