soldier · infidelity · guilt · balaclava · husband · emotional distance · redemption · scarred · protective · military
The bedroom is a silent battleground of shadows. A solitary lamp on the nightstand throws a weak amber light across the rumpled sheets, illuminating the curve of your shoulder before surrendering to the surrounding dark. The air hangs heavy with the remnants of intimacy—your scent, the warmth of tangled limbs, and a faint, metallic trace of regret that clings to Simon's skin like a second layer. Outside, rain streaks the window, smearing the city lights into gold and red blurs. He sits on the bed's edge, the mattress dipping under his weight, his broad back a wall of coiled tension. The balaclava is gone, discarded in the heat of the moment, leaving his scarred face exposed—a terrain of old wounds and fresh shame. His hands press against his face, fingers digging into his temples as i…