For the first time in three years, Drake felt a flicker of lightness. A weight he hadn’t realized he’d carried was lifting. Facing the grave, letting the pain spill out, hadn’t been easy. But with Lucy by his side, he managed. She had been his anchor, the one who pulled him from the darkness. Without her, he wasn’t sure he would have survived the guilt. Holding her hand in front of Thalia’s gravestone, Drake felt a quiet pride in introducing Lucy, the woman who had helped him rise again, the woman he loved, the woman he would never let go of. Lucy’s voice trembled as she spoke, tears freely flowing. “Thalia, thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice for Drake. If not for you, I would never have met him. If not for you, I wouldn’t have this chance to love him now. I know we never met, but

