“No, Liam, you don’t.” I shake my head. “And it’s not your fault. You’ve spent your whole life trying to survive your family. Trying to protect people who mistreated you. You’ve done more than anyone should’ve had to do.”
I lift my eyes to his.
“But this is different,” I whisper. “My feelings about my sister are different. What almost happened to her…”
My breath shudders.
“I can’t just pretend it didn’t come from your world.”
“And Laddie?” he asks, his eyes darting to the sleeping child across the room. “Where does he fit into all this?”
“He’s my world, Liam.” My voice breaks, and the tears flow freely. “When I went to get that abortion, they made me do an ultrasound. It was one of those places that makes you face your decision before they do the procedure. And I saw that little bean, which was barely a living thing yet, but I knew he’d be everything to me.”
Liam’s face twists. “I… want that,” he says quietly. “I wanthimin my life, Emma. I never said I didn’t. I never even got the chance.”
“I know,” I say. “Maybe I fucked up. Maybe I made every wrong choice. But I was eighteen and terrified, and I did what I thought was best. I wanted him. I wanted the baby, but I also wanted you to have a chance at getting free of your family’s bullshit.”
He laughs, but it sounds bitter. “Yeah, and look how that turned out.”
I finally unwind myself, allowing a hand to reach out and touch his arm.
“You went through a lot,” I say, “And none of it was your fault. I’m not even mad about most of it.”
“Most of it,” he says, emotionless.
I draw a slow breath, steadying myself. “You should have told me, Liam, about the threat on my life. You should have warned me. Given me a chance to protect myself—protect my family.”
My gaze drifts helplessly to innocent Laddie, still sleeping peacefully.
“And Laddie...I don’t know what this will do to him. He’s so good, Liam. So full of light. So gentle and happy andunscarred.And I’m afraid this will take something from him that I can’t ever give back.”
I look at Liam, tears blurring my vision.
“And I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.”
There it is, the recoil.
He jerks back as I’ve physically struck him.
He steps into the hallway light, and I finally see his face clearly. The hurt is unmistakable.
“Emma,” he says quietly, “it’s over. All of it. My dad’s debt… the threats… everything. They won’t be back.”
I nod. “That’s good.”
“But I want to be part of your lives,” he pushes on, and I can hear the desperation creeping into his voice despite his best efforts to hide it. “I love you. I want to be a father to Laddie. A partner to you.”
I’m shaking my head as he talks. I’m backing away.
Part of me wantshimso badly it hurts.
Even now, even through all the anger and fear, something in me still pulls toward him.
I can’t tell if it’s logic trying to convince me I could get over this, or my heart wanting to run back to what feels familiar.
And right now, I don’t know which one I can trust.
“I need space,” I finally say.
