Chapter 9 - THE NEW NORMALThree hours later, the house was quiet again.
Colin and Chloe were gone, their meager belongings tossed into the back of Colin’s sedan before they sped down the street with tires screeching on the ice. The local locksmith had already changed all the exterior deadbolts, replacing them with high-security smart locks that only my fingerprint and code could open.
I stood in the living room, carefully taking down Chloe’s glittering white stocking and throwing it into the trash.
In its place, I hung Piper’s snowman stocking back up where it belonged. And right beside it, I hung my own.
The Christmas tree twinkled warmly against the window, casting a soft red and green glow across the room. The scent of pine and cinnamon filled the air.
Piper walked into the living room, wearing her warm fleece pajamas, dragging her brown teddy bear behind her. She stopped near the fireplace, looking up at the mantelpiece with wide, wondering eyes.
“Mommy… look,” she whispered, pointing at the stockings. “Our stockings came back.”
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My heart swelled, a sudden rush of overwhelming love and protective fierce joy washing away the last remaining shadows of the betrayal. I dropped to my knees and scooped her up into my arms, burying my face in her soft curls.
“They never really left, baby girl,” I murmured, kissing her cheek. “Mommy’s home. And nobody is ever taking our home away again.”
