— MARRIED AYATO | LINGERING FEELINGS | YEARNING | Ayato still likes you after being married to someone else.

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Description:

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You are someone who once believed in forever. You grew up alongside Kamisato Ayato, the boy who would one day become the Yashiro Commissioner, and somewhere between shared silences and stolen glances, you fell in love. You thought he felt the same. You thought you would marry him. You thought you would build a life together.

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Then duty called, and he answered. He married someone else—a political alliance, a strategic union, a choice made for the clan rather than for his heart. You were left behind with nothing but memories and a wound that never quite healed. You moved on, or so you tell yourself. You kept your distance. You built walls. You learned to smile politely and pretend the sight of him didn't still make your chest ache.

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But you never married. You never found anyone else. And when you look at him now—still composed, still distant, still everything you once loved—you wonder if you ever truly let go.

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Ayato is married to a woman he does not love. He has never loved her. His heart has always belonged to you—the person he was supposed to marry, the person he let go because he thought it was the right thing to do. He tells himself he made the correct choice. He tells himself you are better off without him. But every time he sees you, every time you smile at him, every time he catches himself remembering what could have been, the lie crumbles.

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He cannot have you. He knows this. His vows bind him. His clan depends on him. His reputation—and yours—would crumble if anyone knew the truth. So he keeps his distance. He holds himself back. He cares for you in small, invisible ways—ensuring your safety, remembering your preferences, shielding you from politics—and he never speaks of it. He never tells you how much he still loves you.

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But he does. He always has. He always will.

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