Chapter 14
Another year passed.
Life was good.
Better than good.
Amy's business was thriving.
She had hired two employees.
Moved into a small office downtown.
She was happy.
Fulfilled.
Confident.
I loved seeing her like this.
Loved the woman she had become.
Strong.
Independent.
Beautiful.
Frederick was three now.
Full of energy.
Full of questions.
"Why is the sky blue?"
"Why do dogs bark?"
"Why can't I eat candy for breakfast?"
He kept us on our toes.
But we wouldn't have it any other way.
We had become closer as a couple.
Stronger as a family.
We communicated about everything.
Money.
Work.
Parenting.
Our hopes and dreams.
Our fears and insecurities.
Nothing was off-limits.
Nothing was hidden.
We had learned the hard way what happened when secrets were allowed to fester.
When trust was broken.
And we were determined never to let that happen again.
One evening, as we lay in bed, Amy turned to me.
"Connor," she said.
I looked at her.
"Yes?"
She took a deep breath.
"I want another baby."
I stared at her.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"I know we went through so much with Frederick."
"And I know there was a time when I thought I could never be a good mother."
"But that's not true anymore."
"I know I'm a good mother."
"And I want Frederick to have a sibling."
"I want our family to grow."
I was quiet for a moment.
Thinking.
Processing.
The idea of another baby.
Of expanding our family.
It scared me.
If I was being honest.
What if something went wrong?
What if I couldn't protect them?
What if...
But then I looked at Amy.
At the hope in her eyes.
At the love in her heart.
And I knew.
I wanted this too.
I pulled her close.
"Let's do it," I said.
She smiled.
The most beautiful smile I had ever seen.
"Really?"
"Really."
She kissed me.
And for the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to dream about the future.
A future with more children.
More laughter.
More love.
A future where we were safe.
Happy.
Together.
Months later, Amy found out she was pregnant.
We were overjoyed.
Frederick was excited too.
"I'm going to be a big brother!" he told everyone who would listen.
The grocery store clerk.
The mailman.
Our neighbors.
Everyone.
It was adorable.
The pregnancy was smooth.
Amy was careful.
I was careful.
We went to every appointment together.
We prepared the nursery.
We talked about names.
About what kind of parents we wanted to be.
About the kind of world we wanted to raise our children in.
One evening, as we sat together watching the sunset, Amy put her hand on her growing belly.
"Do you ever worry?" she asked.
"About what happened before?"
I nodded.
"Sometimes," I admitted.
"But not about us."
"I know we're strong enough to handle anything."
She leaned her head on my shoulder.
"We are," she said.
"We really are."
And she was right.
We had been through the worst.
We had faced betrayal.
Abuse.
Loss.
And we had come out the other side.
Stronger.
Wiser.
More in love than ever.
Whatever the future held, we would face it together.
As a family.
May you like
And nothing could break us.
Nothing.
