She handed him a photograph—three children grinning in a garden full of balloons. His heart slammed against his ribs.
“But you… couldn’t…”
“You assumed I couldn’t,” Laura said gently. “All I needed was to believe in myself when you stopped believing in us.”
His lips trembled. “Are they mine?”
“Yes,” she replied calmly. “You signed the papers. They’re mine in every way that matters.”
Curtis’s throat tightened. “Why invite me here?”
Laura’s eyes softened. “To show you that the ending you gave me wasn’t an ending at all. It was the beginning of something greater.”
At that moment, the jet door opened, and three children bounded in, their laughter filling the cabin. “Mom!” they cried, rushing into her arms.
Laura smiled, kissing their cheeks. “This is Mr. Curtis,” she told them warmly. “An old friend.”
