The author was inspired by these words in writing the title and this novel and gives thanks to THE ONE above.

Chapter 11: Decision Time

The morning sun streamed through the windows of Rebecca Chen's office as Delores sat across from her attorney, feeling a clarity, she hadn't experienced since the will reading two weeks ago. The legal documents were spread between them once again, but this time they didn't feel like weapons pointed at her heart. They felt like what they were—obstacles to overcome, challenges to meet, battles to win.

"I've made my decision," Delores said, her voice steady and sure. "I'm not going to hide who I am to satisfy their conditions. I'm not going to sacrifice my authentic relationships to claim an inheritance based on lies."

Rebecca looked up from her notes, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I was hoping you'd come to that conclusion. It's the right choice, both legally and personally."

"Even if it means we lose?"

"Especially if it means we lose fighting for what's right instead of winning by accepting what's wrong." Rebecca leaned back in her chair. "But I don't think we're going to lose. I think your brother has overplayed his hand, and I think the court is going to see this for what it really is—discrimination disguised as moral principle."

Delores felt a surge of something she hadn't experienced in weeks: genuine hope. Not the fragile hope that depended on favorable outcomes, but the deeper hope that came from knowing she was finally fighting for the right things in the right way.

"So what's our strategy?"

"We challenge the discriminatory clauses directly. We argue that they violate public policy, that they're based on prejudice rather than legitimate moral concerns, that they treat you as less than human because of your identity." Rebecca's voice grew stronger, more passionate. "We show the court who you really are—not Timothy in disguise, but Delores living authentically. We present evidence of your life, your work, your community contributions, your relationships."

"My relationships?"

"All of them. Your friendships, your chosen family, your support network. We show the court that you're not some isolated individual trying to game the system—you're a valued member of a community, someone who loves and is loved in return." Rebecca paused. "That includes any romantic relationships, past or present."

Delores felt her cheeks warm. "There haven't been any recent romantic relationships. I've been single for two years."

"But you're open to love? You're not committed to celibacy as a lifestyle choice?"

"No, I'm definitely open to love. I just haven't found the right person yet." Delores thought about the support group, about the possibility of meeting someone who understood her journey. "Actually, there's someone I've been thinking about getting to know better. Someone from my support group."

"Tell me about her."

"Her name is Serina. She's... she's wonderful. Warm, funny, incredibly brave. She's been through her own struggles with family acceptance, and there's something about the way she sees the world that just..." Delores trailed off, realizing she was smiling for the first time in days.

"That just what?"

"That just makes me feel like myself. Like I don't have to perform or explain or justify. Like I can just be Delores, and that's enough."

Rebecca made notes on her legal pad. "Have you told her about the inheritance situation?"

"Not yet. I've been so focused on the legal battle that I haven't wanted to complicate things. But after last night, after talking with Maria and realizing how isolation was poisoning my life..." Delores took a deep breath. "I think it's time to stop hiding from the people who might love me."

"Good. Because if this goes to court—and it probably will—your personal life is going to become public record anyway. Better to control the narrative than to let Craig's team define it for you."

That afternoon, Delores found herself standing outside the community center where her support group met, holding her phone and trying to work up the courage to call Serina. They had met in passing when the support group had let out early and Serina had arrived early for a meeting at the community center. They had exchanged phone numbers weeks ago, but their conversations had been limited to shared interests and casual check-ins. This would be different—this would be Delores reaching out as a woman interested in another woman, as someone ready to risk her heart despite the legal chaos surrounding her life.

She dialed before she could lose her nerve.

"Delores!" Serina's voice was warm with genuine pleasure. "This is a nice surprise. How are you doing?"

"I'm... it's complicated. But I'm better than I was yesterday." Delores paced in front of the building, nervous energy making it impossible to stand still. "I was wondering if you'd like to have coffee sometime. Or dinner. Or just... spend some time together outside of group."

"I'd love that. Are you free tonight? I know it's short notice, but I was just thinking about you earlier, wondering how you were handling whatever family stuff has been keeping you away from meetings."

Delores felt her heart skip. "You were thinking about me?"

"I've been thinking about you a lot, actually. You seemed so stressed the last time I saw you, and I wanted to reach out but I wasn't sure if you needed space or company."

