Chapter 204 Two hundred & Four

Chapter 204 Two hundred & Four
EMMA POV

Why did you write to me?" I asked. "Why now? Why after all this time?"

"Because I couldn't move forward without trying to apologize," she said. "My counselor said that I needed to make amends if I wanted to heal. And the person I hurt the most was you."

"You tried to have me killed," I said softly.

"I know," she said, and her voice broke. "I know that. And I will spend the rest of my life being sorry for that."

I looked at her.

Really looked at her.

And I saw a broken woman who was trying to heal her inner child. Who was working on herself? Who recognized what she'd done was wrong?

"I don't know if I can forgive you immediately," I said. "What you did was too much. I want to, but..."

"I know," she said. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just asking you to know that I'm sorry. That I've changed. That I'm trying to be better."

We sat in silence for a while.

"I have a daughter," I said finally.

"I know," Mia said. " I watch Ryans game, so I know.

"She's three," I said. "And she's perfect. Now as a mother, I get scared for the kind of friends my daughter would trust. I trusted you Mia, you were like a sister to me, and you hit me in the deepest and hardest way possible.”

"I know," Mia said again.

"No matter how much I try to understand it" I continued, "I feel you could have come to me and talked to me about it. You could have told me how you felt.”

Mia was sobbing now.

"I know," she kept saying. "I know. I'm so sorry."

Tears spill down from my face as i watched her bawl her eyes out.

"I forgive you," I said softly

The words surprised both of us.

"What?" Mia asked, looking up.

"I forgive you," I repeated. "Not because I have forgotten what you did. But because you're genuinely trying to change. And because holding onto this anger isn't helping me anymore."

Mia started crying harder.

I did something I didn't expect to do.

I reached over and pulled her into a hug.

She cried against my chest like a child.

Maybe it was. Maybe she needed this as much as I did.

"I'm sorry," she kept saying. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," I said. "It's okay”

We sat like that for a long time.

Two women who'd been hurt by the same people. Who'd been on opposite sides of a terrible situation? Who'd somehow found their way to forgiveness.

"What happens now?" Mia asked when she'd finally stopped crying.

"Now you keep working on yourself," I said. "You keep healing. You keep being better."

"And you?" she asked.

"And I go home to my family," I said. "You when you finally get out. I wish you joy and love and peace”

Mia nodded. "Will you come back?" she asked.

I thought about it.

"Yes," I said. "I think I will."

Before I left, Mia gave me a hug.

"Thank you for forgiving me," she said. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

"Thank you for trying to be better," I said.

The drive home felt different.

I felt lighter. Like I'd been carrying something heavy and finally put it down.

When I got home, Ryan was waiting for me.

"How was it?" he asked.

"Hard," I said. "But good. I forgave her."

"He pulled me close for a hug” You did good, honey.” Kissed my head. “ How do you feel.”

"Like I can breathe again," I said. "Like I've been holding my breath for five years waiting to see if she was going to hurt me again. And now I can finally let it go."

He pulled me into his arms.

"I'm proud of you," he said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For having the courage to see her," he said. "For being strong enough to forgive. For building a world where people can change and be better."

"She's going to keep doing her work," I said. "In rehab. She's going to keep healing."

"And you're going to let her," Ryan said.

"Yes," I said. "I am."

That night, I lay in bed thinking about Mia.

About how she'd tried to hurt me.

About how she'd been hurt herself.

About how forgiveness had set both of us free.

I thought about Grace growing up.

About what it would mean if she learned that her mother could forgive the people who tried to hurt her.

About what kind of world that would create.

A world where people could heal.

Where mistakes didn't define you forever.

Where forgiveness was possible.

That was the world I wanted to build.

And it started with letting go.