But when I returned to the bedroom, I was met with a shocking sight.
Steve was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to me, talking quietly to someone… someone who wasn’t there.
My heart skipped a beat.
‘I wanted you to see this, Stacey. Today was a perfect day… I’m sorry you couldn’t be here.’ His voice was soft, filled with emotion.
I froze in the doorway, trying to comprehend what I was hearing.
‘Steve?’ My voice was quiet and uncertain.
He slowly turned around, and a look of guilt flashed across his face.
‘Amber, I…’
I moved closer, feeling the tension in the air between us. ‘Who… who were you talking to?’
He sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. ‘I was talking to Stacey. My daughter.’
I looked at him, slowly processing his words. He said he had a daughter. I knew she had died. But I didn’t know… about this.
‘She died in a car accident with her mother,’ he continued, his voice trembling. “But sometimes I talk to her. I know it sounds strange, but I just… feel like she’s still here. Especially today. I wanted her to know about you. I wanted her to see how happy I am.”
I didn’t know what to say. My heart ached, and I couldn’t breathe. Steve’s grief was raw, almost tangible, and that made it even harder.
But I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t feel anger. Only… sadness. Sadness for him, for everything he had lost, for how he had carried that pain alone. His grief hurt me as if it were my own.
I sat down next to him, my hand finding his. ‘I understand,’ I said softly. ‘Really. You’re not crazy, Steve. You’re just grieving.’
He exhaled, his breath uneven, and looked at me with such vulnerability that it nearly broke my heart. ‘I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I just didn’t want to scare you.’
‘You didn’t scare me,’ I replied, squeezing his hand. ‘We all have things that haunt us. But now we’re together. And we can deal with it together.’
Steve’s eyes filled with tears, and I hugged him, feeling all his pain, his love, his fear — all mixed together in that moment.
‘Maybe… maybe we should talk to someone about this. A therapist, for example. Now it’s not just you and Stacey.’
He nodded, his head resting on my shoulder, his embrace tightening. ‘I’ve been thinking about it. I just didn’t know where to start. Thank you for understanding, Amber. I didn’t even know how much I needed this.’
I pulled away to look into his eyes, and my heart overflowed with love deeper than I had ever felt before. ‘We’ll figure it out, Steve. Together.’
And when I kissed him, I knew we would. We weren’t perfect, but we were real, and for the first time, that seemed enough.
But that’s the point of love, isn’t it? It’s not about finding the perfect person without scars; it’s about finding the one whose scars you’re willing to accept.