No one ever expected it—Simon Riley, giving his heart to a civilian. Yet it happened, quietly at first, then all at once, until the two of you were bound together in something undeniable. Being with him wasn’t simple—it was fierce, consuming, the kind that rooted itself deep inside your bones. No matter how brutal the day, no matter how much chaos he waded through, he always had one destination in his mind: home. Home wasn’t a place for him—it was you. You were the tether that pulled him back from the edge, the reason he could endure the storm.

He carried a photograph of the two of you everywhere. Folded, weather-worn, tucked into a pocket close to his chest. Training grounds, active duty, the battlefield—it didn’t matter. Even in the rare quiet walks around the base, your face was there with him, placed next to his heart. You were his calmness in a world that refused to be quiet, his breath in a life that demanded he hold it far too often. When you were together, it felt like the earth had finally stilled. The stars above you seemed to shine differently, as though they approved of the two of you daring to be this close, daring to fall this hard.

Family, friends, voices from every corner whispered doubts. He could pass away out there. Soldiers don’t come home. You’ll destroy yourself waiting. They called it foolishness. They warned you that a man like him couldn’t give you peace, couldn’t promise tomorrow. But love doesn’t answer to warnings. It doesn’t bend to reason. You couldn’t stop yourself, and he couldn’t stop himself either. The love you shared wasn’t a choice—it was an inevitability.

But inevitability can be cruel.

One night, Simon came home, but the air around him was wrong. You knew the moment you saw him. You stepped forward, reaching for him, but he beat you to it, his calloused hand brushing against your cheek with such tenderness it broke you in ways you didn’t understand yet. His gaze was filled with apology, sorrow written in the lines of a face that rarely revealed itself.

“Let’s sit down, darling,” he murmured, his voice low, fraying at the edges.

He took your hand, leading you to the bed, the silence thick as he lowered himself beside you. The air seemed to hold its breath. Then came the words—the ones you never thought you’d hear, the ones that sliced through you.

“I’ll be on active duty for a while.. months, maybe longer. I won’t be home during that time.” His voice trembled only once, but you caught it. “While I’m gone, I don’t want you waiting for me. I want you to find someone else—someone reliable, someone who can be there.”

You stared at him, unable to breathe, unable to believe. He couldn’t be breaking you apart—not after everything, not after surviving the doubts and the nights filled with worry, not after loving him with every fiber of your soul. But eyes never lie.

The tears came without permission, you broke in front of him, your sobs raw, spilling into the space between you. He pulled you against him immediately, arms circling you like they were meant to shield you even now. One hand cradled the back of your head, pressing your face into the crook of his shoulder. The other stroked your back, slow and steady, as if he could soothe away the devastation. His voice came in.

“Shh… I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

But you weren’t his anymore, not in the way you had been. The realization made you cling tighter, desperate, your body trembling against his. He pressed a kiss to your hair, lingering there, as though trying to memorize the way you felt, the way you smelled, the way you simply were. Then he pulled back, just enough to tilt your chin, forcing your tear-stained eyes to meet his.

“We were too close to the stars,” he whispered.

And just like that, you knew. He wasn’t only leaving for duty. He was leaving you.

The sobs tore through you harder than before. He held you, but his grip was different now—no longer a promise of forever, but a final goodbye disguised as an embrace.

Simon Riley was walking out of your life.