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“But you look really worried. Like when I had that bad dream and couldn’t stop crying.”
Gianna knelt down beside me, reaching out to smooth Luca’s hair. “Hey, look at me. We’re going to be okay. All of us.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” she said without hesitation, and I could hear the steel in her voice that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
After Luca went upstairs to start his homework, Gianna and I sat back down on the couch in heavy silence. The fear was still there in her eyes, but underneath it was something harder, more determined.
“What do we need to do?” she asked.
“David says we need to show evidence of building a future together. Joint investments, long-term plans, things that prove we’re not just pretending until the custody case is over.”
“Okay. What kind of things?”
I thought about David’s suggestions, trying to figure out what would be most convincing to a judge. “We could look at buying a house together. Something bigger, with room for Luca to grow up. Maybe set up college savings accounts in both our names.”
“A house.” She was quiet for a moment, considering. “That’s a big step.”
“Too big?”
“No, not too big. Just . . . permanent. Real.”
“It is real, Gianna. Whatever happens with the legal stuff, what I feel for you is real.”
She looked at me then, really looked at me, searching my face for any sign of doubt or deception. “Even if we win the custody case and you don’t need a wife anymore for legal reasons?”
“Especially then. Because then I’ll get to keep you just because I want to, not because I have to.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do. And I love you for it.” She reached for my hand, threading our fingers together. “So, let’s do it. Let’s buy a house and set up college funds and plan a future together. Let’s give that judge so much evidence of our real marriage that Lyla’s accusations look ridiculous.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m terrified,” she admitted. “But, I’m sure. This is worth fighting for, Colby. You and Luca and the life we’re building together. It’s worth everything.”
I kissed her then, pouring all my love and gratitude and determination into the contact. When we broke apart, I could see the fear still lingering in her eyes, but it was overshadowed by something stronger.
“We’re going to win this,” I said.
“Yes, we are.”
The next few days passed in a blur of activity. We met with a realtor and looked at houses that could actually contain our growing family. We opened joint investment accounts and made plans that extended months and years into the future. We actedlike the married couple we’d become, making decisions together and building something that looked permanent and real.
Because it was permanent and real, regardless of what any judge might say.
But underneath all the practical preparations, I couldn’t shake the fear that we were about to lose everything we’d worked so hard to build. Lyla had been planning this attack for weeks, maybe months. She had evidence and recordings and lawyers who specialized in tearing apart families.
All we had was the truth and each other.
I just hoped it would be enough.
The night before the hearing, I lay awake staring at the ceiling while Gianna slept curled against my side. Her breathing was even and peaceful, but I could feel the tension in her body even in sleep. Tomorrow we would walk into that courtroom and defend our marriage, our family, our right to be together.
Tomorrow we would find out if love really could conquer all, or if sometimes it just wasn’t enough.