“Come on, Dad, sit,” my son said and I felt him pulling me down. “She is here.”
I felt some sort of fabric being placed on my forehead and the sweat was gone. I wanted to thank them for doing that, but I couldn’t. I still couldn’t.
I started feeling around until my hand found what I was looking for. I sobbed in relief and wrapped my arms around her. My boy fell limply next to hers.
Feeling her against me eased the pain a little. I pressed my cheek against hers and tried to take a deep breath. Her scent entered my lungs and I could think clearly for a second.
Was this it? Was she dying? Was she losing?
No! Fuck no!
Being next to her made it easier to find my voice.
“Emma,” I managed to mumble. “Fight, baby, fight.”
“Dad,” I heard my daughter’s broken voice.
I was now able to focus a bit better. I turned my head to my left and saw my daughter next to me. She was crying and she looked like she was about to pass out.
“It’s okay, princess,” I mumbled as I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her to me. “Your mom will be okay. She is fighting so hard.”
I felt Alex wrap his arms around Sophia and me.
“Hi, bud,” I mumbled, trying to look at him.
“I am so scared,” Sophia cried out. “You and Mom can’t leave us. You can’t.”
I tightened my arm around her and pulled her closer so I could kiss her temple.
“We won’t leave you, princess,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “I promise. Your mom is fighting and she will come back to us.”
I saw Alex leaning his head on hers. He looked completely distraught. He looked like he was about to scream and cry. He looked like he was in pain.
My heart broke and I wished that there was something I could do to make this easier on my kids.
“I love you,” I told them. “Your mom loves you so much. She is fighting for you. She is fighting to get back to you. I am sure of it. She will come back to us.”
Alex tightened his jaw and gave me a small nod. Sophie sobbed and leaned more into me. I kissed the top of her head and looked at my mate.
It was the first time I was able to see her beautiful face clearly.
“Come on, baby,” I said. “We are waiting. You can do it.”
I had to keep repeating that. I had to keep convincing myself that she would come back to me.
If she died, I would die too and we couldn’t do that to our kids. I couldn’t leave them. She had to fight. She had to win.
Emma’s POV
“That’s a bit of an overreaction, Emma,” I heard Logan sigh.
I was lying on the ground, trying to find a way to breathe. The only thing that kept me going was the picture I was holding in my hand. I kept staring at it, and forcing my brain to focus on that and not the pain in my body.
I looked so happy in that picture. Logan looked so happy. The kids were so beautiful and just looking at that picture made my heart skip a beat. Well, it probably did. I didn’t know. I couldn’t feel my body.
The kids were young. I couldn’t tell for sure, but they were probably five or six years old. Both Logan and I looked a bit older.
How did that picture get here? How was it even possible? How was I looking at the picture that was clearly taken in the future?
“Stand up, come on,” Logan sighed and I could hear the annoyance in his voice. “You need to accept it so we can end this.”
Accept it? How could I accept it if we were supposed to end up together? What would happen to those kids if I accepted it? Would they be born?
The pain in my body increased. I never met those kids, but I loved them. I loved them with every fiber of my body. I wanted them to be born. I needed them to be born.
I looked up at Logan and swallowed the lump in my throat. He looked cold. He looked heartless.
What happened to him?
I placed the photo against my chest and pushed myself to stand up slowly. My entire body was screaming in pain, but I had to do it. I had to do it for those kids in the photo.
“Come on, Emma,” Logan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Why are you dragging this along? I clearly don’t want you. I clearly want to end this. Why won’t you just accept it?”
I leaned against the closet because it was too hard for me to stand without help. Every part of my body hurt and my legs felt like they would give out any second now.
I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to figure out how to respond to him.
“I don’t want to do it because I know it’s not the right thing to do,” I said as I opened my eyes and looked at him.
The picture I was pressing against my chest was proof of it. It was proof that we should be together. It was proof that he was making a huge mistake by rejecting me.
Logan shook his head and chuckled darkly.
“Oh, come on, Emma,” he said as he took a step closer to me. “How hard do I need to hurt you? How many insults can you take before you give up?”
I pressed the photo against my chest and tried to take a deep breath. That photo was the only thing that kept me going and I wasn’t even sure if it was real.
I wasn’t sure if anything was real. My brother and Logan were acting differently. My house was different.
Was I dreaming?
“Do you need me to tell you why Sienna is better?” Logan continued, smirking at me. “Do you need me to tell you that she is a great fuck and that I would never want to touch you like that?”
My stomach twisted and I felt like I was going to throw up. I knew that he slept with her, but I didn’t need to know how good she was.
“Do you need me to tell you that you are nothing compared to her?” he added as his smirk grew. “Do you need me to tell you that I love her and hate you?”
His words felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife. I looked at my chest because I was sure I would see a knife sticking out. His words caused more pain than I could even imagine.
“Do you need me to tell you that…” he continued, but I interrupted him this time.
“Stop it!” I screamed as I got down on my knees. “Just stop it!”
Logan laughed.
He laughed?!
I looked up at him and saw his eyes change color. His green eyes became completely black and he looked terrifying.
My entire body froze.
He laughed and a shiver ran down my spine. I could feel cold sweat on the back of my neck.
Who was he?
What was he?
“Does it hurt, Emma?” he asked as he crouched next to me. “Does it feel like dying?”
I wanted to sob, but my breath was stuck in my throat. All I felt was warm tears sliding down my cheek.
His eyes were completely black. He looked like a demon. He looked like my worst nightmare.
“I want you to die, Emma,” he said. “I want you to die so I can take over your body. I want you to die so I can destroy everything you built.”
A small scream escaped me as I felt an intense burning sensation in my lungs.
Logan laughed.
“I don’t want this,” I cried out, barely managing to speak.
“Oh, are you finally ready to reject me?” Logan said as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you finally ready to die?”
I was. I was ready to die. I didn’t want him if it brought so much pain. I would rather die and be with my parents than hear him say anything else.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.