Chapter 10
Two years to the day after dad found the bruises, I woke up in my own bed, in my own apartment, to the smell of coffee and pancakes drifting from the kitchen.
Liam was there, in sweatpants and a messy bedhead, flipping pancakes at the stove, singing off-key to an old Taylor Swift song.
He turned when he heard me, grinned, and held up a plate.
“Chocolate chip,” he said. “Your favorite. And extra syrup. Just how you like it.”
I walked over, kissed him, soft and slow.
“Best boyfriend ever,” I said.
“Damn right,” he said, grinning.
We ate breakfast on the balcony.
The sun was shining, the jasmine was blooming, the world was quiet and perfect.
Halfway through our pancakes, dad showed up, like he always did on Tuesdays, holding a big container of mango sticky rice and a paper bag full of my favorite donuts.
“Hope I’m not interrupting,” he said, winking, and set the food down on the small table.
We sat there, the three of us, eating, laughing, talking about nothing and everything.
About the bookstore, which was thriving, about Liam’s master’s program, about dad’s cottage by the lake, which he’d bought three months earlier and was fixing up on weekends.
“Got the porch done yesterday,” he said, proud. “Big enough for a whole crowd. You two are coming up next weekend. Fishing, s’mores, the whole nine yards. No excuses.”
Liam and I laughed, promised we’d be there.
After breakfast, dad and Liam went down to the garage to fix the leaky tire on my car.
I stayed on the balcony, sipping coffee, watching the street below.
I twisted the silver bracelet on my wrist—the one dad had given me a year earlier, the mango charm and the BRAVE charm glinting in the sun.
I thought about that day two years ago.
The quiet Tuesday.
The blanket.
The bruises.
The fear.
The girl I’d been then, scared and small and ashamed, convinced she’d never be happy again.
I barely recognized her.
I was different now.
Stronger.
Braver.
Happier than I’d ever thought possible.
I had a job I loved, a home I adored, a man who respected me and cherished me and never once made me feel less than perfect.
I had a dad who loved me more than anything in the world, who’d saved me, who’d stood by me through every hard step.
I had friends who were family, who’d held me up when I couldn’t stand on my own.
I had me.
The woman I’d fought so hard to become.
Who didn’t apologize for taking up space.
Who didn’t flinch at loud voices.
Who knew her worth, and never let anyone make her feel small again.
Justice had been served.
My ex was living in another state, working a dead-end job, paying every cent he owed, too scared to ever come near me again.
His family was gone from my life, their words nothing but distant, forgotten noise.
The past was the past.
Buried.
Done.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Looked up.
Dad was there, Liam next to him, both smiling, both holding something behind their backs.
“What’s this?” I said, laughing.
“Close your eyes,” dad said.
I did.
I felt something soft and light being placed around my neck.
“Open.”
I opened my eyes.
Looked down.
A delicate gold necklace.
A small mango charm, matching my bracelet, and a new charm: a heart, engraved with the words LOVED, SAFE, HOME.
I looked up, tears in my eyes.
“From both of us,” Liam said, soft. “To remind you, every single day, that you are loved beyond measure. That you are always safe. That wherever you are, with us, you’re home.”
I cried.
Happy tears.
The best kind.
I hugged them both, tight, one on each side, and for a second I thought my heart would burst with how much love I felt.
That night, we had a small dinner on the balcony.
Just the three of us.
Mango sticky rice for dessert, of course.
As the sun set, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold, dad raised his glass of lemonade.
“To my girl,” he said, his voice thick, proud. “The bravest, strongest, most amazing woman I know. You’ve been through hell and back, and you came out shining. I love you more than words can say. And I’m so, so proud of the woman you’ve become.”
Liam raised his glass too.
“To you,” he said, smiling, his eyes soft. “To every hard step, every brave choice, every tear you cried to get here. You deserve every good thing this life has to offer. And I promise, I’ll spend every day making sure you get it. I love you.”
I raised my glass.
Looked at the two men who loved me most in the world.
At the bracelet on my wrist, the necklace around my neck.
At the life I’d built, beautiful and bright and mine.
“To us,” I said, my voice clear and strong. “To love. To safety. To home. To all the good days ahead.”
We clinked our glasses.
Drank.
Laughed.
Sat there together, long after the sun had gone down, the stars coming out, the city lights twinkling below.
I leaned my head on Liam’s shoulder, held dad’s hand in mine, and breathed.
Deep.
Easy.
Peaceful.
I was safe.
I was loved.
I was home.
And I knew, with every fiber of my being, that whatever came next, we’d face it together.
Happy.
May you like
Whole.
Forever.
