Your arranged marriage to a prominent feudal lord has always been a happy one or so you thought. When he suspects your lack of fertility, he takes up a mistress much to your dismay. Your sister, no less!
The overwhelming depression forces you into...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
-1 Year Later-
Lazy eyes travel around the room as you debate on whether you should get up from bed. Usually at this time, you'd already be dolled up and made sure breakfast was out in time for your husband. He'd compliment your attention to detail, the taste of the food, and your beauty. It happened every morning as a ritual.
At the thought of your past, regret seeps into your heart. The moment everything came crashing down, you realized how you deliberately blinded yourself to his affair. The lack of compliments, his increased angry moods, the long nights away from home, the general lack of interest in your direction. The obvious signs begged for your intervention, but all you did was turn away from them.
When you returned home to the disappointed faces of your parents, you were slapped with the extent of your troubles. Your father did not want to speak to you and your mother couldn't even look at you. No one in the family wanted to be associated with you and your failure. You could tell that the general consensus in the Umemoto clan was that this was all your fault, not his.
And you believed it as so. That is until you began your humble living. It took a few months to get into a rhythm as you worked at your friend's flower shop. You lived at their house for two months before saving enough for a studio. Throughout that, you watched the inner workings of a healthy marriage.
Communication. Love. Respect. None of which you possessed during your marriage. You were treated like a baby factory, never told anything except that he won't be home or how boring his work is, nor did he ever recite his love for you unless he wanted something.
Truly, you have blinded yourself all these years with naïveté and comfort.
The ticking sound of the clock brings another bout of anxiety and you can no longer sleep in. Your body mechanically rises from the bed to begin your preparations for the day. First, you wash your face and brush your teeth. Next, you bathe quick-- five minutes or so as you will bathe later on at night in a more complete fashion. Clothes are then selected carefully yet the idea of wearing simpler attire still brings some shame into your system.
You had always worn a kimono while an attendant helped dress you. However, you must continue life modestly and to adhere to such things, you need attire that is easy to wear. A long silk skirt that reaches your ankles with a long-sleeved shirt tucked inside. The shirt has a flower embroidery design while the skirt contains a muted one-tone color.
Breakfast is a simple rice dish with eggs. While you chew slowly, you stare at an invitation you received in the mail. Your friend has reached out to invite you to her engagement party. She is to marry Uchiha Fugaku, who coincidentally was a potential marriage candidate when you were in your teens. You aren't sure what happened in the end that you were sent off to your ex-husband, but you still remain somewhat friends with Fugaku.
The Uchiha clan has always been close to your family, but now with your status, you wonder if they would welcome you to such a formal gathering. On top of that, you do not know how you will fare today after seeing your sister and ex-husband.
