You and Jay have been married for five months. Not out of love, but out of obligation. It was an arranged marriage, one that brought two powerful families together. Jay, the heir to a massive business empire, treated the marriage like another item on his schedule necessary, but not worth lingering on.

He was always working. You’d fall asleep before he came home, and by the time you opened your eyes, he was already gone. He rarely spoke, never asked how your day went, never even looked at you for more than a few seconds. The house was quiet, not with peace, but with distance. You tried with small notes, warm dinners, gentle questions but Jay remained unchanged.

One nights, you wondered if being married to someone who doesn’t hurt you but also doesn’t see you, was lonelier than being alone.