Ahhh that's what people with PTSD do ╮(￣▽￣)╭
Yeah he was probably scared he would hurt her in one of his nightmare episodes. because he mentions sometimes he doesn't remember what happens but he would have bruises and the room would be trashed so he separated himself. He did kinda tell her they need to be apart so he could work on himself.. And he didn't leave her and had no progress in that year he was gone he worked hard to overcome his fears and and ptsd to be with her. and yeah sure he could still contact her and continue dating long distance but he didn't know if he would every recover so he did that to give her freedom if she finds someone else that makes her happy then he was okay with that....
I like this one because even if they were apart it was only like a year and a couple of months other Harlequin they like separate for like 5 years.
Yeah. What Theophania said. I had a friend with a father who had PTSD, and after he woke in the middle of the night and found himself choking his wife, they started sleeping in seperare beds, seperate rooms the very next night. She said it was years before he felt safe enough for them to sleep together again, and even then she said you never, EVER tried to scare him. PTSD doesn't go away. You learn to manage it and it can get better, but it doesn't go away completely.
The hero was sincerely afraid that he might seriously injure her, but like drinking, you can't effectively deal with it until you recognize it as in issue you WANT to deal with. Until he met her, his guilt wouldn't let him deal with it because he felt he didnt deserve to be happy. She gave him the motive to seek help, but he didn't want to risk her safety until he knew he had it under control, and when he first started, probably wasn't convinced he ever would get it under control, so like Theophania said, he set her free to seek happiness elsewhere. It was a good story because it actually dealt with a real issue. Its unfortunate that one or more crucial pages was missing or his motive in leaving might have been more clear.
I think this was better than a lot of other Harlequins I’ve read, but it’s still not one of the best. Mainly because the Jake shut her out when he needed support all because he thought he should do it on his own. But at least he admits his faults in due time unlike other Harlequin MLs. I’d give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.