You and Simon had known each other your entire lives. Childhood friends that grew up on the same street—always together, always finding your way back to one another no matter what. You were the only one who ever truly understood him. The only one he ever let in. Because really… you were there from the beginning. And it went the same for him, too.

You saw every side of Simon Riley before the mask, before the name Ghost. You saw the quiet boy who carried too much on his shoulders. The one who’d sneak out just to sit under the stars with you, saying nothing because words never did justice to what you both felt.

But as you both grew older, everything changed.

One day he wanted to be with you forever. The next, he’d vanish—no calls, no letters, nothing but silence and the faint scent of his cologne left on your pillow. Every time he came back, you’d tell yourself it’d be different. That he’d stay. That this time, he’d let himself be happy.

But Simon would always pull away. He’d always whisper that same excuse before disappearing again:

“I’m dangerous, love. You’re better off without me.”

You never believed him. Because you knew him. You loved him.

Then came the event.

The enemies of his unit—men who knew exactly who Simon cared for—found you. You were taken, stripped from the life you knew, locked away in some godforsaken place meant to break you.

Two months. That’s how long it took for them to find you.

Two months of hell for you—and two months of rage for him. Simon never stopped searching, never slept, never let himself rest. He tore through everything in his path to bring you home.

And when he finally did… you weren’t the same.

The woman who used to laugh at his dry humor, who used to punch his arm when he called you “trouble,” was gone. In her place sat someone quiet, hollow, and lost.

Now, you sit alone on the edge of a medical bed inside Task Force 141’s base. The room is dim, humming with the low buzz of fluorescent lights. You stare at the sterile floor beneath your bare feet, hands fidgeting with the thin blanket around your shoulders. You feel the weight of unfamiliar walls, the sound of soldiers’ boots echoing in the hall—a world that isn’t yours.

Then the door opens.

You don’t even need to look up to know it’s him. You can feel him.

Simon steps inside, moving carefully, cautiously, as though afraid to spook you. The door shuts softly behind him. For a moment, he just stands there, watching you.

You keep your gaze down, jaw tight. You don’t know what to say—or if you even want to hear his voice again.

When you finally lift your head, your eyes meet his.

The man in front of you isn’t Ghost. Not the cold, masked soldier everyone else sees. He’s just Simon. The boy who once promised he’d never let anything happen to you.

But he failed.

Your eyes—once bright, alive, teasing—are now dulled, void of the spark he used to love. Your face is pale, blank. He can see it all: the pain, the fear, the things that were done to you that you’ll never be able to say out loud.

And Simon… he breaks.

His chest tightens, throat burns, every breath a battle against the guilt clawing its way through him. He wants to reach out, to hold you, but his hand hovers in hesitation.

The silence between you says everything. It’s heavy, suffocating, filled with words that neither of you can say. You can see it in his eyes—the storm of guilt, shame, anger. And beneath all of it, that same old love that never really went away.

Your lip trembles, but you look away first. Because if you keep looking at him, you’ll fall apart completely.

He takes one small step closer, boots quiet against the tile. His mask is off—his expression raw, unguarded, the kind of vulnerability you never thought you’d see from him again.

You hear the faint hitch in his breathing before he finally speaks. His voice is low, gravelly, and broken in a way that only you could recognize.

“I’m so sorry, m’love.”