All of my friends were paired up. I was happy for them, but I was jealous of them. I was happy with my daughter, the child I never thought I'd have, the one I didn't know existed.

Now I was raising her by myself. Her mom dead, leaving me with a teenage girl I'd only known for about five months. I was happy, I really was, but there was still something missing.

Enter Marin Byram. A woman who took me by surprise and flipped my world on its head.

My life was shit. Oh, I suppose the years between age five and age fifteen were okay, and before age five were typical of any kid, I guess.

It was what happened after I turned five, when a pedophile came into our lives and then decided he was going to marry me when I turned eighteen.

After that, life sucked big time.

Now I was starting over, and I didn't need any man to make me happy. I was living my life on my terms from now on. Someone just needed to convince Bishop Kenrick of that.