로그인"I'd do it for you." Daniel leaned forward, hands flat on the table. "But Emma, I need to know if there's a point. If you can see us having a future. Because if you can't, if this is over, then I might as well re-enlist. Sign up for another tour. But if there's a chance—""I don't know," Emma interrupted. "I don't know if I can get past this, Daniel. I want to. God, I want to. But every time I look at you, I see that casket. Which is stupid because you are right here, alive. But I remember what it felt like to think you were gone. And I don't know if I can trust you not to—" She couldn't finish."Not to lie to you again." Daniel's voice was flat. "Not to make decisions for you.""Yes.""I can't promise that either." The admission tasted like ash. "If it came down to protecting you or being honest with you, Emma, I'd protect you. Every time. That's who I am. And I won't lie to you and say I'd do it differently. I would give my life so you could live."Emma closed her eyes. "That isn't
Daniel had been outside Emma's building since five that morning.Pathetic he knew, that's what he was. Sitting in his rental car like some stalker, watching the entrance, waiting for a glimpse of the woman he'd destroyed.A week. Seven days since she'd told him to leave. Since she'd looked at him with those eyes full of pain and rage and said she wasn't sure she could ever trust him again.He didn't blame her, how could he? He'd made his choice and faked his death. Let her grieve him for three months while he played spy with CID, gathering evidence against Vance.Worth it, he told himself. She was alive. That made it worth it.Except looking at her last week, seeing what he'd done to her, the hollowness in her eyes, the way she'd flinched when he'd tried to touch her. Daniel wasn't so sure anymore.Kyle had sent him photos. From the memorial. Emma in a black dress, barely able to stand, Grayson holding her up. Her face wrecked.Daniel had stared at those photos for hours. Memorized ev
Emma woke to sunlight streaming through her bedroom window and the feeling that someone had used her head as a drum.Everything hurt. Her eyes from crying through the night, her chest from, well, from everything.She lay there for a moment. She could hear her mother's soft breathing beside her. Faith had stayed all night, lying on top of the covers, one hand resting on Emma's arm like she was afraid her daughter might disappear if she stopped touching her.Her mother being here proved it was real. All of it was real. Not some nightmare.Emma closed her eyes against the fresh wave of emotion that threatened to drown her. She couldn't do this. Couldn't lie here and think about it. Couldn't process the impossible or try to make sense of something that made no sense at all.She needed to move. Needed to run.Carefully, so as not to wake Faith, Emma slipped out of bed. Her mother stirred but didn't wake, just rolled onto her side with a soft sigh. Emma pulled a blanket up over her, then wen
"I know, baby, you don't have to know," Faith said firmly. "Not right now. Right now, you just need time to process. To feel whatever, you're feeling without judging yourself for it.""I'm so angry." The words burst out of Emma. "I'm so angry I can barely breathe. But I'm also… I'm so relieved. He's alive. He's not dead. I didn't lose him. Except I did lose him because he's been lying to me for three months, and how do I trust him again? How do I look at him without seeing… without remembering? God, I sound crazy—"She couldn't finish. Couldn't put into words the tangle of emotions choking her."You take it one day at a time," Faith said. "One hour at a time if you need to. You feel what you feel. You process what happened. And you don't let anyone tell you how you should be reacting. Not Daniel, not us, not anyone. You are the one this affects the most, and we will stand by any decision you…" She gave Gray a look when he started to protest. "Any decision you make.""I told him to lea
Emma sat in the back of Grayson's car, staring at nothing. They had left Lauren's wedding soon after Daniel was shown the door. Grayson wouldn't let her drive, and Honey had insisted on coming with them. She knew she should feel guilty about what happened at the wedding, but the shock still outweighed the guilt. She was sure that would come.Honey was beside her, holding her hand, not saying anything. Just being there. Which was good because Emma couldn't have formed words if she'd tried.Daniel was alive.The thought kept circling through her head, over and over, like a record on repeat. Daniel was alive. He'd been alive for three months while she'd fallen apart. While she'd grieved him. While she'd wanted to die because living without him was too hard. She had almost done it too. No one knew that, but she had. She was ashamed to even think about it now, but her grief had been that intense. That soul-destroying. She knew she sounded pathetic, but she had loved Daniel with everything
Daniel's face went white."How could you do that to me, the woman you claim to love? I wanted to die, and I even thought about it." Emma's voice was rising now, the emotion finally breaking through. "Because you were gone and I didn't know how to exist in a world where you weren't in it. I went home that day and I couldn't breathe. For weeks, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't do anything except exist, and even that was almost too much.""I know." Daniel took a step forward. Grayson immediately blocked him. "I know what I put you through. I know it was—""You don't know shit." Emma was standing now. Maggie moved back to give her space. "You weren't there. You weren't the one who had to learn how to live without you. Who had to figure out how to wake up every morning when the person you loved most in the world was gone. Who had to—" Her voice broke completely. "You let me bury you. It was so cruel what you put me through. I have lived a half-life.""I didn'
"I've been thinking about this all day," he said, his voice roughening. "About you kneeling for me, about claiming you."Honey knelt before Sir, her pulse thrumming with anticipation as she gazed up at his masked face. The heat in his eyes sent ripples of desire through her body, making her nipples
Thursday, October 12th, 8:37 AMThe elevator opened on her floor. Honey stepped out, shoulders squared, chin lifted despite the throbbing ache in her cheek. She'd done her best with makeup, having gone back into the bathroom before leaving the penthouse to see if she could make it less noticeable,
Honey arrived at the police station with Amanda. She took a deep breath, steadying herself for what lay ahead. The bruise on her face throbbed despite the medication she'd taken throughout the day."Before we go in," Amanda said, her voice uncharacteristically hesitant, "I need to tell you somethin
Thursday, 12th October, 7:32 AMHoney stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, carefully assessing her options. Last night, she'd slept restlessly despite the comfort of her friends' presence in the penthouse. The pain had kept her awake.The bruise on her cheek had darkened overnight, a vi







