Chapter 16
Evelyn never changed enough to be safe.
That was the hardest truth for Dominic.
He visited her once after release.
Then came to my office pale and shaken.
“She blamed you for everything.”
I looked at him.
“Are you surprised?”
“I hoped prison would…”
“Make her honest?”
He nodded.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“She has to choose that.”
He sat across from me.
“She asked about the children.”
“No.”
“I told her no.”
I studied him.
“Good.”
He looked at the store floor through the glass wall.
“I thought setting boundaries with her would feel like betrayal.”
“And?”
“It felt like oxygen.”
That was the first time I saw the old Dominic fully gone.
Not redeemed.
Not forgiven.
But changed enough to stop the next harm.
We built a cautious co-parenting structure.
Public places.
Therapist-approved contact.
No unsupervised overnights yet.
No business involvement.
No keys to my house.
Dominic accepted all of it.
The children moved at their own pace.
Grace slower.
May you like
Noah quicker.
Neither wrong.
