@goldenretriever069: Winter had known about the arranged marriage long before Karina did. When their parents announced it over dinner, everyone expected protests. Karina gave one. Winter didn't. She simply lowered her head and quietly said, "...I'll do my best." Because for Winter... It wasn't a punishment. It was the miracle she'd secretly wished for ever since she was sixteen. Being engaged to the person you loved should have felt like a dream. Instead, it became a lesson in loving someone who didn't love you back. Winter woke up early every morning to make Karina coffee. Karina rarely drank it. Winter waited after work to drive her home. Karina often chose to go out with friends instead. Winter remembered every anniversary. Karina forgot almost all of them. Still... Winter never complained. She kept believing that maybe, one day, Karina would look at her the way she looked at everyone else. One rainy evening, Winter stood outside Karina's office holding an umbrella. "I thought we could have dinner together." Karina barely glanced at her. "I'm busy." "I can wait." "You always wait." Winter smiled softly. "I don't mind." Karina sighed. "...You don't have to try so hard." "I'm not trying." "I'm your fiancée." Winter's voice was almost a whisper. "I just wanted to see you." Months passed. Winter continued leaving little notes in Karina's lunch. Buying her favorite desserts. Remembering every tiny detail. Karina accepted all of it as if it were simply Winter's responsibility. She never once asked why. Everything changed the night Karina finally exploded. She had just returned from another exhausting day. Winter had stayed up to cook dinner. The food had gone cold. "You waited again?" "I wanted us to eat together." Karina slammed her bag onto the couch. "Can you stop doing this?" Winter blinked. "...Doing what?" "Acting like we're some happily engaged couple!" The room fell silent. "I never asked for this marriage!" Winter stood frozen. "I'm tired of coming home and seeing you trying so hard!" "I'm tired of feeling guilty because you keep expecting something I'll never be able to give!" "And stop looking at me like that!" Karina's voice cracked with frustration. "I'll never love you, Winter!" Silence. Heavy. Painful. Winter didn't cry. She simply nodded once. "...I understand." Then, for the first time in years... She stopped trying. The next morning... There was no coffee waiting for Karina. No lunchbox. No reminder to bring an umbrella. No text asking if she'd eaten. Nothing. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Winter remained kind. Polite. Respectful. But distant. She no longer waited outside Karina's office. She no longer reached for her hand. She no longer looked at her with quiet hope. It was as if she had carefully packed away every feeling she'd ever had. Karina told herself it was better this way. So why did the apartment suddenly feel so empty? One evening, Karina came home soaked from the rain. She instinctively called out, "Winter?" No answer. Then she remembered. Winter no longer waited by the door with a towel. She had stopped months ago. It wasn't one big moment that changed Karina. It was a thousand little absences. No sticky notes on the fridge. No extra blanket placed over her when she fell asleep on the couch. No birthday cake at midnight. No quiet "Drive safely." No "Text me when you get there." She realized something terrifying. Winter hadn't been asking for attention. She had simply been loving her. One afternoon, Karina opened a drawer looking for documents. Instead, she found dozens of tiny things. Movie tickets. Receipts. Photos. A notebook. Curious, she opened it. The first page read: "Things that made Karina smile." Every page was dated. "She laughed when the café got my order wrong." "She looked beautiful in blue today." "She finally slept without nightmares." "She thanked me today." "Best day ever." The last entry was from the night of the argument. "Today Karina told me she'll never love me." "I think... it's finally time to love her quietly." "From a distance." (Continuation in comments) #winrinaau#au

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Sunday 19 July 2026 11:33:19 GMT