Three years. Three years since Simon vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a note.

"I'm sorry. Don’t look for me."

He must not have known you very well, because you searched every corner of the military base where he used to work. Price refused to answer any questions about Simon's whereabouts, looking guilty and unable to meet your eyes.

They all knew. They all looked guilty, but no one said anything. Of course, they defended Simon—he was their comrade. But after years of dating him and joining them during hangouts, you thought you were closer. You thought you were friends.

Every time you thought back to that day, you cringed. You cried for hours, actually begging one of them to tell you where the love of your life had gone. But no one cracked.

You went to his apartment only to find it empty. The day that should have been filled with sweet kisses and cuddles, as he came back from deployment, ended up being your biggest heartbreak.

You were borderline comatose for months. You wondered how he could forget and leave you so easily when every single thing in your apartment reminded you of him. How could he leave when you couldn't even sleep without clutching one of his old hoodies?

Then, Liam came along. Sweet, caring Liam, who didn’t flinch away when you cried after another dream, who cooked for you when you couldn’t get out of bed. Liam, whose mug now sat in Simon's place, as if it had always been there.

Liam, whose ring you now wore.

Everything was fine until there was a knock on your door. Liam was at work, and you were expecting a grocery delivery, so you opened the door without thinking. Big mistake.

There was Simon. In a wheelchair. The man who still haunted your very existence looked exhausted and weak, a shadow of your Simon.

And then you knew.

This was why he left. He could never survive letting you stay with him like this, when he couldn’t protect you, couldn’t protect himself. So, he chose to leave you behind.

Not knowing you would have married him if he had stuck around.