Amber
The courtroom was thinning out—people filling out steadily, murmured conversations fading into hallway echoes. The judge had long since left, and yet I still stood frozen in place, Evalie’s small hand clutching mine tightly, as if grounding me in this moment.
I was tired. My head pounded, not from the proceedings, but from everything that had come before and everything I knew would come after. I wanted nothing more than to get Evalie in the car, drive away from this building, and breathe. Just breathe.
But as we turned toward the exit, Evalie tugged on my sleeve and tilted her face up at me, green eyes shining with hopeful excitement.
“Mummy,” she said, her voice soft but clear, “can I meet my daddy now?”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
The question hit harder than I expected. Not because I didn’t know it was coming. I had promised her. I told her she would meet him today. But hearing her say it aloud—so innocent, so trusting—struck something deep in my chest that I hadn’t braced f
