Chapter 10 - The Letter That Changed My Heart
A year later, something arrived in the mail.
A letter from Tessa.
I almost threw it away.
Instead, I opened it.
She wrote:
I know you don't owe me forgiveness.
I know what I did cannot be repaired.
But there is something you should know.
I did not save Caleb because I was good.
I saved him because I couldn't bear to become my father.
I spent years believing power was everything.
Then I watched what power did to all of us.
You loved Maren.
I knew that.
I just believed I could erase it.
I was wrong.
Tell your sons that their father fought for them.
And tell Maren that I am sorry.
I folded the letter.
Maren found me in the kitchen.
“What is it?”
“Tessa.”
She read it.
Then she gave it back.
“Are you going to answer?”
“No.”
She nodded.
“That makes sense.”
I looked at her.
“Do you forgive her?”
“I forgive her for myself.”
“Not for me?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“You have to choose that yourself.”
I nodded.
“I think I already have.”
She kissed my cheek.
“Good.”
That evening, we watched the boys sleep.
Three identical little blankets.
Three tiny faces.
Three lives that almost didn't exist in the same world.
I looked at Maren.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For staying alive.”
She laughed softly.
“That was never optional.”
“For staying strong.”
“That wasn't optional either.”
“For giving me another chance.”
She looked at me.
“That was.”
I kissed her.
The first kiss we had shared since our divorce.
It wasn't passionate.
It wasn't dramatic.
It was gentle.
May you like
Real.
And it meant more than any wedding vow.
