Chapter 110 110
EMILY
I saw him stand up, and my heart dropped instantly.
For a second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t even think, but the moment he turned to leave, something in me snapped.
I wasn’t going to let him walk out like that.
What was he even doing here?
“I’ll be back,” I told my grandmother quickly.
She barely looked at me as I spoke, too focused on the guests around her, but Hazel gave me an are you okay look and I nodded.
I used that moment to slip away. “I need the restroom,” I added, already moving before she could question me.
I didn’t wait.
I just ran.
My heels clicked loudly against the polished floor as I rushed out, my heart beating so fast it felt like it was trying to break out of my chest.
I didn’t even care who was watching.
All I could think about was him.
Ryan.
By the time I got outside, I spotted him immediately.
He was walking away.
Of course he was.
“So you’re leaving without even saying hi to her?” I asked, trying to steady my voice.
His expression didn’t soften.
“Hi to who?” he asked flatly.
I swallowed.
“To your daughter,” I said. “You’re going to leave without saying hi to Zara?”
That hit him.
I saw it in the way his jaw tightened, in the way his eyes shifted for just a second before locking back on mine.
“And what about you?” he shot back. “You were just going to stand there and not say anything to me while I say hi to Zara yeah?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Because he was right.
I shook my head slightly, frustration building.
“Why are you even here, Ryan?”
His expression darkened.
“Why am I here?” he repeated. “Emily, are you serious right now?”
I crossed my arms, trying to hold myself together.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m serious.”
He let out a short, humorless laugh.
“Of course you are,” he muttered. “Because you don’t care, right? You don’t care about me, you don’t care about what I feel, you just… do whatever you want.”
“That’s not true,” I said quickly.
“It is,” he snapped. “It’s exactly what you’ve been doing.”
I shook my head, my chest tightening.
“Ryan, stop twisting things,” I said. “You don’t even know what’s going on.”
“Then explain it!” he shot back.
His voice was louder now, filled with frustration I couldn’t ignore.
“Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you left me, took my daughter, came all the way here, and now you’re getting engaged like I don’t exist.”
Silence fell between us.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
“Do you want to talk,” I said finally, my voice softer, “or do you want to keep arguing?”
He stared at me for a second, then shook his head slowly.
“You know what,” he said quietly. “I give up.”
My heart dropped.
“What?” I whispered.
“I give up trying to understand you,” he continued. “I don’t even know what happened when I lost my memories. I don’t know what I did, I don’t know what went wrong, but whatever it was… it shouldn’t have led to this.”
His voice wasn’t angry anymore.
It was tired.
“And it’s not fair,” he added. “It’s really not fair.”
I felt my eyes sting.
“I keep trying, Emily,” he said. “I keep trying to make things work between us, but it’s like I’m pouring water into a basket.”
That broke something inside me.
“You should go back and ask your mother what’s going on,” I said quietly.
“She’s been trying to take Zara,” I said. “She wants custody, Ryan. She’s been pushing for it, and I couldn’t stay there and pretend everything was fine.”
His expression changed immediately.
“I found out before coming here and I made it clear to her. If you had just trust me enough…” he said.
“I had to protect my daughter. Our daughter.” I said
“Fine then,” he said, shaking his head. “But I’m awake, Emily. I’m fine now. Why would you still leave?”
“Because it wasn’t just about you waking up,” I said, my voice rising slightly. “It’s everything, Ryan. Everything that comes with you.”
He looked at me like he didn’t understand.
Like he couldn’t understand.
“And you didn’t even tell me, or give me a warning,” he said quietly. “You just left.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I whispered.
“You always have a choice,” he replied.
I shook my head.
“Not this time.”
Silence fell again, heavier than before.
“I’m tired, Emily,” he said after a moment. “I really am.”
Something about the way he said it made my chest ache.
“If you’re ready to talk,” he added, “you know where to find me.”
Then he turned.
And started walking away.
My heart dropped completely.
“Ryan, wait—”
But he didn’t stop.
Not this time.
Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them, and before I knew it, I was running after him again.
“Ryan!”
He stopped this time.
Slowly.
Then turned back.
I didn’t even think.
I just walked straight into him and wrapped my arms around him.
And that was it.
Everything I had been holding in broke.
“I’m tired too,” I whispered against him.
My voice cracked as the tears fell freely now.
“I’m so tired…”
For a second, he didn’t move.
Then his arms came around me.
Tight.
Like he didn’t want to let go.
“I didn’t want to leave you,” I cried softly. “I didn’t…”
He didn’t say anything.
He just held me.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Because it felt like everything we lost was right there between us.
“Emily?”
The voice cut through the moment.
Sharp.
Cold.
Familiar.
I froze.
Slowly, I pulled back from Ryan, my heart dropping all over again as I turned.
My grandmother stood there.
And beside her—
The man Ryan had bumped into earlier.
Her eyes moved from me, to Ryan, then back to me again.
“What the hell is going on here?” she asked.