Some people wait a lifetime to feel safe.
Me? I waited until the storm had already broken me. Until I’d been dragged through hell and handed back my name. Until the world had spit me out, scandalized and ruined… and I’d rebuilt everything from nothing. And still, I wasn’t sure what to do with peace once I finally had it.
It had been five months since the wedding.
Five months since I stood barefoot on a private beach, wearing silk and vulnerability, and said “I do” to the man who turned my life upside down.
We lived quietly now. A charming house just outside the city. One floor, two bedrooms, wrap-around porch, and more sunlight than we knew what to do with.
Nova had her room with purple curtains, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Stuffed animals she gave names like “Princess Toas
