Then he sat on the floor beside our daughter.

Sophie immediately began kicking her feet.

He tapped her socks and made his familiar silly noises.

She squealed with laughter.

For a brief moment, the three of us were together in the same room.

Nobody was arguing.

Nobody was pretending.

And nobody was making promises they couldn’t keep.

I didn’t know what that moment meant for our future.

But I allowed myself to appreciate it without deciding anything.

I still don’t know whether Elon and I will eventually rebuild our marriage.

Some days I miss him terribly.

Other days, I feel relieved that I’m learning how to live independently again.

Our relationship remains complicated.

But there are things I understand now that I didn’t understand the night I overheard him talking to Sierra.

Being a good mother doesn’t require me to give up every part of myself.