Chapter 1: prologue
Prologue
What happened after the smoke settled:
Leah continued learning how to live her life in the daylight. She laid down the night persona, thanking it for how it once helped her survive, for doing the best it could when she needed it most. Then she turned her face toward a better future.
She and Miles continued courting for another year, choosing one another slowly and deliberately. In time, they sought out marriage preparation counseling.
Miles; he simply kept choosing to stay. Without pressure. Without demands. And so stay he did.
One year later, in the spring, around April, they were married.
Where they are now: 1 year after the marriage in the spring.
Leah and Miles found a church of their own, choosing to plant themselves on steadier ground. There, they began to grow, deepening in love, strengthening their relationships, and rooting their faith in something sure.
Miles now works as a union electrician apprentice, while Leah balances life with part-time work as a library assistant. Then comes a surprise: Leah makes a discovery. Joy fills their home, the kind that feels both miraculous and terrifying in the best way.
But even in seasons of blessing, the past has a way of knocking.
An old, familiar face reappears; testing boundaries, searching for weaknesses, and waiting for a crack in the armor.
The question isn’t whether they will be tempted.
It’s whether they will stand and, in the end, be left standing.
For not all that glitters is gold, sometimes it's just smoke and mirrors.
