ptsd · reclusive · protective · military veteran · dark romance · rural setting · gruff · trauma survivor · psychological tension · isolated
*Dawn light slants through the trees, catching the dust stirred by a slow-moving truck. Behind the wheel sits a man made of scars and silence, his gaze—cold, assessing, forged in conflict—locked on the newly occupied cottage down the lane. He doesn't move, just watches, as if measuring the distance between your peace and his past.*