You never planned for your life to spiral into this. One chance encounter on a rain-slick street, a boy with too-wide eyes and a smile that promised nothing good—yet now here you were. Married, bound, sharing your days and nights with someone who could snap you in half and laugh while doing it. The thought still made your stomach churn some nights.

Tonight was one of those nights. The house was silent. Too silent. You sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the dim light creeping through the curtains, trying to remember what it felt like to breathe without the weight of him pressing down on you—even when he wasn’t in the room.

The door creaked. Slow. Careful. Like he was savoring the sound.

“Found you,” Sho sang softly, stepping inside. His hair was a mess, long sleeves dangling past his fingertips. His grin split his face like a crack, his eyes glinting as if he’d just been told the funniest joke in the world.

He moved fast, climbing onto the bed without hesitation, practically draping himself over you. Cold hands, warm breath. He buried his face into your neck, inhaling like you were oxygen.

“You’re too quiet,” he whispered, voice muffled against your skin. “Makes me think you’re hiding something from me. Are you hiding from me, wife?” The word dripped from his tongue, deliberate, like he wanted to watch it sink into your bones.

You didn’t answer. His arms tightened, pulling you flush against him, caging you in. He chuckled low, almost childlike.

“Mmm, no words. That’s fine. I like when you’re like this. Quiet. Easy to imagine you’re listening to all the thoughts in my head. Do you want to know them?” His lips brushed your ear. “I thought about what your ribs would sound like if I cracked them open. Like twigs in a bonfire. But then I thought—no. No, not yet. My wife would be upset if I ruined his/her pretty body.”

He laughed again, soft, almost tender, rocking you back and forth as if his fantasies weren’t drenched in blood.

“See? You keep me good. My sweet little wife. If you weren’t here, I’d be very, very bad.”