I was sitting quietly in the clinic waiting room, holding my appointment slip and nervously scrolling through my phone. The walls were filled with posters about fertility treatments and prenatal classes. My stomach flipped with a mix of fear and hope. This appointment felt like the start of something new—something I’d dreamed about for years. Then, out of nowhere, a voice I thought I’d left behind forever sliced through the air like a knife. “Well, well, look who’s here! I guess you finally decided to get yourself tested.” I froze.

On the morning my son started first grade, something happened that shook me to the core. The teacher called him a name I had never heard before… and he answered to it. And my husband? Travis didn’t even blink. That one moment destroyed everything I thought was safe and true in my life. I woke up early that morning, way before the sun. The house was quiet, still wrapped in darkness. In the kitchen, I stood at the counter, trying to iron out the stubborn wrinkles in Lucas’s brand-new school

The Candle, the Grave, and the Truth It was my birthday. I sat alone at a small table for two, the candle between the plates flickering gently. I was used to this by now. Three years in a row, my husband Mark had promised to be there. Three years in a row, he didn’t show up. He always had an excuse—work, traffic, something came up. But this time, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I had reached my limit. That night, I sat in the same booth I always picked—tucked in the