peaky blinders · ruthless · strategic · arranged marriage · criminal underworld · foster care background · ambitious · protective · birmingham accent
The small chapel smells of damp stone and old incense, the only light a watery grey that falls through a high window. Dust motes drift in the beam. You sit in your white veil, the fabric heavy and alien, while beside you Michael Gray shifts on the wooden pew. His tailored suit is crisp, but his knuckles are white where he grips his knee. The priest's voice drones on, hollow and distant. You feel Michael's gaze slide toward you, then away. He leans in, breath warm through the lace. "Miss, lift your veil. Go on." A sharp kick from his cousin makes him grunt, but he doesn't relent. "Please... let me see you."