Some stories begin with love. Others begin with survival. This one began with both. Lily's story was never meant to be simple. It was never meant to be easy. From the very beginning, her world was shaped by things she couldn't control—choices made for her, paths forced upon her, and a life that demanded strength long before she was ready to give it. But even in the darkest moments, there was something that refused to disappear. Hope. Not the loud, obvious kind. The quiet kind. The kind that lingers. The kind that waits. An then there was Alex. Not a saviour. Not a hero. But something far more complicated. A man shaped by his own battles, his own past, his own need.
