Luke Batty was the centre of his mother's life.
Rosie Batty made every decision for her son and tried to compensate for his lack of a consistent father figure and siblings.
"He was everything. He was my only son, my only child," she said, crying, on Monday at the inquest into the 11-year-old's death.
"He was the centre of my life. I made every decision for him."
Ms Batty wanted to be a good role model and, for the most part, Luke was happy.
He was an effervescent boy who loved his mum and trusted his dad.
But as he grew up, he began to realise his father was different.
Luke's father, Greg Anderson, was prone to paranoia and religious fixations.
Luke once told a teacher he thought he was the only good thing in his dad's life.
"As he matured he wanted his dad to be like other dads," Ms Batty said.
She wanted to foster a relationship between father and son.
"For me, it's really important a child should know his father," she said.
Ms Batty never believed Anderson would hurt Luke. He was loving and keen to be involved in his life.
"My father never said he loved me, my father never hugged me. Greg did all of those things," Ms Batty said.
Luke also believed his father would never hurt him.
After Anderson held up a knife in Luke's presence, saying, "This could be the one to end it all", his son remained loyal.
Luke told his mother about the incident about April 2013, but when he was interviewed by child protection workers, he refused to speak ill of his dad to strangers.
Luke was very concerned about the prospect of his father going to prison, Ms Batty said.
In February, Anderson turned up at Luke's cricket club in Tyabb during a training session.
The 11-year-old died after Anderson struck him with a cricket bat and attacked him with a knife.
Now, at the inquest into Luke's death, Ms Batty says she is still making all her decisions for Luke.
"I never want anyone to be sitting where I'm sitting," she told the inquest, crying.
But she knows nothing will ever bring back Luke.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
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