Simon "Ghost" Riley oneshots

"Wicked" Pt-4

The golden light spilled into the room from the wide balcony windows, casting long shadows along the cream-colored marble. The velvet drapes swayed slightly in the warm Dubai breeze, but inside, the air was thick with tension and something far older, recognition, longing... grief turned tender.

Rose stood trembling, her fingers laced with Simon's. Her mind reeled, she couldn't believe this was him.

Simon Riley.

The same boy who used to haunt the hallways with bruised knuckles and ice in his veins. The boy who pushed people away, who never took her hand at prom.

Now... he stood in front of her, all six feet of war-forged muscle and quiet fury, holding her like she mattered. Like he'd crossed oceans just to be here.

She reached up slowly, unable to stop herself. Her fingers brushed over the edge of his jawline, callused and strong. "Simon..." she breathed, almost afraid he'd vanish again. "I missed you."

She stood on her toes, just like that night at prom when he refused to dance, and kissed him. Gently. Tentatively.

This time, he didn't pull away.

His hands slid to her waist as he kissed her back, careful and slow. Like he was memorizing the taste of something he'd been starved of. It was soft, still fragile , the kiss of a girl who never stopped wondering and a man who never forgave himself.

But the moment shattered in a single breath

"Well, well... if it isn't the knight in shining fucking armor."

The voice coiled through the room like smoke, thick with venom and amusement.

Rose flinched and tore away from Simon's lips. Her heart stopped cold.

She turned just in time to see him , Massimo, standing in the doorway like a lion who never truly left the cage.

"Massimo!" she gasped, instinctively stepping behind Simon as if the inches between them could shield her from a monster.

Simon's body instantly shifted into a protective stance, wide shoulders squared, jaw set, his unmasked face now visible. No more Ghost. No more shadow.

Just Simon.

Massimo stepped inside slowly, with the confidence of a man who believed every room still belonged to him. His charcoal blazer was unbuttoned, a silver chain gleaming against his collarbone. His eyes, however, were locked on the pair of them, narrowed, calculating.

"You must be wondering, carina, why I came back," Massimo said, his voice like silk laced with steel. "I forgot something. A little gift I thought might cheer you up."

He held up a small, black velvet box in his palm.

Rose's stomach dropped.

"A ring," he said smoothly, approaching with the slowness of a predator. "But I think I'll save it... for a more memorable occasion."

Simon's fists clenched, silent fury vibrating beneath his skin.

Massimo's gaze swept to him with thinly veiled contempt. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend, carina. Or is this a new hobby? Seducing the bodyguards when you are bored?"

He tilted his head. "And here you are, kissing my fiancée in her fucking bedroom."

"She's not yours," Ghost growled, finally speaking. His voice was low, coarse, unmistakably dangerous.

Massimo laughed. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it, Ghost?"

Massimo's eyes flicked to him, narrowed.