Kevin was arrested. Kayla Morrison disappeared from his life as quickly as she had entered it. The house was sold. I moved into a smaller place that felt safer, quieter, and more honest.
Months later, as I sat alone in my living room with my hands resting on my growing stomach, I realized that survival was not a single dramatic moment, but a long series of choices made after everything familiar had been stripped away.
I did not forgive him, but I did not let him define me either, and for the first time, the future no longer felt like something to fear.
