It Ends with Us

Lily wakes up smelling toast. Her due date is only two days away. Because her doctor put her on bed rest, she has allowed Ryle to stay in the apartment to help her. While nothing is happening between the two of them, Lily is relieved that most of the awkwardness between them has lifted. Ryle leaves for work, and Lily settles onto the couch to eat her breakfast in front of the TV. Her phone rings. She is annoyed when she realizes it’s all the way on the kitchen counter.

When Lily stands to answer her cell, her water breaks. Still, she picks up the call, which is from Lucy. She has some work question, which Lily answers. Lily calls Ryle once she hangs up with Lucy. While he drives back to get her, she packs her hospital bag and takes a shower. Ryle enters the bathroom to check on her. Lily’s towel is too small to cover her whole body, so Ryle catches a glimpse of her naked body. He tells her she looks beautiful. Lily lets him touch her bare belly.

The tender moment between Lily and Ryle passes when Lily has a painful contraction. Ryle carries her to the car. Labor is progressing quickly, and by the time they get to the hospital, the baby is almost there. Their daughter is born before they get a chance to tell anyone that Lily’s labor had started. Lily feels overwhelming love for her daughter. All she and Ryle can manage to do is stare at her. When he asks what they should name her, Lily suggests they name her Emmy, after Ryle’s brother, Emerson. As Ryle holds Emerson, Lily can see how much Ryle loves her already. Only then is she able to decide what will happen now.

Lily considers all the most amazing things about Ryle: his drive, intelligence, humor, and compassion. She knows that her father shared some of those traits, too. But her hatred for her father always outweighed her love for him. Lily doesn’t want that to happen between Ryle and his daughter. She tells Ryle she wants a divorce. He panics and asks for another chance. Lily asks him what he would say to a grown-up Emmy if she told him that her partner struck her, shoved her down the stairs, or tried to rape her.

Ryle can’t argue against Lily’s point. Instead, he kisses Emmy’s head. Lily asks him to answer because she needs to hear him say it. Ryle responds that he would never let Emmy stay with someone who hurt her even once, no matter how much they said they loved her. Ryle and Lily cry and hold their daughter. Lily knows that in the last 15 minutes, Ryle has both gained a daughter and lost a wife. In the last 15 minutes, they have both been broken and healed. Lily’s decision ends the generational abuse that she and her mother suffered. Lily is positive that she has made the right choice for Emmy, even though it hurts both her and Ryle. Together, they mourn their lost love and celebrate breaking the cycle.