[Two Months Later]
Dr. Wanchai called again. "Phayu passed away last night. Peacefully. His last words were about you—hoping you'd stay happy."
Rain felt tears fall but wasn't sure why he was crying.
"Are you okay?" Prapai asked, holding him.
"I think so. It's just... closure. Real closure. He can't hurt anyone else now. And he died knowing I'd moved on."
"Do you want to go to the funeral?"
Rain considered. "No. That chapter is closed. I don't need to reopen it."
Instead, Rain spent the day at their domestic violence shelter project, pouring energy into helping other survivors.
That evening, he told Prapai, "I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To start the adoption process. To build our family. I'm done letting Phayu's ghost dictate my life."
Prapai's eyes filled with happy tears.
"Really?"
"Really. Let's have a baby, Pai."
[Adoption Agency - One Week Later]
Rain and Prapai sat in the agency, beginning the long process.
"We want to adopt a child who needs us," Rain explained. "Someone who's been through trauma, who needs a safe, loving home."
The caseworker smiled. "We have many children who'd benefit from parents like you. It's a long process—home studies, background checks, waiting. Are you prepared?"
"We are," they said together.
Over the next months, they prepared—taking parenting classes, trauma-informed care training, preparing their home.
"We're going to be parents," Rain said one night, wonder in his voice.
"We are. And we're going to be amazing."