Sea of Temptation ; Simon Riley.

Sea of Temptation EXPLAINED !

Hello sunshines! Reading back the comments over some chapters made me realise that many didn't understand Scylla's pissed and bitchy behaviour; so in this chapter I will be explaining shortly everything that is important to me.

Starting from the first chapter to the evening party.

Scylla is trapped in her own past, still trying to move on from her mother's death. Yes, many years passed but why is she still grieving? Scylla witnessed her murder, right in front of her eyes, as a little child carrying bruises and wounds.

Jonathan (Scylla's father) has lost his sanity the day his daughter was born. He was obsessed over the fact that he needed a son to raise and be proud of, since he highly retains that women are made only to bare children. Shitty one, I know.

Scylla endures countless abuses from her father, very often locked in a basement and chained down to learn from her 'mistakes'.

What she went through was very heavy, a big burden to carry on her shoulders till death. Sometimes she dreams of that night and wakes up in tears, a racing heart and panic attacks.

After her father was arrested, her uncle (one of the Generals) and Joyce brought her in, took care of her until she turned in an adult and decided to volunteer for the army and got accepted into Special Air Service (SAS). During her training years she managed to clear up her mind, slightly move on and grow. Then she met John Price (her teammate) and quickly formed a bond with him -- they never got together, she wasn't interested into relationships and John didn't want to ruin the friendship by confessing.

In a mission with him, she went MIA, captured by the enemies and enduring other different tortures that left her more traumatised than she already was. The weeks she spent locked in there triggered her memories heavily and worsened her condition. As you can see, in a chapter, John has her records and reads them.

Scylla after being rescued, she takes a break from the SAS and decides to work as a station chief instead, still helping teams through missions.

After many years, a call arrives after she woke up with a hangover. Turns out it's Price that asks her to join his team to catch a dangerous threat: Vladimir Makarov.

She's different, all the time spent alone she had hidden herself inside a shell to avoid being hurt by others again. She acts rough, bitchy, gives attitude, she's rude to everyone that tries to get close to her. Just because she's scared, scared of what could happen to her again. 

So no. Scylla is not childish. She's not being too much. She's simply scared to death and she tries her best to push everyone away, just to not suffer and get stomped over her soft self all over again. She's too focused on protecting her suffering inner child that she doesn't notice the Task Force 141 actually wanting to care for her.

Going on with the story, Scylla's performance in the field is weak, she gets distracted easily and loses fights with the enemy. Sometimes she passes out and gets sent back to base by Medevac, whatever happens around her makes her think of her past, the pain, the tortures, all the times she suffered.

Especially during the fight with Arseni at the evening party. She gets triggered more and more, until she becomes her little inner child, scared and hurt.

Then the truth resurfaces. *Drums*.

From mid story towards the end.

Her name isn't Scylla, it's just her callsign to hide her dead name, not much of a dead name.

Meridia Wilson. A siren, a temptress. It's a play of meanings in this book since Scylla was a sea creature too. A reason to why I came up with the title 'Sea of Temptation'.

Okay, going on! A chemistry grows between the lieutenant Simon and Meridia, since the day she joined the team. It's an attraction that both can't get away from, and surely they can't deny it. Simon is deeply attracted to her, he breaks his own boundaries to get a taste of her and only God knows how addicted he became after that night in Soap's home office.

Meridia, on the other hand still pushes everyone away, including Simon. Another thing I'd like to highlight: NO, HE IS NOT RAPING HER. Some of you got it wrong. She tries her best to not fall for his seduction but there's no use, so she starts letting him in through her walls, she gives him consent all the time and Simon is not a disgusting man to take advantage of her.

There's this back and forth between them, confusing, paining, angering. They don't know how to love, how to show it besides glances and sex. Especially Simon, he was never good with words and only ended up hurting Meridia, but he genuinely never wanted to. They could find comfort from each other, sharing the same past and traumas.

FINALLY, they find each other. He understands that he already fell for her, that she's worth to love and let through his walls. Meridia is the only one that makes him feel safe and comforted.

On the last mission, she gets caught by Jonathan and kept locked in a trap house surrounded by Kong. Only there she gives a last push, a last try with all herself to give justice to her traumas and her murdered mother.

Meridia empties an entire mag on her father and tries to use the last bullet on herself, because she realises that in the end - even after doing justice to her mother - it doesn't ease the pain inside. No, she feels numb. She's too shocked to understand what's actually going on.

Simon appears, looking desperately for her and immediately stops her. He takes the gun away and hugs her.

The last chapter explains all her story and the aftermath of the rescue. 

Meridia sits on the hospital's rooftop with a cigarette, making Simon panic and look for her all over the building, "Fuckin' hell, almost had a heart attack down there." only to find her chilling. "I'm not suicidal, Simon."

In a few words, Meridia wants to heal and grow without hurting him or herself. So after receiving a birthday gift from him, she tells him the truth and he reassures her that he will wait for her.

Two years later, Meridia is found to work as a bartender with Soap's girlfriend. During a special event, she reunites with Simon.

So this was it, for everyone who didn't actually get the story and thought that Meridia was being too much.

I'm still writing the special chapter ++ resuming 'Fragments' my other Simon Riley fanfic.

Thank you again for everything!

Love, Rys.