Kerry whispers, “Guilt is a tricky thing, Vic.” Her voice is steady and certain. “It convinces you that punishing yourself is the only way to atone. It feeds you the lie that suffering is the price of love. But love, real love, the love from your father, from Tiara, never demanded that.”

Her words sink deep into the parts of me that I’ve tried to bury. Into the wounds I swore I’d never let heal.

She cradles my head, pressing a kiss to my temple. “They wouldn’t want your life buried beside them. They lived. They loved. And they were loved.” She pauses. “You were a part of that love, Vic. That’s something to hold onto. Not just the loss. You can grieve them. You should. But you have to forgive yourself too. You have to stop blaming yourself. You still have a life to live and a family to love. And you still have so much love left to give.”

I feel Kerry’s strength, compassion, and love envelop me, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel alone in my grief. Kerry’s warmth seeps into the cracks I thought would never close.

I feel held—not just physically but in the deepest, most fractured parts of me—the parts I thought were beyond saving, the parts that have lived in darkness for so long that I forgot what the light felt like.

I finally understand something I never let myself believe—I’m allowed to move forward. I don’t have to carry my love with the weight of guilt. I can honor it without being crushed beneath it. I need to cherish what I still have, not let it slip through my fingers. I want to be the father my daughters deserve, the man I was meant to be.

I don’t want to keep punishing myself for a tragedy I can never undo.

I want to show up, especially for the ones who are still here. For my mother, who never once blamed me, who still looks at me like I’m one of her greatest accomplishments. And my brother, who carried his own grief but never let it turn into resentment against me.

And Tiara. My wife. My first love. The woman who spent her last breath asking me for one thing—to be present. And that’s my solemn swear to her, to our daughters, and Kerry.

To be here. Fully. For the love that still surrounds me. For the future waiting to be built. For the life I refuse to let slip through my fingers again.

Chapter 29

Kerry Kind’s Got A Man – Kerry

Igot a boyfriend! And he is sexxxy! He really loves me! And wants to marrrrryy me. ??—Wait. Scratch that last part. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.