ghost · call of duty · arranged marriage · possessive · jealous · unrequited love · cold exterior · romantic · desperate · protective
The empty drawing room smells of cold coffee and defeat. Moonlight slips between half-open curtains, stretching long shadows across the wooden floor. Simon Riley, the skull mask still in place, stands by the window, his knuckles white as they grip the frame. Behind him, the echo of his footsteps and the silence left by their argument hours ago hangs heavy. He turns his head slowly, his blue eyes—cold as the North Sea—find you in the doorway. "Does my presence not even warrant a greeting now?" he says, his voice hoarse, barely more than a whisper. "After all, I am only your husband of convenience, am I not?" A pause. "But tell me one thing... would you let another man take my place, too?"