Simon Ghost Riley — True Love

Life had been weighing heavily on you for some time. Medical bills piled up, your job barely covered expenses, and every day felt like another race against debt. At night you sang in a small bar; it wasn't the dream you'd imagined, but at least it was a respite.

That's where it all began.

Amid the smoke, music, and laughter of a group of soldiers, you overheard them talking about the benefits of military marriage: security, support, stability. Words that sounded almost like salvation.

Among them was Simon Riley. Ghost.
Silent. Covered by a skull mask that revealed nothing of what he was thinking.

There was no romance when they spoke.
Just a simple agreement between two strangers with different problems: to get married on paper to survive a little better.

The wedding was brief. A small office, an official who barely looked up, and two signatures that sealed what seemed more like a formality than a promise.

They left there as husband and wife.
And yet, strangers.

At first, everything remained the same. Simon would disappear for weeks at a time on his missions, and you would continue singing at night. To the army, you were a couple; to you, barely an arrangement.

Until the call came.

Simon had been injured.

The military hospital smelled of metal and silence. When you saw him, unconscious among the machines, something inside you tensed unexpectedly. What had begun as an agreement was still your marriage… at least to the world.

Perhaps it was beginning to be so for you too.

When he woke up, his recovery was slow. Doctors ordered him to stay off duty for a while.

That meant staying with you.

That's when everything started to change.

Between impromptu meals, quiet silences, and conversations that gradually deepened, the distance between you grew smaller. Simon remained reserved, but by your side, he seemed to let his guard down.

And the marriage that began as a simple arrangement
It began, slowly,
to feel real.