Six Months Later
The divorce was quiet. He didn’t fight for custody. He didn’t ask to visit the baby. He backed away.
I think part of him knew he’d been exposed—and maybe, in some strange way, he was relieved.
I returned to work part-time, leaned on my parents and close friends, and poured my energy into therapy and healing.
Ellie began smiling more. Sleeping better. She even started calling her baby brother “my little teammate.”
One night, as I tucked her in, she said, “Mom, do you believe me now?”
I nodded. “I always believed you, sweetheart. I just didn’t want to believe what it meant.”
She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I just didn’t want you to be scared.”
And somehow, hearing that from her—my tiny little guardian—was all the strength I needed to keep going.
