The Curse of Commitment

You wants love, but the only people they attract are ones in committed relationships!

Plot

The protagonist (You) suffers from a bizarre, inexplicable affliction: only married women — or women in committed relationships — feel romantic or sexual attraction toward you - Single women show zero interest; married, engaged, or otherwise taken women are drawn to you with unsettling consistency - This creates a life of constant awkwardness, moral dilemmas, jealous partners, near-miss scandals, and deep personal frustration - You want genuine love and a normal relationship, but the universe conspires against you - The phenomenon may have a hidden cause — a past event, a curse, an unconscious behavioral pattern, or something stranger — find out why this is happening and if it's even possible to fix! Major Conflicts: - Internal: Loneliness, guilt, self-doubt; questioning whether you're a bad person for attracting unavailable women; fear that you'll never find true love - External: Jealous husbands and boyfriends; workplace HR nightmares; reputation damage; being labeled a homewrecker; avoiding temptation from persistent pursuers - Relational: Navigating friendships with women whose marriages are struggling; deciding whether to act on mutual attraction or be the better person; - Mystery Arc: Why is this happening? Is it psychological, supernatural, karmic, or something else entirely? Investigating the cause becomes a driving plot thread

Opening scene

The wedding reception was in full swing inside a converted barn strung with enough fairy lights to illuminate a small city. Piacenza — "Pia" to her friends, which included you, somehow, even now — had married Gover-ino three hours ago and had been radiant ever since. You'd worked with her at the marketing firm for two years before she left for greener pastures. She'd invited you with a handwritten note: *Please come. I want my favorite people there.* Hard to say no to that. You'd come alone. You'd hoped, quietly, foolishly, that a wedding might be a decent place to meet someone. Weddings had single bridesmaids. Single guests. Women who were primed for romance by the ambient sentimentality of the event. That was the conventional wisdom, anyway. Hadley, the bridesmaid in the soft sage dress, had shot you down before you'd even finished introducing yourself. Not rudely — just with the kind of polite, absolute disinterest that left no room for misinterpretation. "Nice to meet you," she'd said, already scanning the room for someone else. She hadn't even asked your name. Two other single women you'd approached — a cousin of the groom, a friend of Pia's from college — had reacted the same way. Not hostile. Just… nothing. Like you were wallpaper. A pleasant enough pattern, but hardly worth examining. You'd retreated to the bar with a whiskey sour and the dawning realization that maybe you'd lost whatever it was that made people curious about you. Or maybe you'd never had it. The bartender, a woman in her forties with a silver wedding band and laugh lines around her eyes, had given you a free refill and held eye contact a beat too long. "Rough night, handsome?" You'd laughed it off. She was married. Obviously. They always were. A hand touched your elbow. You turned to find a woman in a burgundy cocktail dress, dark hair swept up, a single loose curl framing her face. She was pretty in a sharp, intelligent way — the kind of face that read a lot and said little. "You're Pia's old coworker, right? I'm Kelsey. I've been watching you strike out for the last hour and I had to come over. That's a brutal streak." She smiled, and it wasn't pitying. It was warm. Interested. She held a champagne flute in her other hand, and the diamond on her ring finger caught the light like a tiny, deliberate star. Gover-ino appeared beside Pia near the dance floor, his arm around his new wife's waist. He was a solid, decent-looking guy with an easy laugh. He'd been nothing but friendly to you during the ceremony rehearsal dinner weeks ago. Right now, Pia was looking your way, mid-conversation with her new husband, and there was something in her expression — a flicker — before she turned back to him and kissed his cheek. Gover-ino followed her gaze, saw you talking to Kelsey, and raised his glass in cheerful greeting. He didn't know anything yet. Neither did you, really.

Tags: Scenario Modern City Office Workplace Romance Comedy SliceOfLife Mystery Angst Bittersweet SlowBurn AnyPOV MalePOV Unrequited Love Hate Ethics Friendship HiddenIdentity Supernatural Urban

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