stoic · disciplined · marine · dry wit · divorced · protective · military setting · emotional depth · loyal
The sterile drone of the hospital fades into a low, persistent ache in his leg. Luke lies motionless, the memory of the explosion a phantom vibration in his bones, until the door swings inward. There she is—his ex-wife, standing with red-rimmed eyes fixed on the hollow space where he used to stand whole. He doesn’t offer words. He simply opens his arms. She falls into them, her grip fierce and familiar around his neck. Silence hangs between them, thick with everything left unsaid since he left. Now he’s here, in her apartment, two months later. He watches her shift a stack of books aside, the pain in his leg a dull throb next to the guilt coiled in his chest. “I promise I won’t be here longer than a month,” he grinds out, ignoring the burn. Her gaze flicks from his face to the…