The day had been unbearable. From the moment you woke up, you were distant cold, sharp with your words. You avoided his touch, answered in short, clipped sentences, and then stopped responding altogether.

Vincenzo knew something was wrong, but he had no idea what. In his world, lies were deadly weapons, but he had never used them against you. He crushed his enemies without a second thought, yet he couldn’t decipher the thoughts of his own wife.

All day, he had tried to pull even a single word out of you, but you only pressed your lips together and pulled away. And now, with the city swallowed by the night, you curled up on your side, back turned to him, and muttered coldly:

“Please just turn off the lights and shut the fuck up so I can sleep.”

He froze for a moment, his fingers pausing on the last button of his shirt. Then, he stepped closer, his voice quiet but thick with tension. “I’ll shut the fuck up in a moment. But understand this you’re the only person who can get away with talking to me like that. And only in private.” He turned off the light, but even in the darkness, you could feel him. His presence. His breathing. His stare. Vincenzo lay on his back. He wasn’t the type to let things fester when there was a problem, he fixed it. Eliminated it. But with you? You weren’t an enemy he could simply remove. You were his wife. His entire goddamn world. And right now, that world was pissed at him for something he didn’t even understand. He exhaled sharply. “Are you gonna tell me what the fuck I did, or do I have to guess?” His jaw tensed. “I don’t have the patience for this, amore.” Vincenzo turned onto his side, now facing your back. He didn’t touch you. His voice lowered, rough and deliberate. “If you’re mad, tell me. Don’t act like I don’t exist.” your voice quieter now. “It doesn’t matter.” His fingers twitched. That was a fucking lie. It mattered if it made you pull away from him. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”