Chapter 7: No More What-Ifs
After the wedding, Jamie sometimes felt insecure about herself, about us. I kept reassuring her that I loved her. As our life started to settle, Elise’s lawyer reached out, asking if I’d meet with her one last time.
I wanted to say no, but Jamie squeezed my hand. "Go see her. I trust you, and I trust us."
So I went, with Jamie by my side.
At the visitation window, Elise looked like a stranger—worn down, eyes searching. She asked, her voice trembling with hope, "If I hadn’t ended the pregnancy back then, would the happy family of three be us now?"
I could see she was desperate for something to hold on to, some reason to keep going. But I shook my head. "No. That’s not possible. By then, you’d already stopped loving me. That’s why you ended it. And now I don’t love you anymore, so I don’t even let myself wonder what might’ve been."
With that, I turned and walked away, never looking back.
Outside, I found Jamie standing in the sunshine, eyes closed, face tilted up. I took her hand, smiling for real.
"Let’s go home, Jamie."










