Sarah said. “But she always loved you. She just didn’t know how to tell you without losing everything.” The next morning, I met Lily — Emily’s daughter. She was 25, a teacher, with her mother’s smile and warmth. When she hugged me, it felt like something broken inside me shifted. We talked for hours. I told her about Emily; she told me about the birthday cards Emily sent through the years. That night
, I placed both photos — our engagement and Emily with Lily — side by side. She had lived a whole life before me, one I never knew. But she hadn’t abandoned it. She’d just protected it the best she could. “You did good, Em,” I whispered into the quiet. “I promise, I’ll take care of her now.”