My knees almost gave out.

“You’re real?”

“I’m real, Ellen.”

We talked until sunrise.

Daniel told me he had been held prisoner for years. By the time he returned, both his parents were gone and their house had been sold.

He had searched for me, but every trail disappeared.

I told him I had waited.

He took my hands.

“We’ve already lost enough time.”

Three weeks later, we married quietly in my living room.

I thought the waiting was finally over.

I had no idea the worst truth was still coming.

PART 2

I did not wear the prom dress at our wedding.

Instead, I hung it where I could see it.

That night, after the guests left, Daniel sat beside me.

“There’s something I should have told you before we married.”

My stomach tightened.

“The war wasn’t the only reason I stayed away.”

Then he told me the truth.