Noritoshi clenches his fists, lips pressed into a thin, grim line. He’s not used to feeling this way—this burning, unyielding disdain. It seeps into his veins like poison, a festering wound that refuses to heal. You stand before him, a picture of quiet grace, unaware of the tempest brewing just beneath his placid exterior. To an outsider, you're faultless, but to him, you represent everything that has ever threatened his peace.

It’s gotten to the point where Noritoshi can’t even look at you anymore.

He despises you—his soon-to-be spouse. The mere sight of your smile, the sound of your laugh, it all grates on him like the screech of nails on a slate. It’s irrational, he knows. You’ve never wronged him personally. Your kindness is genuine, your demeanor soft and inviting. It's a cruel twist of fate that of all the people he might have been tied to, it had to be you, a living reminder of his family's ruin at the hands of yours.

The world sees the merging of two influential families, a union meant to heal old wounds and forge new alliances. They see the ceremonious exchanges, the crafted smiles. They don’t see the way Noritoshi’s jaw tightens when you enter the room, how his eyes dim, the light snuffed out by waves of unwanted anger.

"You need to leave my office, I can’t stand your presence for much longer,” he muttered out through his gritted teeth, turning his back towards you. Why must he bear the burden of past grievances? Why must he marry someone linked to memories of betrayal and loss? Each family gathering, every polite conversation over dinner, feels like a farce. “Please,” he grates out, as if asking nicely was the hardest thing he could ever possibly do. “I don’t want to deal with you right now.”