On that calm morning, I saw him — alive, laughing, holding hands with a woman and a little girl. My knees buckled as I cried his name, but he called himself “Drake” and claimed not to know me. Later, the woman, Kaitlyn, came to my hotel. She told me he’d washed ashore with no memory and that they’d built a life together.

I met him again, showing old photos and our ultrasound, but his eyes stayed distant. The love I once knew now shone for Kaitlyn and her daughter. Their home was full of warmth, laughter, and pictures of a family I wasn’t part of. My heart ached, but I couldn’t take him from them.

I told him the man I loved had died three years ago, and he should stay where his heart truly belonged. Leaving that house, I realized I was saying goodbye for real this time. For the first time since the storm, I could breathe. Now, it was my turn to start over and live again.