I never gave up on him. I never bowed to the noise, the lies, or the stories built to tear us apart. I fought because every part of me knew he deserved better than the chaos he was dragged into. I stood in every doorway meant to scare me. I walked into every courtroom with my heart in my hands, ready to fight for him again and again. Because when you are a mother, you do not get to quit. You do not get to look away. You do not get to choose the easy route. You choose your child every single time

For how long am I supposed to carry the grief? Every time someone leaves me without a goodbye, it feels like they will return on a silent evening, with apologies in their heart and a similar pain in their eyes. But that never happens. With distance, it becomes quite clear that there is no procedure for returning. Yet my heart keeps beating with a hope that maybe, this time, it will be different. I have always been a lover girl—at least I thought so. The life I have lived till now only knows the