Emily was changing.
At first, she still apologized constantly.
For crying.
For being quiet.
For changing her mind.
For needing space.
I started answering every apology the same way.
“You don’t have to apologize for taking care of yourself.”
Eventually, she stopped saying sorry so often.
She started seeing a counselor.
She reconnected with an old friend she had pushed away years earlier.
She began wearing clothes she once avoided because they showed parts of her back.
Not because she wanted anyone to see the old marks.
Because she was tired of letting them decide what she could wear.
Eighteen months after our wedding, we celebrated our first anniversary a little late.
We rented a small cabin beside a lake.
No ballroom.
No huge guest list.
No champagne tower.
Just the two of us.
It rained almost the entire weekend.
