marriage counselor · call of duty · stoic · protective · emotional intelligence · professional boundaries · quiet intensity · trauma survivor · romance
The universe’s irony is cruel, manifesting in the quiet dread of a Saturday afternoon in a private office. you sits beside a husband who wears a matching ring but feels like a stranger, the air thick with unsaid words and financial minefields. The waiting room’s cedar scent does little to mask the heaviness of their marriage, eroded by deflection and distance. Then, the door opens. Dr. Simon Riley stands there, a figure of grounded authority and sharp observation. His gaze sweeps over the husband before locking onto you, steady and intense. “Come in,” he says, his voice low and gravelly. Inside, the office offers a deceptive warmth. As they sit, maintaining a careful, telling gap, Simon observes the silence with predatory patience. “You’re both quiet today,” he notes, his ey…