She thanked Marina sincerely for making her son happy and hugged her with genuine affection. A year later, Marina and Andrew welcomed a baby girl and named her Alice, after Marina’s wise great-grandmother, who had always told her never to let people use her.
Sometimes in the evening, Marina stepped out onto the balcony and looked at the lights of the city below. She could think about Daniel now without anger. According to the last bits of news she had heard, he had become a shadow of himself and was drinking his way through a lonely life.
Marina felt neither pity nor bitterness. People make choices, and then they live with them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Andrew stepping onto the balcony and wrapping his arms around her from behind. When he asked what she was thinking about, she smiled and said, “Just how good it feels to have an honest life.”
They stood there together, looking out over the sleeping city. Somewhere out there was a man who had thrown away something valuable and spent the rest of his time regretting it. But that was no longer her story.
Her real story was here—with the man who loved her and the little girl sleeping in the next room. Marina closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the life she had built with her own hands. It felt, at last, like peace. And in truth, her happiness was only beginning.
