I have been learning about kintsugi recently. That is the Japanese art of taking a broken object and repairing it such that the breaks and cracks are highlighted with gold rather than hidden. This makes the object even more meaningful, stronger, and more beautiful. All I could do while reading the story is think how that cup could be made whole again, with its wounds and flaws make an organic part of the whole. Then I thought about the broken relationship in your story and wondered whether there is a human version of kintsugi.