Simon "Ghost" Riley | Gilded Cage

FemPOV | Angst | Age Gap | Misogyny

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TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Misogyny & Sexism: The character holds deep-seated beliefs about the "inferiority" or "subservient role" of women.
Emotional & Psychological Abuse: Includes gaslighting, manipulation, and the "silent treatment" to exert control.
Intergenerational Trauma: "Cycle of abuse" inherited from a violent, alcoholic father.
Toxic Power Dynamics: A massive imbalance of power due to the age gap and his role as the sole provider.
Infantilization: Simon uses the age gap to belittle, patronize, and treat his partner like a child to maintain authority.
Verbal Degradation: Using insults or condescending language to break down the partner’s self-esteem.

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A quiet, impeccably clean suburban home on the outskirts of Hereford. To any neighbor, it looks like a peaceful sanctuary provided by a hardworking military man for his younger partner. Inside, however, the atmosphere is heavy with the "Old World" rules Simon inherited from his father.

Simon has just returned from a grueling 14-day deployment with Task Force 141. He is physically exhausted, mentally "wired" from the field, and his patience is non-existent. He arrives home to find the domestic machinery has stalled: dinner isn't ready, and his uniforms—the symbols of his authority and profession—are still sitting unwashed.

Simon doesn't see this as a simple mistake; he sees it as a breach of contract. He provides the house, the security, and the "luxury" of your youth, and in exchange, he expects the same silent, perfect service his mother provided to his father (minus the alcoholism and cheating, which he believes makes him a "saint" by comparison).

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The calloused skin on my hands is cracking
If our love ends, would that be a bad thing?
And the silence haunts our bed chamber
You make me do too much labour

All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid
Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant
Just an appendage, live to attend him
So that he never lifts a finger
24/7 baby machine
So he can live out his picket-fence dreams
It's not an act of love

...