"Company. Definitely company." Delores surprised herself with the certainty in her voice. "I've been isolating myself, thinking I needed to handle everything alone. But I'm realizing that's not who I want to be."

"Good. Because isolation is overrated, and you're too interesting to disappear into your own head." Serina's laugh was like music. "There's a little Italian place near my apartment that has amazing pasta and terrible wine. Want to meet there at seven?"

The restaurant was exactly as Serina had described—small, intimate, with checkered tablecloths and candles stuck in wine bottles. The kind of place where conversations could happen without interruption, where two women could get to know each other without the weight of the outside world pressing down on them.

Delores arrived first and chose a table in the corner, her hands wrapped around a glass of the allegedly terrible wine while she watched the door for Serina's arrival. When she walked in, Delores felt her breath catch. Serina was beautiful—not in the polished, artificial way that magazines promoted, but in the authentic way of someone comfortable in her own skin. Her dark hair fell in natural waves around her shoulders, and her smile lit up her entire face when she spotted Delores.

"You look nervous," Serina said as she settled into the chair across from her. "Good nervous or bad nervous?"

"Good nervous. Definitely good nervous." Delores felt herself relaxing despite her anxiety. "I haven't done this in a while. The whole... dating thing."

"Is that what this is? A date?" Serina's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Because I was told it was just coffee. Or dinner. Or spending time together."

"It's whatever you want it to be. I'm just happy to be here with you, whatever we call it."

They ordered food and settled into the kind of conversation that felt both new and familiar—the easy exchange of two people discovering they had more in common than they'd realized. Serina was a social worker who specialized in LGBTQ+ youth, passionate about creating safe spaces for kids who had been rejected by their families. She had transitioned in her early twenties, had faced her own battles with family acceptance, had built a life of service and authenticity despite the costs.

"I love what you do," Delores said as Serina described her work. "Creating safe spaces for kids who need them most. That must be incredibly rewarding."

"It is, but it's also heartbreaking sometimes. So many of these kids have been told they're wrong, broken, unworthy of love. It takes time to help them see that the problem isn't with them—it's with a world that can't handle their authenticity."

"That sounds familiar," Delores said quietly.

"Is that what's been happening with your family situation? Someone telling you you're wrong for being yourself?"

Delores had planned to ease into the topic gradually, to test the waters before revealing the full scope of her legal battle. But something about Serina's directness, her obvious compassion, made her want to be equally honest.

"My parents died six months ago," she began. "They left a will with some... complicated conditions."

She told Serina everything—the discriminatory clauses, Craig's legal challenge, the choice between authenticity and inheritance. Serina listened without interruption, her expression growing more outraged with each detail.

"Your own brother is trying to legally erase you for money," Serina said when Delores finished. "That's not just greed—that's cruelty."

"I've been so afraid of fighting it because it means exposing everything. My relationships, my private life, my authentic self. It means having strangers judge whether I'm worthy of love based on who I am and who I love."

"And now?"

"Now I'm realizing that hiding from love to protect myself from judgment isn't really protection at all. It's just another kind of prison." Delores reached across the table and took Serina's hand. "I don't want to live in prison anymore. I want to live authentically, love openly, claim my right to happiness regardless of what any legal document says."

Serina squeezed her hand gently. "What does that mean for us? For whatever this is between us?"

"It means I'm choosing to trust that THE ONE's love is bigger than human prejudice. It means I'm choosing to believe that authentic relationships are worth fighting for, even when the cost is high." Delores felt tears starting to form, but they were good tears—tears of relief and hope and the kind of courage that came from finally making the right choice. "It means I'm asking if you'd be willing to take this journey with me, knowing that it might get complicated and public and difficult."

"Delores, I've been waiting my entire life for someone brave enough to choose love over fear, authenticity over safety, truth over comfort." Serina's smile was radiant. "Of course I'll take this journey with you. Whatever comes next, we'll face it together."

They walked through the city after dinner, hands clasped, talking about everything and nothing. The October air was crisp and clear, and the streets were alive with people living their authentic lives—couples holding hands, friends laughing together, families of all configurations claiming their right to exist in public spaces.

