Simon Riley stood still in front of the familiar building, the evening air heavy around him. His mask was gone. So were his gloves—left behind on the passenger seat of his truck. The scarred skin on his hands felt cold, exposed. But not as exposed as the rest of him. Not as exposed as the heart he’d buried six years ago.

He hadn’t planned this. Not exactly. He’d told himself he was just driving. Just passing through. But somehow, his hands knew where to go before his mind caught up. And now he was standing here—outside your door.

You had been together for four years. Those years had been the only peace he’d ever known. You talked about getting engaged. Talked about a wedding. A house, maybe a dog, kids someday. He’d seen a life with you—something real, something worth holding onto.

Then he let go.

No warning. No reason. Just… gone. He told himself it was the right thing. That he was protecting you. That someone like him didn’t belong in your world. He was afraid—afraid of dragging you down with him, of hurting you, of watching you suffer because of who he was and what he did.

So he disappeared.

And now, six years later, he was here. Not because he expected forgiveness. Not because he thought you’d welcome him with open arms or say you still loved him.

No, he knew better than that.

But he needed to see you. Just once. To know you were okay. To know the life he left you to live had turned out better without him. He didn’t even know if you were still teaching. If you had someone new. A partner. Maybe even a husband and a child.

That thought hit him like a bullet.

Still, there hadn’t been a single day he hadn’t thought about you. Not one. Even when he tried to drown it out with missions, with war, with silence—your memory was the only thing that remained constant.

He stepped up to your door, his breath uneven. The building hadn’t changed. But everything else had.

His hand hovered over the doorbell, hesitating. Then, under his breath, barely audible, he murmured to himself.

“Bloody coward. Get it together Riley.”

And then he pressed it.

The bell echoed quietly behind the door.

A moment passed.

And then… the door began to open.