CHAPTER FORTY-THREE — HOPE'S FIRST HEARTBREAK

It happened eventually.

Hope's first love ended.

She came home crying.

“I hate love.”

Marilyn hugged her.

“I understand.”

“No, you don't.”

Marilyn smiled.

“I understand more than you think.”

David sat quietly nearby.

Hope looked at him.

“Why are you so quiet?”

“Because your mother is better at this.”

Marilyn laughed.

Hope cried harder.

But eventually, she smiled.

That night, David realized something.

His daughter was growing up.

The movie he had once watched with Marilyn was becoming another story.

A story that belonged to Hope.