"I have something to tell you," Serina said as they paused at a crosswalk. "I've been attracted to you since the first time I saw you in group. There's something about your courage, your determination to live authentically despite the cost, that just... it takes my breath away."

Delores felt her heart racing. "I've been attracted to you too. But I've been so scared of complicating things, of giving my brother's legal team ammunition to use against me."

"And now?"

"Now I think that love is never a complication. Love is the point. Love is what makes everything else worth fighting for."

They stopped walking and faced each other on the sidewalk, the city flowing around them like a river. Serina reached up and touched Delores's face gently, her thumb tracing the line of her cheek.

"I want to kiss you," Serina said softly. "But only if you're sure. Only if you're ready to choose love over fear."

Delores thought about the will, about Craig's legal challenge, about the scrutiny that would come if their relationship became public. She thought about her parents' prejudices, about the conditions they had placed on their love, about the way they had tried to control her even from beyond the grave.

Then she thought about THE ONE's love, which saw souls before shells and hearts before all else. She thought about Beau's words about authentic family, about Rebecca's advice about fighting for what was right, about Maria's reminder that love was not a liability.

"I'm sure," Delores whispered. "I'm ready."

The kiss was gentle at first, tentative, a question being asked and answered. Then it deepened, became more certain, a declaration of intent and hope and the kind of courage that chose love despite the risks.

When they broke apart, Delores felt something fundamental had shifted inside her. She was no longer the woman who had collapsed on the lawyer's office floor, broken by her family's final rejection. She was no longer the woman who had hidden from love to protect herself from judgment.

She was Delores, living authentically, loving openly, claiming her right to happiness regardless of what any legal document might say. She was a woman who had chosen truth over comfort, love over fear, authenticity over safety.

"So what happens now?" Serina asked, her forehead resting against Delores's.

"Now we fight. We fight for my inheritance, for my right to exist as myself, for recognition as my parents' daughter. We fight for the kind of love that sees souls before shells." Delores smiled, feeling more certain than she had in weeks. "And we fight together."

"Even if it gets complicated?"

"Especially if it gets complicated. Because some things are worth fighting for, regardless of the cost. Some truths are worth defending even when the price is high."

They walked back to Delores's apartment hand in hand, talking about the future with the kind of hope that came from finally making the right choices. The legal battle ahead would be difficult, public, emotionally devastating. But Delores would face it as herself—fully, authentically, unapologetically herself. With Serina beside her, with her chosen family supporting her, with her truth as her shield and her love as her sword.

Later that night, as Serina slept peacefully beside her, Delores lay awake thinking about the choice she had made. Not just the choice to fight Craig's legal challenge, but the deeper choice to live authentically regardless of the consequences. The choice to trust that THE ONE's love was bigger than human prejudice, stronger than legal challenges, more real than any document could capture.

She thought about Isaac Watts' words, which had been echoing in her mind since her conversation with Beau: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." For years, she had interpreted those words as a call to sacrifice, to give up what she wanted for what others expected. But tonight, she understood them differently.

THE ONE's love didn't demand sacrifice of her authentic self—it demanded the courage to live authentically. It didn't require her to give up love—it called her to love more fully, more openly, more courageously. It didn't ask her to be less than she was—it invited her to be everything she was created to be.

Her soul, her life, her all—not as sacrifice to human prejudice, but as celebration of divine acceptance. Not as payment for conditional love, but as response to unconditional grace.

Tomorrow, she would call Rebecca and tell her they were ready to fight with everything they had. Tomorrow, she would face whatever consequences came from choosing love over fear. Tomorrow, she would begin the battle for her right to exist as herself, to love openly, to claim her place in the family story.

But tonight, she would rest in the arms of someone who saw her soul before her shell, who loved her not despite who she was but because of who she was. Tonight, she would trust that THE ONE's love was enough, that authentic relationships were worth fighting for, that truth had a way of winning in the end.

The old Delores—the one who hid from love to protect herself from judgment—was gone. In her place was a woman ready to fight for everything that mattered: her inheritance, her identity, her right to love and be loved exactly as she was.

The real battle was about to begin. But she was ready for it, because she was finally fighting for the right things in the right way. She was fighting not just for money or recognition, but for the fundamental right to exist authentically in the world.

And she was not fighting alone.