Chapter six

EMMAH

The sound of beeping machines filled the ICU, a sound I hadn’t grown used to despite the hours I had spent here. The cold sterile air clung to my skin as I sat silently at Grandpa Richard’s bedside. He looked pale under the dim lighting, his oxygen mask resting by his side now that the worst had passed. His chest rose slowly, each breath reminding me that despite everything that had shattered, some things still were still worth holding on tom

His hand reached out and gently held mine. I turned to look at him, his eyes looked tired but it had a soft look, almost pleading.

“I thought I lost you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, offering a faint nod. “You scared me too.”

He smiled faintly, the corners of his lips trembling. Then, slowly, he reached under the thin hospital blanket and pulled something from beneath his gown. A small jewellery box.

“I’ve been saving this,” he whispered. “For this day.”

I didn’t know whether to take it or not, with everything that had happened. My fingers trembled as I opened the lid, and I froze.

It was a diamond bracelet. It wasn’t just breath taking. The stones sparkled under the dull hospital lights, the silver chain undeniably luxurious. It was worth millions and in that moment, it weighed heavier than any jewel I’d ever worn.

“It belonged to his grandmother,” he said. “The last thing she gave me before she passed. I told myself… when I met the woman who would carry our family’s name forward with dignity and with grace… I would pass it on.”

I blinked and my lips parted to speak but no words came.

“I know things have been hard,” he continued, his voice cracking. “But I believe in you, Emmah. You are strong, and your love… it once healed Damian. Maybe it still can.”

My heart clenched as I closed the box and held it to my chest, forcing a small nod. But the truth was that I didn’t even know if I wanted to love him anymore.

Hours had passed and the nurses had begun to prepared Grandpa Richard to be discharged. He was tired, but he insisted that he wanted to go home.

He clutched my hand once more before leaving. “Come with me, Emmah,” he said. “Don’t leave. Please…”

“You’ll be fine, grandpa.” I replied quietly, glancing around to avoid the pitiful look in his eyes.

“That house would not be the same, Emmah. Not with you gone,” he said gently. “Remember you’re carrying life inside you.”

I looked away.

“If not for Damian,” he continued, “then for the child. You’re going to be a mother, Emmah. And that child needs you to be strong.”

I wanted to scream and tell him I didn’t want this child anymore. That it was the product of lies and betrayal I got from Damian. That I had endured enough for love that only ever took from me.

But I said nothing.

He reached up, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek. “Please,” he whispered. “Come home.”

And for some reason… maybe pity, maybe guilt, maybe the lingering pain in my stomach from the trauma of yesterday, I nodded.

“Alright,” I said softly. “Just for now.”

My brothers didn’t speak much, they only watched me closely and they didn’t question my decision, not once. Liam placed a protective hand on my lower back as we walked out of the hospital, while Jake kept his eyes sharp on the crowd, shielding me from cameras that had started to swarm the entrance.

“You sure about this?” Miles asked once we were safely in the car.

“No,” I admitted. “But Grandpa needs peace. If me being there gives him that… I’ll do it.”

“For how long?”

I shrugged. “Until I figure out how to breathe again.”

Liam looked at me through the rear view mirror. “We’re not far, Emmah. Just one call.”

“I know,” I murmured and we drove off.

The mansion hadn’t changed, it was still cold.

The moment I stepped through the doors, Tasha followed and quicker than ever, she spotted the bracelet on my wrist.

Her eyes widened and her lips in disbelief. “Is that…”

I held her gaze. “Yes.”

She walked closer, inspecting it like a hawk. “That’s Grandma Evelyn’s.”

I didn’t reply.

“I thought it was kept in the vault,” she murmured, her voice almost too sweet. “Damian never showed it to me…”

I stared at her. “Maybe because he was never meant to.”

She blinked, caught off guard and her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, lucky you,” she said, brushing past me.

I watched her walk away, her heels clicking against the marble while she found her way out of the mansion.

Dinner was quiet that night.

I picked at my food, barely taking a bite, while Grandpa sat at the head of the table, still looking weak but at least alive. Damian wasn’t home. I didn’t ask where he was.

Good for me, I didn’t want to see him. Not tonight. Maybe not ever again.

After the meal, I excused myself and went to one of the guest rooms far from the one I once shared with him. The room was cold but clean. My brothers called to check in, and I told them I’d be okay. They didn’t believe me... can’t blame them.

I took off the bracelet before bed, setting it gently on the nightstand.

They all thought I was going to be the perfect wife. The perfect daughter in law. The perfect mother.

But no one asked me if I wanted any of it now. Not even once.

The next morning, the Richard convoy left to attend a board meeting. Damian was still absent. I sat in silence, staring at the window of a life I no longer felt part of.

I touched my stomach, flat beneath the silk of my robe.

I didn’t feel love. I didn’t feel joy. I didn’t feel ready.

I only felt… robbed.

Everything they had taken from me, they now expected me to protect. But something in me had changed.

This time, I wouldn’t lose myself to save someone else.

This time… I was choosing me even if it meant terminating the child.