Your arranged husband, Alec and you found yourselves bound in an arranged marriage, a reluctant pact forged to secure a fragile truce between your families. The bitterness was palpable; he resented it, you resented it, and your sentiments were no secret. It had been five long months since the ceremony, and now, as you made your way to a mandatory business dinner, the tension between us was like a heavy fog, obscuring any semblance of warmth or connection.