“When I was a kid and everything was happening with my dad, I used to sort of secretly hate her a little bit. That she could stand by and let that happen to us. I blamed her, you know?”

“You were a child, Owen. How could you be expected to understand all the deeper issues that kept her tied to him?”

“I couldn’t understand. I know that now. But then, I hated her. I hated her later for not leaving him when there was no reason to stay anymore. I thought she was weak and spineless and all sorts of other unflattering things.”

“She might’ve been all those things when she was with him, because that’s how she was able to survive. But since she left him, I’ve seen her strength and her resolve and her determination. All those qualities were in her all along. She just needed the opportunity to let them out.”

“You’re right about that. Today was the first time I truly understood just how strong she’s always been, and I feel so bad for the way I used to feel about her.”

“She wouldn’t want you to feel bad. She’d tell you to put those unproductive emotions where they belong—in the past. She’d tell you all of it was your father’s fault, not yours and not hers. She’d tell you she loves you more than just about anyone else in the world for what you helped her to endure. And I know all this because she’s told me so, many times.”

“I love how close the two of you have gotten.”

“She’s like my second mother, and I love her very much.”

“She loves you, too.”

Laura raised herself up and propped her chin on his chest, looking him in the eye. “No matter what happens at this trial, neither of you ever has to see him again, so you’ve already won.”

“That’s true.”

“Take comfort in knowing that in all the ways that truly matter, this nightmare is already over for both of you. He’s out of your lives, and he’s going to stay out of your lives. When you see him tomorrow, remember that.”

“I’ll try to,” Owen said, dreading the showdown that had been ten years in the making.

“And in the meantime,” Laura said, straddling him and then leaning over to kiss him, “you really ought to take advantage of your fiancée’s newfound burst of energy.”

“Is that right?” he asked, thrilled to see her looking so well again.

She sank down on him, forcing every thought from his head that didn’t involve her and the exquisite pleasure they found together. “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “That’s exactly right.”