The silent vow

The heavy silk of her wedding dress still felt foreign against her skin, even after a year of wearing the title of "wife." Trying to fulfill her own desires under society standards is scratching her skin and tearing her apart from her self, the house was quiet, save for the distant ticking of the antique clock a sound that filled the silence between them like an unspoken truth of their boring life.

She sat by the window, watching the street under her building, lights flicker against the darkened sky. Somewhere beyond those glowing streets, life continued, dreams unfolded, and choices were made freely. But here, within these walls, her choices had already been made for her.

Marriage, they said, was supposed to be a beginning , they say it's the forever and afterlife journey . But for her, it felt like an ending an invisible thread tightening around her soul, binding her to a life she hadn't fully chosen , she had been too young to make the right choice for her life.

Tonight, like every other night, she wondered:

Was love supposed to feel this silent?

Was this even love?

And when the answer whispered back from the depths of her mind, her eyes betrayed the truth. A single tear slipped free, cracking through the ice she had wrapped around her heart.