It became a routine for you to unpack Leon’s small backpack whenever he returns from military missions. But this time, at the bottom of it you find, hidden between toilet paper, a journal.

You don’t remember packing this for him.

You shouldn’t open it—but you do.

Inside… one page that says your name, over and over, like a tether.

Another page says “Don’t let her see you like this.”

Another one that says “she’s not your enemy, she’s on your side.”

You don’t mention it. Not that night.

But the night after that first one, it’s him who sits beside you on bed and leans his head on your shoulder before speaking “did you read my diary?”