What Happened After
We didn’t magically become one big healed family.
Real life doesn’t work like that.
But we did become honest.
We agreed on a schedule for visits that worked for Lily.
Short. Predictable. No surprises.
Sometimes I came too, not because I wanted to be close to my ex, but because I wanted Lily to feel safe.
And we stopped pretending children are “fine” as long as adults keep smiling.
Lily started drawing pictures after the first visit where I stayed.
Not dark pictures.
Not scary ones.
