Chapter 15 - THE BODY THAT WAS ALWAYS WORTH LOVING
Our wedding was held beside the Chicago River.
Small.
Quiet.
Beautiful.
Noah wore a tiny navy suit.
Ruth sat in the front row.
Jack stood beneath an arch of white roses.
When I approached, his eyes filled.
I smiled.
“Don't cry.”
He laughed.
“Too late.”
We exchanged vows.
Jack promised to respect my independence.
I promised to stand beside him through difficult days.
And when the officiant pronounced us husband and wife, Jack kissed me gently.
### FIVE YEARS LATER
Our home was filled with morning sunlight.
Noah, now eleven, sat at the kitchen table repairing a toy robot.
Our four-year-old daughter, Emma, was coloring beside him.
Jack entered carrying coffee.
He kissed my cheek.
“Morning.”
I smiled.
“Morning.”
He looked toward the children.
“Trouble?”
I laughed.
“Always.”
Emma looked up.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, princess?”
“How did you meet Mommy?”
Jack smiled.
He looked at me.
Then answered.
“She spilled coffee.”
I burst out laughing.
Emma gasped.
“On you?”
Jack nodded solemnly.
“Almost.”
Noah grinned.
“And Mommy had a broken shoe!”
Jack laughed.
“Yes, she did.”
Emma looked confused.
“Why didn't she get a new one?”
I smiled softly.
“Because sometimes grown-ups have to make difficult choices.”
Jack wrapped an arm around me.
Then said, “But nobody should have to feel small because they're struggling.”
Emma considered that.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
I leaned against Jack.
For a moment, I remembered the Marigold Room.
Victor's insults.
Ethan's cruel words.
The scars I'd tried to hide.
The broken shoe.
The coffee.
And the man who'd noticed I was hurt before he noticed anything else.
I looked at Jack.
He smiled.
“Happy?”
I nodded.
“Very.”
He kissed my forehead.
And for the first time in my life, I understood something.
My body had never been a burden.
My scars had never made me less worthy.
They were simply part of the story of how I'd survived.
And Jack loved me.
Not despite them.
Not because he'd rescued me.
May you like
But because he saw all of me.
And I had finally learned to love myself.
