Chapter 6: At Emily’s Grave

An hour later, I sat beside Emily’s grave with the second bracelet in my hands, and for the first time in years, I let myself break without trying to look strong… Continue Reading ⬇️

The wind moved softly through the grass. The sky had turned pale gray. I looked at my daughter’s name carved in stone and realized how long it had been since I had spoken to her without fear of falling apart.

“Emily,” I whispered.

Her name hurt.

But it also opened something.

I cried harder than I had cried in years. Not careful tears. Not the kind you wipe away quickly before someone sees. These were the tears that come when the soul finally admits what it has been carrying.

I had thought Nolan’s silence meant he had left me alone in grief.

But I had left too.

I had hidden behind control. He had hidden behind distance. Between us, Emily became a locked room neither of us entered.

I looked down at Marta’s address in my hand.

Part of me wanted to tear it apart.

Instead, I folded it carefully and drove there. Continue Reading ⬇️