thirty-eight
AIDAN
Emily’s already there when I step into the café, tucked into a corner table. She doesn’t see me at first, which gives me a beat to take her in. Her face is pale, shadows bruised beneath her eyes, like sleep hasn’t touched her in days. She sits too still, as if holding herself smaller might make her less noticeable.
The difference between this woman and the one I used to know jars me. The one I trusted. The one who left.
I want to say I feel nothing when I look at her, but that’s not entirely true. I feelangry.It’shot and crawls under my skin. I’m angry that she walked out and now thinks she gets to walk back in.
She looks up then, and her eyes flash with a surprise that quickly disappears behind a mask of indifference. She forces a smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
I don’t answer right away, just stand there, staring at her.
I glance over to the counter, instinctively searching forLucy. She’s moving around, doing her best to look busy, but I can see right through it.
When Lucy’s eyes meet mine, her smile is a sucker punch to my chest. It’s devastating in that sweet way that makes the knot of tension in my stomach loosen just a little.
It says everything without saying a word.
She gives me a subtle nod, encouraging me to take a seat and get this over with.
I turn back toward Emily, sitting down across from her before I say, “I show up when it concerns my daughter.”
The silence stretches between us. I don’t feel the need to make this easy for her.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet,” she says finally, her voice softer than I remember.
“You didn’t give me much choice.” The words come out colder than I intend, but I don’t apologize.
Her fingers fidget with a napkin, folding and unfolding the corners. “I suppose that’s fair.”
I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms. “What do you want, Emily? After five years of nothing, why are you here now?”
She takes a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling with the effort. “I want to see her, Aidan.”
There it is. The words I’ve been dreading since Lucy told me Emily had shown up at my door. I clench my jaw, fighting the urge to get up and leave.
“You lost that right when you walked out on her.” My voice is low, controlled, despite the rage churning inside me.
She winces at my tone but doesn’t back down. “Aidan, I know I’ve done things wrong?—”
“Wrong?” I cut her off before she can continue, the words burning in my throat. “You didn’t just do thingswrong, Emily. You disappeared without a trace.”
She flinches but doesn’t say anything for a second. I honestly don’t know what she expects from me. Maybe some semblance of understanding? I’m not sure I have that to give to her right now.
“I came back for Isla,” she says. “I want a chance to know my daughter.”
“Ourdaughter. The one I’ve raised alone since she was four months old.”
Emily’s eyes drop to the table. “I know that.”
“Why? Just…why,Emily? What did I miss back then? I’ve been waiting for answers for five years.”
Emily lifts her gaze, and for a second she looks…haunted.
“I panicked,” she admits. “I didn’t know how to be a mother, and I didn’t want to be. I was selfish and didn’t want to take care of a baby. And you…you were already so in love with her before she was even born.”
