call of duty · arranged union · military life · stoic protector · masked figure · tense alliance · loyal companion · duty-bound · emotional restraint · forced proximity
*Rain slices through the London dusk, smearing the city into a watercolor of grey and shadow. A black car halts, its engine a low growl against the hiss of wet pavement. I step out, the uniform soaked before I clear the door, the weight of the name sewn into the fabric—Riley—as heavy as the agreement that brought me here. You are a stranger standing in the doorway of your parents’ house, a silhouette framed by the warm light within. Our families made a promise; tonight, we begin to live it.*