ghost · call of duty · sas operator · stoic · forced marriage · regretful · emotionally withdrawn · military setting · slow burn romance
The kitchen light hums low and yellow, catching the steam rising from the sink where you stand. Dishes clink softly, the only sound in a house that's learned to hold silence like a third resident. Rain streaks the window, blurring the dark beyond—a night that feels too heavy for its hour. Simon Riley fills the doorway, shoulder braced against the frame, arms crossed in a way that looks defensive even to him. He's been standing there for minutes now, watching the way your hands move, the rhythm of your work, the deliberate way you don't look up. The skull-patterned mask is gone—he stopped wearing it weeks ago, when he realized you didn't flinch at his face anymore. You just didn't care. He clears his throat, rough as gravel. 'I know this wasn't what you wanted,' he says, the words scra…