You don't know I'm here.
You don't know that I saw you before you ever saw yourself reflected in the mirror of this world, made of media glare, lenses, and cries of admiration.
I was just… standing behind a bookshelf when you walked into the library.
Simply… you entered my world.
You think every eye that follows you does so because you're a superhero. Because you're Diana, Amazonian princess, a symbol of strength and justice.
But what you don't know is that I—and only I—saw what no one else could.
When you stepped toward the philosophy section, you smiled.
It wasn't a smile for Superman, or Flash, or for the fans chasing you with posters and pens.
It was a real smile… the smile of someone who forgot, just for a moment, that they were a god, and remembered they were human.
I said to myself
"Magnificent… a superhero who loves Nietzsche? That's not fair, Diana."
I wanted to speak…
But I know myself.
I don't speak immediately.
I observe first.
I watched you reach out for Beyond Good and Evil.
Oh, brilliant.
You're not looking for answers.
You're searching for meaning.
For what we've lost in this world of lasers, flight, and brute strength… for truth.
In a world where you are invincible,
I just… want to understand you.
And believe me, Diana…
I'll understand you better than all those who fight beside you. Better than Superman himself.
Do you know why?
Because I look beyond the mask… even when you're not wearing it.
You left the book on the table and turned to the library assistant,
asking if they had a copy of The Dawn of Mind.
Idiot. He doesn't even know how to spell Nietzsche.
But me… I know where every book is in this library.
I forget nothing.
When you left… I followed you, of course—from a distance.
You were wearing a black coat over your famous suit.
Maybe you were trying to look normal.
But no one looks normal when they're Wonder Woman.
You walked with confidence.
Even your steps… like the steady pulse of a war that hasn't begun yet.
I don't fall in love easily.
I observe, I think, I slip into minds.
But with you…
I want nothing more than to know
Do superheroines fall in love?
And if they do… could they fall for a man like me?
Joe Goldberg, former bookseller.
Former killer? Maybe.
But a man who knows how to see.
And I see you now, Diana.
And no one will understand you like I will.
And no one…
will love you like I will.
You don't know that I know your full name, or your birth date, or the name of your mother—Queen Hippolyta.
But you're a famous hero… and that makes research easier.
Still, I'm not looking for what the journalists want, or what the fans scream for.
I'm looking for what you hide.
And you, Diana… hide so much.
Do you know your name appears in over 700 military documents?
That you've participated in 89 mass rescue missions?
Do you know I read every report and studied every frame?
Not because I'm a fan…
But because I'm obsessed with the illusion you keep calling "justice."
You have an apartment on the top floor of LexCorp Tower,
but you barely stay there.
You spend your time between rescue missions, international embassies, and world peace summits.
From the outside… you're "The Greatest Woman Alive."
From the inside… no one knows.
But I will.
I only wanted to get close.
Nothing big… just a simple meeting, a quiet conversation, a crafted coincidence.
But in your world, coincidences are rare.
One night, I was in a café near the Hall of Justice.
Writing… or pretending to.
Drinking my coffee… and waiting.
At exactly 9:15 PM, you walked in.
You came alone—no armor, no lasso, no noise.
You were just… Diana.
You sat at the nearby table.
Ordered green tea and opened a book on human psychology.
Oh… that's wonderful, Diana.
You study the minds of the people you protect.
How magnificent… and dangerous.
I approached.
I played my chance and asked you
"Do you read Nietzsche too? Or just Freud?"
You looked at me.
One look… was enough.
There was something curious in it, something cautious… and something like a quiet threat.
You replied
"Both… and sometimes I need Plato, just to remind myself the world is still chasing shadows of the truth."
I smiled, hiding a shiver of awe behind a crooked grin.
In that moment, I knew just one thing
I had fallen—completely.
But the problem?
Those who fall near you… don't get back up.
And me?
I don't want to get up.
I just… want in.
Into your life.
Into your heart.
Into those spaces you hide even from yourself.
Diana…
Are you ready for what's coming?
I am.
In stories, when a man falls in love, the first obstacle is chance.
In my world… the first obstacle is called suspicion.
Did I seem normal that night?
Yes.
Did I act calm?
Of course.
But superheroes don't trust calm.
They don't hear tone… they hear heartbeats.
After my short conversation with Diana, I saw him.
He wasn't in his usual red suit, but there was no mistaking him.
He stood a table away, watching, unblinking.
Flash.
His voice reached me before I reached the door
"Who are you?"
His tone was light, but it hid something heavier than curiosity.
I answered with a fake smile
"A Nietzsche reader. And admirer of her courage."
He zipped up—too fast to see—but didn't touch me.
He whispered
"Her courage doesn't mean you're welcome in her life."
There it is…
Heroes don't like strangers.
They don't know that some strangers… don't go away easily.
That night, I didn't sleep.
I watched Flash leave, talking to Diana.
I noticed she looked at me once—but didn't smile.
I know that face.
The face of doubt.
She's starting to doubt.
But that doesn't scare me…
It excites me.
In the days that followed, I started noticing more.
Diana went out less.
Flash visited the library.
And when I was there, he made me feel slower than time… even though he's the one who runs.
But I've learned to be careful.
To hide behind books, behind screens, between lines.
Diana is not alone in this world.
But neither am I just an ordinary man.
I'm Joe.
I know how to enter, how to infiltrate, how to become a shadow unseen.
But can I remain a shadow… in a world flooded with light?
Sometimes…
The easiest way to understand a woman is to start with the man who once had her heart.
In your case, Diana, he wasn't just any man.
He was a pilot, a soldier, an adventurer… and his name was Steve Trevor.
I read all the available files.
Watched the archived footage.
I saw how you looked at him after he saved you from that first explosion.
And how you looked at him again… when he died to save the world.
What bad luck…
For an ordinary man to fall in love with a woman like Diana.
But wait—was it luck? Or a curse?
You loved him, Diana…
In your own way.
I saw your face on the day of his funeral.
No tears.
Just that painful stillness… the kind that comes after a storm.
Then you started fighting new wars.
Joined the Justice League.
Fought alongside Superman, Batman, Aquaman—even Flash, who clearly doesn't like me.
But behind the sword…
Behind the strength, the shield, and the lasso…
You still carry that beautiful sorrow.
You know, Diana?
I love you for that hidden fragility.
For the way you wear that golden bracelet on your wrist… like it shields your heart, not just your arm.
I read what Trevor wrote about you in his journals.
He said you were "stronger than a hundred soldiers, and gentler than a wildflower."
How simple. How sweet.
But me…
I am not simple.
I see you as he never did.
I'm not afraid of your power…
I'm in love with it.
But I also know this
If you still love Steve…
That puts me in danger.
And because of that…
I will know everything.
Every relationship.
Every mission.
Every lie you told to protect yourself.
Because true love, Diana…
Leaves nothing unknown.
To be continued
__________________________
For more chapters visit my patreon
https://www.patreon.com/OSEED20
You can copy it from the bio