"Zia, I cannot go back to his apartment wearing this." Emma insisted, tugging once on the silky green shirt that clung to her body as though it were a second skin. "And don't even get me started on these.""What? I think they enhance your ass; it's totally perfect." Zia said, taking the opportunity to admire her ex-sister-in-law's pregnant belly."Why can't you just mend my jeans and sweater?" Emma asked for what must have been the third time that morning."I've already told you why. I got rid of them earlier." Zia smirked. "Plus, I think that this outfit is much more pleasing; my stupid cousin needs to know what he is lacking.""Did you really have to rip my clothes?" Emma grumbled as she sipped her coffee."You weren't complaining last night when I ripped your wedding dress." Zia smirked as she gently tugged the almost empty cup from Emma's hands and placed it on the kitchen counter behind her. She drew her hands along the thin silk of Emma's shirt and grinned. She could feel everyt
"See, you've disgusted your mother-in-law too; it's only a matter of time before others begin to realize what a disgusting pansy you are.""Hey!" Zia spoke sharply. "Don't you dare-""Shut up, Omega." Damon sneered. "Do you also get paid for sex? Is that it? Did you also let others buy your services? Or is you are paying you to sleep with Alpha?""Wow, uncle, I think now I know why Lucus is like this." Zis said. To Damon, Zia appeared calm and in control, almost stoic. Emma, however, could see the rage coursing through her, the pure fury of her loved one being torn to emotional shreds."What? I doubt it. Apparently, you are also like her—some Alpha slut." Damon snarled. "She'll drop her pants for anyone with a wallet full of money and a dick.""What? Why are you saying these things?" Emma pleaded; she could feel the tears rising, and Zia moved closer to her, trembling with rage."Because that's all you are now. That's all you'll ever be seen as. Why else would you sleep with other Alp
2 days Later;"Don't move too much," Zia says, though it's muffled since it's pressed firmly into her neck. They've been laid together, unmoving, for what feels to Emma like hours, but that still doesn't seem like long enough.She can't get over the warmth of having Zia in her arms, pressed right up against her, like she has no intention of ever letting her go again. Which is fine by her, Emma thinks, stroking his hand wide on her back. Zia shuffles into her like she wants to get even closer, and Emma can find no objection to that either."How long?" she starts to say, struck with a sudden dryness in her throat. She clears it, coughing painfully, and tries again, even as Zia is lifting her head up. "How long was I gone?"Emma keeps her question vague because she doesn't really want to think about where she's been or how long she's been away."Too long," Zia answers, her eyes falling to the way Emma swallows and dragging herself up to her knees, though still holding on to her waist as
When Emma wakes, it's her fingertips trailing down the length of her arm and repeated palms being pressed into the crown of her head."Zia?" she says, which is a little ridiculous considering there is no one else she'd be lying here like this with, but it feels good to say her name anyway; it feels like far too long since she's been able to say it out loud."How are you feeling?"Zia sweeps her palms up over Emma's skin and gathers her closer, and Emma stretches languidly, luxuriating in the feel of Zia. It's like she is the only human she can trust now."Better now," she says, earning herself a small huff and a further ruff to his hair, but it's not enough; Emma drags herself up as much as she is able and leans down over Zia to hug her tightly; she just hopes that one day all her pain is gone. And as though she could sense the oncoming tremble in her arms, Zia rolled them until they were side by side, wrapping a hand around Emma's so she couldn't pull back too far."Emma," she begins
Emma stood still in the living room, with one hand on the handle of her suitcase and the other tightly holding her phone. It was much colder in the room than when she and Lucus first moved in. She remembered how they laughed as they unpacked each box, slowly bringing life into the small but cozy apartment.She looked at her phone one more time, hoping that maybe there was a message that would make her change her mind. With nothing but a blank screen staring back at her, she finally accepted her new route and walked out, her suitcases clattering behind her.The tests were on the counter, and each one had two separate lines.Can't happen. They always took care. Always, they used protec"No," she said quietly. She thought about the night that happened more than a month ago.Now she had to pay for it.After that night, things were fine for a week or two, and they tried to forget that their problems weren't really gone, just hidden for a while. But when she signed the divorce papers this t
6 Months Later:Lucus finally tried to call Allen six months after she left the city, but he got a message that the number he called was no longer in service. His heart was filled with shock and fear, so he left his parents' house right away and ran to their shared apartment. He entered the correct passcode for their apartment with shaky fingers and threw open the door to a cold, empty apartment. Emma's smell was hard to pick up, but there was just a hint of vanilla in the air."No! No! No! No! No!" he yelled as he hurriedly threw open the bedroom door, even though he knew what he would find inside. The closet was half empty and didn't have as many of Emma's favorite loose-fitting shirts and soft sweaters as it used to. The bed was made nicely, which was something neither Emma nor Lucus had done in years. The skin care items, razors, and makeup that Emma kept on the bathroom counters were all taken away. Lucus ran back to the living room because he was scared. Emma's books and the awa
Lucus knew that his parents' influence would make it impossible for him to get a job at a good company, so he chose to become his own boss instead. He thought of the idea when he saw an ad for a used food truck. When they were married, Emma took them on a date to the bank to open a savings account and encouraged him to do the same. No matter how bad things got, he made it a habit for both of them to always put between a tenth and a quarter of every paycheck in the bank. Now, he owns the food truck because of that story, which happened a few days later.After he saw that Emma couldn't refuse freshly baked sweets, he started baking as a hobby. Because he was worried about Emma's eating habits, he had to come up with new ways to feed her. Lemon-blueberry scones turned out to be the best way. He took the steps needed to become a certified barista, using the skills he had learned while working part-time at coffee places. He was ready to start his new business when Alex helped him get all t
From then on, Emma became good friends with Jasmine and Luke because she started working for Jasmine. When she found out that they had a son who was only a year older than Clary, she took her to their house. By the time she was four, Emma was able to move to a nicer apartment so she could have her own room. She worked hard at both the coffee shop and the dance school to make sure her daughter would never want for anything. Luke and Jasmine always tried to make Emma's life easier because they knew how hard she worked. They watched her kid on the weekends when she had to work at the coffee shop and let Clary come to the studio when she was teaching. Emma insisted that she could pay, but Jasmine said that if her son could take dance lessons for free, they shouldn't have to either.Luke and Jasmine didn't know the whole story, but they did know that Emma had left the city while she was pregnant because she thought it was best for everyone and that the father didn't know Emma was pregnant