Page 209 of Broken Destiny

“Cole was an important part of your life,” he said gently. “And he will always be an important part of Lucas and Emma’s lives too. Nothing and no one can take that away from you or them.”

The honesty and respect in his voice touched something deep inside me.

“He was their father and your first husband.”

I sensed the faint trace of pain in his voice when he said the wordhusband, yet there was also genuine respect there.

“Even though I regret everything that happened between us,” he continued, “I’ll always be grateful to him for loving you and the children when I wasn’t there.”

His words settled into my heart like a blessing.

Unable to hold back my emotion, I leaned forward and kissed him softly.

“I love you so much,” I said.

A small smile spread across his face.

Together, we placed the photograph above the fireplace in the family room, positioning it carefully among the other pictures that told the story of our lives—past, present, and future.

“I wanted to show you something,” Caleb said after a moment, a hint of excitement flickering in his eyes. “Come with me.”

Curiosity stirred inside me as he took my hand and led me down the hallway toward his office.

“Open it,” he said.

I reached for the handle and pushed it open slowly.

My eyes swept across the room—and then stopped.

Cole’s paintings and the photographs filled the wall.

My breath caught.

The portraits he had taken of me years ago had all been carefully arranged throughout the room, illuminated softly beneath the warm afternoon light pouring through the windows.

“How did you get this here?” I asked, turning to look at Caleb.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“It took some convincing. A lot of convincing… and proof,” he admitted. “Mostly by Jack, who assured the gallery owner that it was being rehomed to our place.”

This quiet understanding of my past touched my heart more deeply than words ever could.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me,” I whispered.

Caleb looked back at the photographs, warmth softening his features.

“And you have no idea how much these pictures of you by Cole affected me,” he said with a small smile. “Baby, they made me fall in love with you all over again.”

Tears burned behind my eyes. He reached for my hand and gently pulled me closer.

“And they brought me back to you.”

Two weeks later,I went over to my mother’s house for the first time with Caleb and my children.

Even with the gift basket in my hands, my nerves twisted heavily in my stomach.

I didn’t know why.