driving through the dark in silence to my parents’ house. I didn’t cry — I was too numb. The next morning, while the kids played in the yard, I sat with a cup of coffee, trying to process what had happened. My life, once so carefully built, had collapsed like a house of cards. But in the wreckage,

something shifted. The truth had destroyed my illusion — but maybe it also gave me the chance to start over. I didn’t know who I was without Simon, without the lie of our perfect life. But I would figure it out. For my kids. For me. Because if love can break you, then maybe the truth can put you back together — stronger than before.