But his father had been right.
The Bellamy name had never been the legacy.
The legacy was Noah laughing with his whole small body.
Ellis handing his brother the leaf back, apparently dissatisfied with its terms.
Lily running between Megan and Abigail, loved by more hearts than anyone had planned.
Megan standing beside him, not erased by what had happened, not defined by it, but radiant in the life she had fought to rebuild.
And Rowan, still learning, still repairing, finally brave enough to understand that love did not restore the past.
It made the future possible.
Megan squeezed his hand.
“Ready?” she asked.
“For what?”
She nodded toward the ribbon, where Mrs. Alvarez was waving impatiently.
“For the next part.”
Rowan smiled.
Together, with their children laughing in the summer light, they walked forward.
THE END
