She'd been betrayed too many times to hand over her trust.

I'd lost too many people to love too easily.

Together, we were a mess. A constant struggle for peace. Yet it was in each other we found everything we were looking for.

Until tragedy struck and I feared the worst. 

Pushing her away would have been the best. Kept us safe and unshaken.

But it was too late. My little fighter had determined what she wanted, and she was willing to go down swinging to finally earn her happily ever after. 

It was her determination that kept us together, even through the worst of it.

If we finally made it to the other side, all the ugly things we'd survived could lead to something beautiful.