CHAPTER 41 - Bryan Trevor #2
“This really was the best surprise,” our daughter says, and Noah and I look at each other.
“You were the best surprise in our lives, Butterfly,” Noah says when we pull apart.
“Why do you call me that?”
“Because butterflies are born from something that seemed like it was over.”
“Because you’re our new beginning,” I add.
“You guys are even cuter as mommy and daddy,” she jokes, planting a loud kiss on each of our cheeks. “Can we go fly now?”
“Yes, sweetheart, we can.” I laugh at how quickly her excitement shifts focus.
We leave the room, but before heading to the hangar, I show them the rest of the house, including the greenhouse I had prepared for my wife.
Point of view change to Noah Black
As soon as we pass through the gate, the air changes, and for a second, I think the world itself is holding its breath along with me.
Entering Butterfly World, the largest butterfly aviary in the world, is like stepping into a dream. There’s so much color that my eyes don’t know where to land. The ceiling is glass, sunlight spills through the foliage, and the soft sounds fill us completely.
I feel Sadie’s small hand slip from mine.
She runs a few steps ahead, her hair flying and her eyes shining as she spins around, taking in everything she can. I catch myself smiling as I watch her, so fascinated, knowing this passion came directly from me.
There are butterflies everywhere—on the flowers, on the rocks, in the air, among us. I watch a blue one land on her shoulder, and Sadie holds back a giggle, looking at me with a wonder that radiates pure love.
“They’re alive, Mommy!” she shouts, and my heart skips a beat.
Mommy.
The word is still new, but it sounds like it’s always existed. I didn’t expect her to call me that so soon—after all, we only told her a few hours ago, while we were exploring our new house.
The surprise comes with the feeling that my life is finally complete.
“You two are still the most beautiful butterflies in the world,” Bryan murmurs in my ear.
“You need to stop saying things like that,” I scold, though I’m smiling. “I’m getting spoiled by this charming side of yours.”
“Don’t worry. Tonight I’ll show you the perverted side you love to balance things out,” he whispers, and the promise sends shivers through my body.
I slap his shoulder, and we start walking, watching the butterflies in their world. Beyond them, there are countless plants, benches with dedications and inspirational messages. I sit on one and close my eyes, breathing in the smell of life, of green, of new beginnings.
I feel like this is the place where the past dissolves completely. It’s among the beating wings that I let the bad memories fly far away from us. Silence washes over me, but unlike the silence that was forced on me for so many years, this one doesn’t suffocate.
When I open my eyes again, I see my little girl reaching out her hand, and the butterflies approach her as if they recognize her, as if they sense the love she carries inside.
Bryan is beside her, watching our daughter’s every move, and anyone who sees him so enchanted can’t imagine the things he’s capable of doing to protect us, the things he’s already done.
I stand up, and Sadie spins with her arms open, smiling just like she did the day we played in the garden.
Her light laughter fills the entire space and sounds like music to the butterflies surrounding her.
I take a step forward to continue our exploration—the place is huge and there’s still so much to see—but I stop when I feel a butterfly land on my shoulder, then descend to my palm when I open my hand.
It’s as blue as the one that was on Sadie.
Maybe it’s the same one.
I smile, realizing that the two of us are like these little creatures: fragile, yes, but capable of finding the strength to take flight after such painful times.
We crawled, we hid, we were shaped in dark cocoons that almost consumed us, but in the end, we managed to tear through them.
We learned to open our wings, and even though the world seems too vast, we’re learning to fly.
“Daddy turned me into a butterfly!” Sadie shouts, and when I turn my attention back to them, I see Bryan holding her up, making her fly like an airplane.
“The most beautiful in the world!” I call out, continuing to walk, letting the butterfly join its kind while I go to mine.
There were times I thought love was cruel, that it only existed to hurt, but Bryan made me understand it’s the opposite. If it weren’t for his love, we’d still be trapped in that fortress with no hope of escape. Maybe love doesn’t heal the past, but it’s definitely making it bearable.
I decided to start therapy after a phone call with Tessa.
Despite feeling happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life, she convinced me it would be good to share and let out all the pain I’ve been holding inside.
My friend was right, and since I started, every time I walk through the clinic’s exit door, I leave with one less weight on my shoulders.
Sadie is also seeing someone, because even though she’s an incredible girl, she’s still a child—one who experienced things she shouldn’t have and who tries to be strong not for herself, but for both of us.
Therapy has been helping, but my healing really began when my eyes met his again, when he promised he would save us, when he accepted our daughter, and especially, when he loved us unconditionally.
“I love you both,” I say, my voice choked as I approach. “More than anything in this world.”
“We love you too, Mommy,” she says as Bryan shifts her in his arms, and I feel his lips brush my cheek.
“If there’s a word stronger than love, that’s what I feel for you two.” He pulls me close by the waist, bringing the three of us together in an embrace.
In the comfort of this embrace, I understand that there’s nothing in the world greater than the love surrounding us, and that the past may have broken us, but together we put all the pieces back and became stronger than any pain we’ve ever known.
We are the story that time tried to erase and stubborn fate insisted on rewriting.
We are finally forever!