The house was big—bigger than anything Lily and I had ever known. Wide, open spaces. Sunlight pouring through tall windows. Wooden floors that creaked just a little, like they had stories of their own. It wasn’t just a house; it felt like a whole different world.

And now… it was ours.

Rafe had carried the last box in that morning, set it down, then wrapped his arm around my waist like he’d been waiting forever for this moment. Lily was asleep in her car seat, her little cheeks flushed pink, a stuffed bunny squished under her arm.

I looked around and swallowed hard. Just a few months ago, we’d been in a cramped apartment with secondhand everything and dreams I was too tired to chase. It was just me and her—me doing my best, her giving me a reason to keep going.

Lily wasn’t planned. Her dad was a one-night story with an ending before it even began. He made it clear—she meant nothing to him. But she means everything to me. She’s the love I never saw coming, the softest part of my hardest days. And I fought for her. Legally. Emotionally. All of it. Because she deserved better.

And somehow, God gave us Rafe.

I still remember the way he looked at her the first time we visited his place. She reached for him without hesitation, like she already knew. And now, she calls for him when she wakes. Runs to him when she’s scared. Looks at him like he hung the moon.

He makes pancakes shaped like hearts. Dances with her in the hallway in his boxers. Reads her the same book three times in a row without complaining. He kisses her forehead like it’s second nature. And he holds me like he’s afraid to let go.

At night, when the house is quiet and we’re curled up in his—our—bed, he tells me he’s never wanted anything more than this. And I believe him.

Because Rafe doesn’t just say he loves us. He proves it.

When I doubt myself, he reminds me I’ve come so far. When I flinch at my own happiness, he whispers, “You’re allowed to have this.” And when I cry for no reason—tired, overwhelmed, grateful—he just holds me. No questions. Just love.

Lily will grow up never knowing what it feels like to be unwanted. Because she has him. And me? I finally have someone who chooses us every day.

This house isn’t just big. It’s safe. It’s ours. It’s home.