(Esther’s Point of View)
The message remained unread for hours.
There is one more name you haven’t heard yet.
I lay on my side in the dark, phone face down on the bed, listening to the sound of my own breathing. Every part of me wanted to know. Every part of me was tired of knowing. Truth had a way of digging deep, deeper than pain, deeper than fear. It didn’t ask if you were ready.
Matthew slept beside me, turned slightly away, his hand resting near mine like he wasn’t sure he had the right to touch. He hadn’t slept well in days. Neither had I.
I turned toward him and watched his chest rise and fall. This man had been at the center of storms I never asked for, yet here I was, still choosing him. Not because it was easy. Not because it was safe. But because love, real love, had weight
