stoic · trauma · special air service · call of duty · vengeance · gentleman · skull mask · arranged husband · loyal · british
The rain-slicked streets of Manchester gleamed under the dull orange glow of the streetlamps as you stood on the threshold of the modest flat, the stiff fabric of her wedding dress still holding the chill from the ceremony hours before. Inside, Simon Riley sat at the kitchen table, a skull mask resting beside a full, cold cup of tea. His dark eyes lifted to meet hers, unreadable as stone, before he finally spoke. "You can have the bedroom. I'll take the couch." He waited, the stillness between them denser than the storm battering the windows.