And I love him back, with everything I have, with everything I am. I love him, and I love the beautiful family he’s given me in Ari and Syd, the way they’ve wrapped themselves around my heart, making me theirs just as much as I’ve made them mine. I love the safety he offers, not just in the way he holds me, but in the way he sees me, in the way he chooses me every single day. I love his unwavering loyalty, his steady protection, the quiet moments of peace that come with knowing I’ll never have to walk through this life alone again.

But what I love most is who I’ve become in all of this. The woman I’ve grown into, the strength I’ve found in myself, the way I now stand a little taller—not just because I am loved, but because I have learned to love myself just as fiercely.

And I love this life—our life. A life that’s been messy and unexpected but so full, so good, so worth every twist and turn that led us here.

We’ve learned each other—stumbled, laughed, fought, and fallen. And through it all, we found something rare. Something limitless. Something that doesn’t just survive life’s storms but thrives in them. We never really needed that love syllabus because, from the very beginning, what we had was real. Magnetic. Right. Meant to be.

But it did help because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that love, real love, is something you never stop learning. You study it, nurture it, fight for it, and choose it over and over again. For me, I choose Victor Grimes just as he chooses me.

And that’s the kind of lesson worth carrying with me for the rest of my life.

Epilogue

Kerry

ATwo Years Later

warm Mediterranean breeze drifts through our open balcony doors, carrying the rhythmic crash of waves against the shore. From our villa, perched high on the cliffs, the French Riviera stretches out in endless shades of blue. For a fleeting moment, I sink deeper into the sheets, letting myself breathe in the stillness, just before that peace is shattered by something even better.

Chaos.

A stampede of excitement bursts through the doorway.

“Happy Mother’s Day!” Syd and Ari race toward the bed, their faces lit up with giddy anticipation, hands filled with gifts.

Syd proudly holds up a sleek wooden nameplate with Principal Mom engraved in elegant script, the gold lettering gleaming under the morning light. “For your desk!” She announces proudly. “So even at school, everyone knows who the real boss is.”

Ari grins as she hands me a custom tote bag embroidered with Shaping Young Minds & Running a Household. Superhero in Heels. She smirks. “For when you have to carry all your work stuff home but still need to look cute.”