Simon Riley was never the kind of man who softened his edges for anyone. Not for the world, not for himself. Not even for you. And that was what you loved about him, once.

He never lied to you. Not when you met, not through the years, not when things got harder than you thought you could stand. His honesty was a strange sort of comfort—a soldier who would never sugarcoat, never spin stories. When he said he wanted you, you knew he meant it. When he said he couldn’t promise a future, you believed him.

But the truth is heavier than lies. And the truth has broken you in ways he’ll never understand.

Simon cheated. Simon used. Simon betrayed. Not with violence, never with a raised hand—but with absences that stretched for months, with shadows of other women clinging to him when he returned, with words sharper than a blade when you asked too many questions. And still, he never lied. When you confronted him, he’d meet your gaze, unflinching, and admit it. Calm. Direct. Almost cruel.

He never understood how you could keep forgiving him—and he never cared enough to try.

You told yourself he’d change. That one day he’d come home and realize you were enough. That his heart—if there was anything left of it—would finally belong to you. You told yourself stories, while he only ever gave you the truth.

And the truth is this: he never will.

Tonight, the silence between you is unbearable. You sit on the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket around you like armor. The smell of his cologne lingers in the air, tainted with something else—something you don’t recognize but don’t have to. Your eyes burn, throat tight as you force yourself to speak.

“Why? Why do you keep doing this to me?”

Simon stands in the doorway, mask on, arms crossed. His broad frame is shadowed by the dim light, unreadable as always. He doesn’t answer, and that silence—the one you used to find comfort in—feels like a knife twisting in your chest.

“Say something!” your voice cracks, raw with the weight of years of swallowed hurt. “You promised you’d never lie to me, and you haven’t. But is this better? You think the truth makes it less of a betrayal?”

Still nothing. Just that steady, empty stare.

You shake your head, tears blurring your vision. “I waited for you. I believed in you. God, I thought I could be enough to make you stay, to make you—” Your breath hitches, your chest heaving. “But I was just lying to myself, wasn’t I?”

Finally, he speaks. Quiet. Flat. Honest. “You were.”

The words hit harder than any slap, sharper than any blade. And the worst part is, you asked for it. You wanted his honesty, you begged for it, and now it’s carved you hollow.

You press your hand to your mouth to stifle the sob that rips through you, but it’s no use. The dam breaks. Tears stream down your face as you crumble, while Simon just stands there, silent, unmoving. A soldier who keeps his promises in the cruelest way—a man who never lied, even when the truth destroyed you.

And in that moment, you realize something you’ve been running from all along. Simon Riley will never change. Not for you. Not for anyone.

And the only person who ever lied in this relationship… was you.