I believed I had chosen a man who, despite his rough edges, wanted nothing more than to share his life with me and his little boy. I told myself I was lucky—I had stepped into a ready-made family where I could finally pour out all the love I had always carried but never had the chance to give a child of my own.

Mark had a son from his first marriage. Ethan was just six when I met him. He was small for his age, a little shy, with brown hair that never stayed in place no matter how many times Mark tried to slick it back with water or gel. He wore mismatched socks that made me smile, carried his favorite action figure in his pocket like it was a secret weapon, and ate strawberries as if they were treasure.

“I just really like them, Peggy,” he told me once, his mouth stained red from the juice, grinning wide.

That same day, he tripped in the driveway and scraped his knee. Mark ran toward him, but before his father reached him, Ethan turned to me with wide, wet eyes and whispered, “Will you still love me even if I’m not perfect, Peggy?”