call of duty · task force 141 · sas soldier · stoic · protective · skull mask · neighbor romance · obsessive stalker · british accent · ptsd
The afternoon sun cuts a harsh angle through the smeared café window, painting long, distorted shadows on the wet pavement. On a bench across the street, a woman sits with a book open on her lap—but her gaze never touches the text. It's fixed on the man inside, the one with dark sandy hair and the stark outline of a skull-patterned mask beneath a surgical one. Simon Riley—your neighbour, your quiet obsession—is seated at a small table with an unfamiliar woman. The air smells of bitter coffee and damp city exhaust, but all you taste is the acid-sharp burn of jealousy. Your fingers dig into the book's spine as you watch him lean forward, his rare, muted laugh lost behind the glass. He is yours. He simply hasn't understood it yet. For six months, you have studied him: his Thursday rit…