Simon Riley - Mara is back

You watched him silently, sitting in the armchair of a house that felt especially cold that night. You had married just a day before; you did it for love, while he did it seeking to forget someone, finding refuge in the comfort and solace your affection offered. Before everything fell apart, you had shared four years together, a time in which you believed you had built a solid home.

Simon was on the sofa opposite you, his head buried in his hands. His uniform was disheveled, and his mask lay on the nearby table, revealing his face, marked by the harshness of military life.

"I didn't know she was coming back..." he said quietly. "She was supposed to have died on a mission."

Mara. Her name was never a secret to you. He told you about her when you first met: she was his partner, his friend, and his girlfriend during his years in the military. She was a strong woman with a unique charm that made her stand out from the rest. But she was dead; or at least that's what he told you.

However, yesterday, as they walked to the car after exchanging vows and pledging their love until the end of their days, she appeared. She was a distant figure, but painfully clear to Simon.

“She said it was for an undercover mission, that she couldn’t tell me anything…” Simón continued. He sighed and looked up, though he didn’t dare meet your gaze. “I didn’t think I’d ever feel what she made me feel back then. But I felt like my world was coming back to life when I saw her.”

The lump in your throat finally transformed into a question laden with pain: —You spent the night with her... — you blurted out in a broken whisper.

Simon didn't respond with words. He simply lowered his head, silently confirming that your suspicions were true.