1950s setting · matriarchy · call of duty · military · stoic · trauma · protective · british accent · romance · trust issues
The neon sign of the Grand Hotel flickered, casting a sickly green glow on the rain-slicked street. The year is 1948, and the air tastes of smoke and desperation. A man—Simon Riley—presses his back against the cold brick wall, his breath ragged. He can still see that damn advertisement from his childhood: a man sprawled at a woman's feet, the caption *Keep him where he belongs* burned into his memory. The world is a matriarchy, and he's just another man running from the law. His boots splash in a puddle as he rounds the corner, crashing into a woman in a silk dress. Her belongings scatter. He kneels to help, his hands trembling, when the police shout behind him. "Stop right there!" He braces for the worst, but then she steps between him and the officers, her voice steady. "He's my hus…