Chapter 32 #2
She looked up, her beautiful blue eyes filling with tears. The sound she made when she breathed in broke me before she said a word. It wasn’t a sob or a gasp, just a small, shaky inhale like she’d been holding herself together with sheer force and my voice had snapped the last thread.
“Hey,” I said again, softer this time, like volume was the problem. I took a step forward without thinking, then stopped when her shoulders tensed. That tiny reaction hit hard. Why would she flinch from me?
Daniel shifted beside the couch, eyes flicking between us. He looked like he wanted to disappear and also like he’d punch something if it moved wrong. “I’m gonna—” he started, then stopped, jaw tightening. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
He retreated, giving us space that felt too big and too small at the same time.
I dropped my bag by the door and took another step toward her, slower now, more careful. “Em,” I said, my voice rough. “What’s going on?”
She wiped at her cheeks with the heel of her hand, already shaking her head.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said suddenly, the words tumbling out wrong and fast. “You played so well. Miles wouldn’t stop cheering.
He kept saying, ‘That’s my uncle’ and I—” Her voice cracked.
She pressed her lips together hard, like she was trying to shove everything back down.
My chest started to burn.
“Em,” I repeated, firmer now. “Why is your bag packed? Where are you going?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor. She stared at her hands, a completely lost expression on her face, fingers twisting together until her knuckles went pale. “I can’t stay,” she said quietly.
“What do you mean…you can’t stay?” My words came out flat, like my brain was buying time. “Your stuff is here. You live here. With me.”
She flinched. “That’s the problem,” she whispered.
Something cold slid down my spine. I took another step forward despite myself, crouching in front of her so we were eye level. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t trust my hands. “Talk to me,” I said. “Please.”
She looked at me then, really looked at me, and I saw it all at once. The fear. The resolve. The heartbreak she’d already decided to carry. She’d made her decision.
“They came to the shop today,” she said.
The room tilted.
“My parents?” I asked, even though I could guess. My jaw locked so tightly it hurt.
She nodded once. “They waited until you were gone. They were calm. Polite. That scared me more than if they’d been yelling.”
Heat flared in my chest, sharp and violent. “What did they say to you?”
She let out a breath that sounded like surrender. “They said I was unstable,” she said, her voice steady in a way that terrified me. “That I’m impulsive. That my business is proof I don’t have structure. They brought photos, Noah. They are coming after me.”
My blood roared in my ears.
“Photos of what?” I asked, already knowing I wouldn’t like the answer.
“Of us,” she said. “Of me with you. Of me with Miles. Of me kissing you outside the building. Of me holding his hand.” Her eyes filled again. “They said it showed I was overstepping. That I was confusing him. That I was making things messy.”
I shook my head, rage surging. “That’s bullshit. Booth said it’s nothing.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “Even if that’s true, they filed for a guardianship review. And they’re using me as evidence. I can’t be a problem here, Noah! I refuse!”
The air left my lungs.
“They said that if I stayed, if I kept living here, they’d argue you’re distracted. That you’re prioritizing a relationship over Miles. That I’m a liability.”
I surged forward then, unable to stop myself, dropping down and gripping my hands on her knees. “You are not a liability. You are the best thing that’s happened to him. To me.”
Her face crumpled at that, tears finally spilling. “That’s why I have to go.”
“I love you,” she whispered, like it hurt to say. “And I love Miles. And I will not be the reason anything happens to Miles. I’m the problem here, Noah, that’s why I have to leave.”
I felt it then, the understanding sliding into place with sickening clarity. She wasn’t leaving because she didn’t want me. She was leaving because she loved us.
“Em,” I said, my voice breaking for the first time. This couldn’t happen. I needed her. Miles needed her. “They can’t win like this. We fight them together.”
She shook her head, tears tracking down her cheeks. “You don’t understand. You have a team. Lawyers. Resources. I’m the weak point. I’m the easiest thing to remove.”
“You are not fucking removable,” I snapped, standing up so fast the coffee table rattled. I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing. “I refuse to let them scare you out of my life.”
I had a million reasons why this was stupid, but nothing came out of my mouth. My thoughts scrambled.
She stood too, wobbling slightly, and my heart twisted at how tired she looked. “I’m not scared, Noah. I’m choosing the best path for Miles.”
I stopped pacing and looked at her, really looked at her. The woman who had built something from nothing. The woman who loved my nephew like he was her own.
“And what about what I want?” I asked hoarsely. “What about that, Em? Does that matter?”
Her lips trembled. “I want you, Noah, but I want you and Miles together more. Don’t you see? That’s my choice.”
Silence fell between us, heavy and final.
Daniel cleared his throat softly from the kitchen. “I’ll, uh… take the bag down,” he said. “Give you guys a minute.”
Em reached for her bag before he could, lifting it with a small grunt. I wanted to throw up. Punch a wall. Anything to stop this pain.
“Don’t do this,” I said quietly. “Please. Booth said my parents can’t do anything to Miles and me. The will can’t be contested. He said you help the case!”
Why didn’t she get that?
She stepped closer, setting the bag down long enough to cup my face in her hands.
Her thumbs brushed under my eyes, tender and familiar, like she was memorizing me.
“I can’t risk it. I left the papers they served me on the table.
Use them in your case or what not, but I can’t be in the way.
I know where I fit in things like this.” Her gaze dropped, then lifted again, steady but already pulling away.
“And it’s not here. That kid needs you, Noah. ”
“I know,” I said, my voice cracking. I took her hand in mind, my throat aching from pain. “So what does this mean? You’re done with me?”
“This isn’t goodbye,” she said. “This is me stepping back for a little bit.”
My chest caved.
She pressed her forehead to mine, breathing me in like she was the one about to leave a part of herself behind. “I love you, Noah Abbott,” she whispered.
“I love you too,” I said back, the words tearing out of me. “You don’t have to do this. Don’t make this the price.”
Her eyes closed. “Sometimes love costs something, and I refuse to let it cost Miles.”
“Em, come on. This is too fast. Sleep in your room tonight. Let’s game plan. This is rash. You can’t leave.”
She picked up her bag then and shook her head. “I need to do this. Please, let me go.”
So I let her. I didn’t try to stop her.
Because for the first time, I understood exactly how strong she was. And exactly how much this was going to hurt.