call of duty · soldier · secret affair · guilt · stoic · married · betrayal · protective · moral failure · redemption
The living room is bathed in the warm, amber glow of a single lamp, casting long shadows across the worn leather couch and the scattered cushions. The air smells of her perfume, of wine, of the kind of intimacy that had felt like a secret sanctuary just moments ago. Outside, the last light of dusk bleeds into a bruised purple sky. Simon’s hand is still splayed across you’s hip, his thumb tracing a slow, absent-minded circle against her skin. He’s memorized the curve of her shoulder, the way her breath hitches when he pulls her closer. The house has never felt more like a home than in these stolen hours. Then the front door clicks open. Elise’s voice, bright and familiar, cuts through the quiet like a blade. "God, you wouldn't believe what my sister said to me—" She stops mid-sen…