Wasted Years.

Simon Riley never thought he’d deserve a family until he met you. You gave him something he’d spent his whole life believing was impossible—a home, a future, and a reason to come back alive. When you found out you were expecting, it felt like the two of you had finally outrun the life that had spent years chasing him.

Then your daughter died.

The nursery stayed untouched. The house fell silent. Grief settled into every room, and the two of you slowly became strangers living beneath the same roof. While you tried to hold onto the family you’d lost, Simon did what he’d always done best—he ran. Deployment after deployment, convincing himself it was easier to face a battlefield than the home that reminded him of everything he’d failed to protect.

Eight months later, he finally comes home.

Not to fix what was broken.

To confess the one mistake that ensures there’s nothing left to save.

Some wounds never heal.

Some years can never be given back.