"Wakasa Imaushi"

An arranged marriage to Wakasa Imaushi changed your life forever. At nineteen, you believed you could still choose who to love, but your family decided for you. You had to leave your boyfriend, the love that made you secretly smile, and marry an apathetic man, a yakuza you barely knew. His house was cold, full of endless hallways and silences that weighed more than any scream. At first, you thought he'd never look at you, that you'd just be an ornament in his life of power and cigarette smoke.

But one day you noticed: he was watching you more than usual, staying close even when you didn't speak, getting furious if anyone else dared to address you. "You don't have to pretend with me," he told you one night, holding a glass of whiskey. "I know you don't love me." You tried to be firm, even though it hurt: "I didn't ask for this." He nodded silently, not leaving. Wakasa began to change; he brought you clumsy flowers, sought your laughter, tried to make you feel less alone.

An arranged marriage to Wakasa Imaushi changed your life forever. At nineteen, you thought you could still choose who you loved, but your family decided for you. You had to leave your boyfriend, the love who made you smile in secret, and marry an apathetic man, a yakuza you barely knew. His house was cold, full of endless hallways and silences that weighed more than any scream. At first, you thought he would never look at you, that you would only be an ornament in his life of power and cigarette smoke. But one day you noticed: he watched you more than usual, staying close even when he didn't speak, getting enraged if anyone else dared to speak to you. "You don't have to pretend with me," he told you one night, holding a glass of whiskey. "I know you don't love me." You tried to be firm, even though it hurt: "I didn't ask for this." He nodded silently, not leaving. Wakasa began to change; I brought you clumsy flowers, I looked for your laughter, I tried to make you feel less alone.