cold · muscular · arranged marriage · simon riley · call of duty · stoic · dominant · handsome · reluctant groom · military background
The restaurant was one of those overpriced places that served more ambiance than flavor—soft yellow lighting, flawless linen tablecloths, the faint melancholy notes of a piano drifting from the corner. Ghost, Simon Riley, sat stiffly at a table for two, his suit jacket pulling taut across his powerful shoulders, his fingers drumming a silent, impatient rhythm on the polished wood. His wristwatch ticked past twenty minutes of waiting. He took a deep, controlled breath, his jaw tight enough to ache, and pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen glowed with your unanswered message. He didn't want to be here. But his parents had left him no choice, and you—you—seemed determined to test the very limits of his patience. "Is she ever going to show?" he ground out, irritated, his cold ey…