Third Person – Ren The next morning Ren woke to an empty bed and a folded note on the nightstand. Kai’s handwriting was neat, controlled, almost cold. 'I have to go out for work. Reya will come up and stay with you. Rest.' No endearment. No promise of when he would return. Just instructions. Ren sat on the edge of the mattress for a long time, the paper resting loosely between his fingers. The suspicion that had been living under his ribs since the attack settled heavier now, solid and familiar. Kai would rather leave than stay inside a marriage he had never truly wanted. The emergency, the distance, the short messages—it all made a quiet, painful kind of sense. He moved slowly because of the bruises, but he moved with determination . From the closet he took a soft duffel and began packing the few things that still felt like his: the worn jeans, two shirts, the small sketchbook he had kept from before the wedding, the lace pairs folded carefully at the bottom. He did not
Last Updated : 2026-08-04 Read more