Not the Man I was Raised to Be (MxM & MxF)

The names Declán O'Rourke. And I used to know who I was. Before the noise. Before the blast. Before everything in me went sideways. Now? I’m a man patching himself together in a body that doesn’t listen the way it used to—taking orders from doctor's half my age and pretending I don’t feel the weight of it every single day. They tell me to heal. To rebuild. So I do what I’m told… even when it feels like I’m chasing a version of myself that’s long gone. Then they send him to me. Killian Byrne—too sharp, too observant, and far too bold for his own good. He’s meant to be my trainer. Meant to help me get my strength back. But he doesn’t just see the injury… he sees straight through me. Every crack. Every weakness I’ve tried to bury. And worse—he doesn’t look away. I have a wife at home. Ríona. The woman I’ve loved for eight years and I still love her. The one still fighting for us while I’m barely holding myself together. I should be grateful. I AM grateful. So why does it feel like I’m losing her anyway? Why does the house feel quieter, colder… emptier than it ever has? And why, for the life of me, can’t I stop thinking about him? It starts as nothing. A look. A joke. A line crossed just enough to make me notice. But the longer I fight it, the harder it hits. Because some things don’t stay buried. And some lines… once you cross them, there’s no going back.