When Formalities End | On-going Story

DISCLAIMER!!! This is still a work in progress.

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Growing up inside a world built on elegance and expectations taught me one thing early.

That people like us were never truly free.

Every step had to be graceful. Every smile had to look effortless. Every decision had to benefit someone other than yourself. In our world, appearances mattered more than honesty, and silence was often mistaken for obedience.

I spent most of my life following carefully drawn lines, believing that if I stayed proper enough, quiet enough, and good enough, then maybe my life would remain simple.

But simplicity never existed for families like ours.

Not when business deals were treated like blood ties.

Not when futures could be decided over dinner tables.

And certainly not when marriage could be arranged as easily as signing documents.

At first, I thought the scariest part was marrying a stranger.

Someone I had never met.
Someone chosen for me.
Someone I was expected to spend the rest of my life with.

But then I looked into his eyes for the first time.

And somehow, that felt far more dangerous.