Chapter 14 - Three Years After Isabella’s Death, I Finally Returned to Her Grave With Both of Our Daughters—And Gave Her the Promise She Had Died Waiting to HearSnow fell softly.
I stood before Isabella's grave.
Lily held my left hand.
Maya held my right.
“I failed you,” I whispered.
Maya looked at me.
“Mommy knew you'd come.”
I smiled through tears.
“She always believed in me.”
I placed flowers on the grave.
“I changed.”
The wind moved through the trees.
“I left the empire.”
“I ended the violence.”
“I protected our daughters.”
“And I learned that love isn't something you possess.”
“It's something you protect.”
Lily placed a drawing beside the flowers.
Four people.
Me.
Her.
Maya.
Isabella.
Maya added a heart.
Then she whispered:
“Goodbye, Mommy.”
I closed my eyes.
For three years, I had been angry at Isabella for leaving me.
Now I understood.
She hadn't left.
May you like
She had spent every second she had left protecting us.
And finally, we could live.
