ey

ter now, filled with a fragile hope. "We always talked about havi

now. A phantom ache radiated through me, a memory of a pain too dee

tion. I heard young Casey gasp, a sound of pure jo

eturned, heav

y asked, her voice

ordan, his young associate, Bristol Sims, and I were coming back from

ct the life growing inside me. In the chaos, I saw Jordan. My husband. His arm shot out, not towards me, not

ough my lower body. A wave of nausea, then a diz

wound that had festered for too long. My emotions had run dry months ago. I had cried so many times over the years, for so many betrayals, that there

d, unrestrained, full of the grief I no longer had the strength to feel. I envied her. She could still cry

ttle boy... we picked out names

rely above a whisper. "In that moment, he chose Bristol. He shielded her body. He prot

ime, it was different. It was the silen

ietly. "And the day I realized I had been dead ins