Chapter 16
Hope was five years old and Gabriel was two when we decided to move.
We bought a small farm outside of Boulder.
Rolling hills.
A big old house with a wraparound porch.
A barn.
Plenty of room for the kids to run and play.
We got horses.
Chickens.
A dog named Max.
It was the kind of life I had always dreamed of.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Safe.
I cut back on my legal work.
I still took cases, but only the most important ones.
I spent more time with the foundation.
More time with my children.
More time with Nathan.
We were happy.
Truly, deeply happy.
One afternoon, I was sitting on the porch watching Hope and Gabriel play in the yard.
Nathan came out and sat beside me.
He handed me a glass of iced tea.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
I smiled.
"I was just thinking about how lucky we are. About how far we've come."
He put his arm around me.
"We've been through hell, that's for sure. But we came out the other side. Stronger. Better."
"We did."
I was quiet for a moment.
"Do you ever think about them? About what would have happened if things had been different?"
"Sometimes," he said. "But not often. I try not to dwell on the past. I'm too busy enjoying the present."
He was right.
The past was the past.
It had shaped us.
But it didn't define us.
We had built something new.
Something beautiful.
And that was what mattered.
That evening, after the kids were asleep, Nathan and I sat on the porch again.
The stars were bright.
The air was warm.
"I have something for you," Nathan said.
He pulled out a small box.
I opened it.
Inside was a necklace.
A silver chain with two charms.
One was a star.
The other was a scar.
"It's from your book," he said. "Scars and stars. To remind you of everything you've survived. And everything you've become."
I put it on.
I touched the charms.
"I love it."
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too."
We sat there in silence for a long time.
Watching the stars.
Listening to the crickets.
Holding hands.
And I thought about everything that had led us to this moment.
About the pain.
The betrayal.
The loss.
But also about the love.
The hope.
The healing.
I thought about my baby.
The one I had lost.
I hoped he or she could see us now.
Could see the good that had come out of such horror.
Could see the brother and sister they would never meet, but who were alive because of the strength their loss had given us.
I thought about Megan.
Rotting in prison.
Paralyzed.
Alone.
I didn't hate her anymore.
I just pitied her.
She had spent her whole life trying to destroy me.
And she had ended up destroying herself.
I thought about George and Patricia.
They had gotten exactly what they deserved.
They had chosen Megan over me.
And Megan had destroyed them all.
I squeezed Nathan's hand.
"Do you ever regret it?" I asked. "Fighting back? Going through all of that?"
He looked at me.
"Never. Because if we hadn't fought back, we never would have gotten here. We never would have Hope and Gabriel. We never would have helped all those people. We never would have become who we are. The pain was terrible. But the result is worth it."
He was right.
It was worth it.
All of it.
Because here we were.
Together.
In love.
Surrounded by our beautiful children.
Living the life we had always dreamed of.
The scars would always be there.
May you like
But so would the stars.
And that was more than enough.
