I opened the yellowed envelope carefully and read the old handwriting. The last part said:

If you ever feel unloved, remember this: those who do not know how to love you are revealing something about themselves, not about you. Build a life where kindness is inherited instead of cruelty.

I folded the paper and looked out at the water.

For years I thought my family defined my worth. They never did. They only ever revealed their own.

Wyatt took my hand. “So. Do you still want to marry me?”

I looked at the reflection of my scar in the dark water. Then I looked at him—the man who stayed when everyone else tried to destroy me.