Novels by Cynthia

Chapter 187 — The Last Time She Walks Away Emma had always believed that leaving something behind would feel like freedom. She had imagined closing a door, walking away from everything that had hurt her, and finally being able to breathe without feeling as though someone else had decided how much air she deserved. She had imagined it would feel powerful. She hadn’t expected it to hurt. The Blackwoods’ headquarters stood exactly as she remembered it when her car pulled up outside. The glass façade reflected the pale morning sky. People moved through the revolving doors with coffee cups in their hands, phones pressed to their ears, and their days already mapped out ahead of them. Nothing had changed. That was the strangest part. The world had continued moving even after hers had come apart. Emma remained in the car for another moment, looking up at the building. She had learned, worked, argued, negotiated, and fought for her place in rooms where people had once assumed she did

Chapter 186 — The Future He PlannedAnother day passed.Emma was beginning to manage ordinary things again.She could sit by the window with a book and read more than a paragraph without losing her place. She could finish a cup of tea while it was still warm. Occasionally, she even caught herself thinking about something that had nothing to do with Rowan Blackwood.Those moments never lasted long.But they were there.And for now, she was learning to appreciate them.That afternoon, pale sunlight spilled through the sitting-room windows. Emma sat curled into the corner of the sofa, a book open on her lap. Stephanie had taken leave from work and was giving her space without ever being too far away. Adrian had returned to his clients, though his frequent calls to Stephanie suggested he was monitoring her movements more closely than any client ever could.The familiarity of it all was comforting.For the first time in days, Emma could sit in a quiet room without feeling as though the sil

Chapter 185 — The DecisionEmma spent the day in her room.Not because she wanted to be alone.Because she didn’t know how to be around anyone yet.The curtains remained half-drawn. A thin strip of afternoon sunlight moved slowly across the carpet, disappearing inch by inch as the hours passed.Lunch sat untouched on the bedside table.Her phone lay beside it.She hadn’t looked at it in hours.Every time she closed her eyes, she was back in the restaurant.Rowan across from her.His hand reaching for hers.His voice, quiet and almost pleading.Say you love me, Emma.She could still remember the look in his eyes.That was the part she couldn’t understand.He had confessed to everything.The lies.The manipulation.The surveillance.The kidnapping.And still, when he had looked at her, there had been no hatred in his eyes.He had looked at her like he was waiting for her to understand him.As though understanding him would somehow make what he had done less terrible.Emma turned onto he

The restaurant doors closed behind Rowan.Emma didn’t move.It was almost eleven in the morning.Sunlight poured through the tall windows, falling across the tables and polished floor as if nothing unusual had happened.Outside, the city had already moved on.Cars passed along the street. People walked by. Somewhere, a shopkeeper was pulling up a shutter.Everything was painfully ordinary.Emma felt anything but.None of them had slept since the previous night.They had spent the entire night preparing for every possible situation, checking the evidence, coordinating with the detectives, making sure the plan would work.And now it was over.Rowan was in police custody.Laura was under police supervision.The confession they had needed was finally on record.It should have felt like relief.Instead, Emma felt empty.Steve walked back toward them, exhaustion visible in the way he rubbed a hand over his face.He approached her slowly.“Emma.”She blinked and finally looked at him.“I kno

Chapter 183 — You Betrayed Me For several seconds, Rowan didn’t understand what was happening. The restaurant looked exactly the same. Morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows, spilling across the polished wooden floor. Outside, cars moved through the late-morning traffic. People walked past the glass doors with coffee cups in their hands. Somewhere behind the kitchen doors, dishes clinked softly against one another. It was barely eleven in the morning. Their breakfast was still sitting on the table. Emma’s pancakes. His coffee. The untouched glass of water beside her hand. Everything looked normal. And yet— something had changed. People were standing. Too many people. The man who had been sitting alone near the entrance with a newspaper was no longer reading. The woman at the bar had abandoned her coffee. Two men near the back had stopped talking. The waiter who had served their table was standing near the kitchen, one hand hidden beneath his jacket. Rowa

Chapter 182 — Because I Love You And the silence between them suddenly felt heavier than any answer. Emma didn’t look away. Neither did Rowan. The sounds of the restaurant seemed strangely distant—the clink of cutlery, the low murmur of conversations, the occasional scrape of a chair against the floor. Rowan’s hand remained on the table. His fingers had gone still. Finally, he exhaled. “I did.” Emma’s stomach dropped. “What?” “I planned it.” He said it so quietly that, for a moment, she wondered if she had heard him correctly. “The kidnapping,” he added. Emma stared at him. “Why?” Rowan looked down at his hands. Then back at her. “Because I thought I was saving you.” A bitter laugh escaped Emma. “From what?” “From everything.” “That isn’t an answer.” “I know.” He swallowed. “I just… I don’t know how to explain it without making you hate me.” Emma’s voice was cold. “Try.” Rowan studied her face for several seconds. Then something in his expression softened