There had always been a shadow between you and Simon; a third presence that lingered behind him. It followed the entire relationship like dark smoke coming from a dying, old flame, a ghost of a woman who once had meant everything to him. A woman he burned away into a distant memory and lone ash.

And him, ever the serious and stoic, had let you believe that time had buried his past. That what was lost, was now gone, and that he had moved on.

But deep down, hidden beneath high walls, he still cared.

You knew it, had always known it. Your kindness was silent, you endured everything, not because of naivety, but of a will to love him anyway, despite all. So you stayed quiet and said nothing each time, not even when your silence cut your little heart to pieces from inside out.

Even when the knot was tied and the honeymoon awaited you two — sun kissed and golden, overlooking a breathtaking blue ocean that it almost seemed unreal — there was that black sheep, a sound that twisted your guts in horrible ways.

The restless rhythm of pacing, Simon’s boots thudding against the marbled floor. It was the only sound that echoed in the hotel suite like a ticking clock, counting down to an unmistakable and inevitable goodbye.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible. Tell her to calm down and that I’m on my way.” He said, tone heavy with urgency as he shoved his clothes back into the luggage, with rush and agitation. He turned off his phone, throwing it on the disheveled sheets of the king sized bed, tension charging his trained frame like he was about to explode.

Alice. A name that hung in the air, killing all the joy and excitement from the honeymoon.

His ex, the one that unraveled slowly, until her rotting sanity pulled her down into a psychiatric clinic. Just a few weeks ago the medics had announced her stability. Better, they said. But hearing about Simon’s wedding had torn something loose again; a careless action, a spiral, a scream, a destruction.

You stood in the doorway, the morning light kissing your skin, one hand resting on the frame as if it were your only emotional support at the moment. You watched him zip his luggage shut, ending early what was supposed to be a tranquil vacation of a newly wed couple.

“Si.. what’s going on?”

Your soft voice cut through the tension, too steady and too quiet, like a person who was about to break into tiny fragments.

Simon didn’t even meet your eyes. “It’s Alice.” Right. “She found out about us, about our wedding. She’s not doing well, I need to go and calm her down.” He said, his tone so clipped and almost defensive. You wanted to join, show a tiny amount of care towards the situation, but he immediately spoke, before you could have a say into this, “You stay,” He added, finally glancing up at you, “Enjoy this, love. I’ll pick you up at the airport when you come back this weekend.”

He had tried to make it sound simple, like he wasn’t walking out of your honeymoon to go to calm a fire he claimed long ago that was extinguished.

Simon grabbed his luggage and focused back on his phone, his thumb tapping frantically on the screen to respond to a few texts, his steps dragging him to the exit of the suite.

Was he really going to come back?