Chapter 17
Three months after the wedding, something beautiful happened.
Mia smiled.
Not the small, careful smile she had been giving me since that night. A real, bright, joyful smile.
We were at the park near Rachel’s house. Mia was playing on the swings when another little girl came over and asked if she wanted to play tag. Mia hesitated at first, looking at me for permission.
I nodded.
She ran off with the girl, laughing as they chased each other around the playground.
I sat on the bench and watched her, tears stinging my eyes.
It had been so long since I heard her laugh like that.
Since the wedding, Mia had been quieter. More cautious. She still had nightmares sometimes and would wake up crying, asking if Grandma was going to hurt her again.
But today, for the first time, she looked like a normal eight-year-old girl again.
Free.
Happy.
When she ran back to me, out of breath and grinning, she threw her arms around my waist.
“Mama, did you see? I was the fastest!”
I hugged her tightly.
“I saw, baby. You were amazing.”
She pulled back and looked up at me with those big eyes.
“I like it here,” she said. “At Aunt Rachel’s. It’s quiet. And no one yells.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I’m glad you like it,” I said. “We’re going to find our own place soon. Somewhere just for us.”
Mia thought about that for a moment.
“Can it have a swing in the backyard?”
I smiled.
“We’ll see what we can do.”
That night, after Mia fell asleep, I sat on the porch with Rachel and cried.
Not because I was sad.
But because I finally believed that we were going to be okay.
May you like
Mia was healing.
And so was I.
