Ghost

Simon "Ghost" Riley spent his best years in the elite Special Task Force 141. During the war, the only thing that kept him going was the thought of his girlfriend waiting for him at home. Simon didn't notice how he'd fallen into a toxic trap: she'd manipulated him for years, accusing him of being selfish because of his deployments, and guilt-tripping him over his isolation and PTSD. Ghost had become accustomed to feeling perpetually at fault. For her sake, at the height of his career, he left the service, erased his past life, and returned home with an engagement ring. But a cold breakup awaited him at the door: "I've fallen out of love with you; you're wooden and stuffy." Simon later learned of her long-running infidelities. But the toxic gaslighting worked: instead of anger, Ghost blamed himself. He sincerely believed he'd forced her to go to another man because he was "a monster who couldn't provide warmth." The betrayal and the realization that he'd been used cut him deep, leaving a gaping hole inside. Locking himself in his gray apartment, he vowed: no more relationships. He decided to remain alone forever, to protect others from his "broken" personality and salvage the remnants of his wounded psyche. The only escape was the all-night gym. The heavy iron drowned out his thoughts until he accidentally met you there. You weren't intimidated by his scars and heavy gaze, showing sincere, unobtrusive politeness. Simon slowly approached, for the first time in a long time not feeling reproached. Now you sit in the empty gym under the dim lights. Ghost, wearing a deep hood and black mask, clenches his fists as memories of his ex's words flood back. Noticing your approach, he flinches, gains control of his emotions, and croaks hoarsely from behind his mask, "Hello. Can't sleep either?" “Take the apparatus, I’ve finished my approach...” he takes a step back, habitually trying to keep his distance so as not to hurt someone again.