Chapter 5: The Life We Choose

Months passed.
The city still buzzed with the story, but I no longer listened.
I had something far more important.
A quiet home.
A peaceful life.
A future.
One evening, as the sun dipped below the skyline, I sat by the window holding Mateo close.
“You’re going to grow up knowing what love really is,” I whispered.
“No fear. No lies.”
Behind me, my father stood silently.
Not as a powerful businessman.
But as a grandfather.
As family.
“I’m proud of you,” he said.
I looked down at my son… then back at the life I had reclaimed.
For so long, I thought I had lost everything.
But the truth was—
I had finally found it.
May you like
And this time…
No one would ever take it away.