Page 109 of The Edge Of Us

Allen chuckled. "I'm okay with that. That's a big responsibility, bud. Think you can handle it?"

Kyle puffed his chest out. "I've been practicing. I help Astrid when she cries and I even made her breakfast once. It was only cereal, but I didn't spill it."

"That's amazing," Allen said, pulling him into another hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Astrid tugged at his sleeve. "Can I still be your princess?"

"You will always be my princess," he whispered. "Nothing will ever change that."

We walked out of the facility together, the kids holding onto his hands tightly. He was still a little unsteady, still not completely whole, but he was trying. And that mattered.

I helped him into the car, buckling Astrid in as she showed him her stuffed unicorn. The drive to his place was slow, and quiet, the kind that spoke volumes in silence.

When we arrived, he stood at his front door for a moment, holding the keys.

"Feels weird," he said.

"You'll settle back in," I told him. "Just give it time."

He opened the door and stepped inside. The kids ran in, giggling, racing around as if it hadn't been a year. As if no time had passed.

He watched them, blinking back another wave of tears. "They didn't forget me."

"They never would."

He turned to me. "Thank you for bringing them."

"Of course."

"And thank you for loving them the way you do. For protecting them. For protecting me, even when I didn't deserve it."

I shook my head, voice thick. "You were never undeserving of love, Allen. Just... lost."

He took a deep breath. "I'm finding my way back. Slowly. I don't know what the future holds, but... if there's ever anything I can do to repay you-"

"You already have. You're still here. That's enough."

We hugged. Brief. Real. Closure wrapped in forgiveness.

I kissed both kids goodbye and left them there with him for the afternoon. Let them have that piece of him.

And as I drove back to Jasper, to the life I was now building, I realized something:

Closure doesn't always come wrapped in neat boxes. Sometimes, it comes in tear-stained hugs, broken apologies, and the strength to say goodbye without anger.

And sometimes... love doesn't have to be forever to still be real.

Chapter 60

Corine

Six months later

Life had this strange way of smoothing itself out when you least expected it. There were still bad days, of course. Days when Allen would slip up and retreat into himself or when the weightof everything would land too heavily on my chest. But mostly, things were better. Peaceful, even.

Allen was doing better. He'd started therapy, even suggested it himself after an emotional talk one night. There were still shadows under his eyes and ghosts in his gaze, but he smiled more. He played with the kids again. Laughed. The kind of laughter that didn't feel forced. It was a start.

Kyle was set to graduate preschool in a few months. I still couldn't wrap my head around that. My baby boy, growing into this thoughtful, kind, funny little man. He'd started asking bigger questions lately-the kind that made my chest ache and swell with pride all at once. And Astrid... oh, my wild, fierce Astrid. She was four and a half now and had finally started preschool, which was both a triumph and a heartbreak.

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