Edward’s response was swift and unyielding. He told Mark to pack his things. He told him lawyers were already involved. He told Vivian she would not speak again. When Mark begged me—pleaded, even—to reconsider, to give him another chance, I felt something settle inside me with painful clarity. This wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t panic or poor judgment. It was a choice repeated every month, year after year. A choice to lie. To control. To watch me struggle while he thrived.

I told him quietly that he had taken my trust, my safety, my dignity—and that I would not raise my daughter in a house built on deceit. Edward placed a hand on my shoulder, grounding me the way he always had, and told me I didn’t need to decide everything at once. I only needed to choose what protected my child. That was enough.  It was a beginning. A clean one. Built on truth. Built on courage. Built on the promise that my daughter would grow up knowing what respect looks like, and what love should never cost.