Chapter 170 170

Chapter 170 170
RYAN

I couldn't remember the last time peace had felt this real.

For so long, every time Emily and I found our way back to each other, something had always happened to drag us apart again. 

It had become almost cruel how hope would bloom inside me only to be crushed before I had the chance to enjoy it, and after a while, I stopped trusting happy moments because experience had taught me they never lasted. 

This time, however, as I held her close and felt her heartbeat slowly settling against mine, there was no fear waiting in the corner of my mind and no dreadful feeling that another secret was about to shatter everything we had managed to rebuild. 

Neither of us made any effort to pull away because letting go suddenly felt much harder than holding on. 

I rested my chin lightly against her head while my fingers moved absentmindedly over her back, smiling to myself as I realized how perfectly she still fit against me.

Emily leaned back just enough to look at me, her brows drawing together in confusion as she caught the smile spreading across my face.

"What?" she asked, her voice still thick from crying.

I brushed a damp strand of hair away from her face before shaking my head slowly. "I'm just thinking about how many times I imagined this. There were nights when I'd lie awake convincing myself that if I could hold you one more time, I'd never ask God for anything else again, and now you're standing right here in front of me, and it still doesn't feel real."

A small laugh escaped her before she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "You always did know how to make me cry."

"I wasn't trying to."

"I know."

She smiled, although her eyes were filling with tears all over again, and seeing them made my own chest tighten because the last thing I ever wanted was to become another reason she cried.

I gently cupped her face between my hands and looked at her for a long moment before speaking again. "Look at us, Em. We finally made it."

She smiled through the tears before slowly shaking her head.

"No," she corrected softly. "We're finally starting."

Those words settled deep inside me because she was right. We weren't celebrating the end of our story. We were standing at the beginning of a new one, and somehow that thought made this moment feel even more precious.

Still, there was something buried inside my chest that refused to let me enjoy our happiness completely, and no matter how much I tried to ignore it, the fear kept creeping back until I finally sighed and rested my forehead against hers.

"I need to tell you something."

She searched my face immediately, concern replacing the smile she'd been wearing only moments ago.

"What is it?"

"I've been happy ever since you walked back into my life, but there's something I haven't been able to stop thinking about."

"My mother."

The words left my mouth heavier than I expected, and I noticed the faint change in her expression even though she tried her best not to react.

"I know she's going to prison, and I know justice has finally caught up with her, but every time I think about everything she stole from you, I can't help wondering if loving me is asking too much of you. She took your family away before you even had the chance to know them, she stole years that you'll never get back, and she filled your life with pain that never should have belonged to you. Then I came into your life carrying the same last name as the woman who caused it all, and no matter how much I love you, I keep asking myself whether it's fair for me to expect you to spend the rest of your life looking at that reminder every single day."

Emily didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she reached for my hand and gently intertwined our fingers before guiding me toward the couch. We sat down together without letting go of each other, and for several quiet moments, she simply stared at our joined hands as though carefully choosing every word she wanted to say.

"I honestly believed I was doing the right thing because every time I looked at you, all I could think about was everything your mother had done to me. I hated myself for it because none of it was your fault, but I couldn't stop those thoughts from coming, and they scared me enough to believe that walking away was the only chance either of us had at finding peace."

I swallowed hard but said nothing.

She slowly lifted her eyes to mine.

"Do you know what I realized after I left?"

I shook my head.

"There wasn't any peace."

Her voice cracked slightly as she smiled through fresh tears.

"I kept telling myself that I was protecting my heart, but every single day without you felt heavier than the one before it. I missed your laugh, I missed arguing with you over the smallest things."

I laughed softly.

Emily reached up and rested her palm against my cheek before speaking again, her voice carrying a certainty I hadn't heard from her in years.

Her fingers tightened around mine.

"I don't care whose son you are."

She smiled.

"I care about the man who crossed oceans looking for me, rebuilt my bakery without asking for recognition, and never stopped choosing me even after I gave you every reason to walk away."

I couldn't stop the tears that filled my eyes.

Before I could say another word, Emily leaned forward and rested her forehead against mine, smiling so beautifully that every fear I'd been carrying finally began to disappear.

"I love you, Ryan."

"I love you too."

"No."

She laughed softly.

"I don't think you understand."

I smiled.

"Then explain it to me."

"I love you enough to choose you every single day from now on."

My heart nearly stopped.

I didn't rush to kiss her.

Instead, I reached up, brushed my thumb across her cheek, and searched her eyes one last time, silently asking for permission the way I should have done years ago.

She answered by closing the small distance between us herself.

The kiss was slow at first, almost hesitant, as though both of us were trying to convince ourselves that neither was dreaming, but every emotion we'd buried for years came rushing back the longer our lips remained together until hesitation gave way to relief, relief melted into longing, and longing became the kind of love that only people who had nearly lost each other forever could truly understand.

When we finally pulled apart, both of us were breathless.

Emily rested her forehead against mine and smiled.

"I think we've wasted enough time."

I smiled back before gently taking her hand and leading her upstairs, knowing that for the first time in years, tomorrow wasn't something I feared anymore.