"I'm her husband."
The words feel weak the second they leave my mouth.
Emily doesn't blink. "Then you should've acted like one."
I open my mouth. Close it. Try again.
"I need to see her."
"You don't," she says flatly. "Youwantto."
Caleb shifts beside me. Theo swears under his breath.
A nurse approaches, clearly alerted by the tension, her expression professional but firm.
"Sir, you're causing a disturbance."
"I just need to talk to my wife," I say, forcing my voice down, into something resembling control. "Please. Just ask Lucy to come out."
The nurse looks over the group behind me, then looks to Emily, before clearing her throat and saying, "Ms. Bennett isn't here."
Something ugly and instinctive rises in my chest.
A growl vibrates its way through my chest, "Mrs. North."
Emily exhales sharply, like she's bracing herself.
The nurse hesitates, then shakes her head. "She's not here."
"What do you mean she's not here?" I demand.
Emily steps closer, lowering her voice, but not the weight of it.
"She's gone; Julian and you need to leave."
The room tilts.
Theo stiffens. Caleb's hand tightens on my arm again.
"Gone where?" I ask.
Emily doesn't answer right away. Another nurse approaches us with a stern look on her face. "Emily, you need to take this party outside."
She studies me, really looks at me for the first time since I arrived. Then she nods, seemingly to herself and walks past us outside.
I follow because right now she is my only access to Lucy, and I need to know where my wife is. I need to find her.
Outside, the sun betrays my stormy disposition.
Caleb, Rowan, Theo, and Elliot all stand with me, with Emily standing between us and the facility, looking so much like Lucy that it makes my heart ache.
"Where is she, Emily?"
Her eyes tick across the five of us, finally landing on me.
"She didn't leave because of you," she says finally. "She left because my mom is slowly dying, and Lu refuses to stand still anymore."
The words slice deeper than anything my father ever said to me.
