Zia met them at the entrance to Palace, camera hanging around her neck and a grin on her face."Zia, what are you doing here?" Emma asked, giving him a quick hug."I'm your photographer for the day! I was waiting for the confirmation from Lucus that he got you to agree to the family hanboks.""Did you plan this?" Emma turned to ask Lucus."Uhh, not really a plan... it was just a potential idea we discussed," Lucus mumbled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck."I'm excited. Thank you. I know this will be a memorable day for Clary. And for me too."Lucus ducked his head, shy at the heartfelt way Emma expressed her thanks. He quickly scooped up Clary and walked towards the entrance. "Come on, princess, let's go take some photos."Emma looped her arm around Zia and nuzzled a little bit into her neck. "Thank you. You're the best.""I know."They spent the whole day walking around the palace exhibits and taking pictures in the spots that Zia pointed out. Luckily, there weren't too ma
"You're touched that he still kept your old passcode all these years, huh?"Zia winked as Allen shook her head with a small laugh. "No, I think he's an idiot for not changing the security code for almost a decade. You should change these things once in a while.""Sure, Emma. Whatever you say."After their more eventful Saturday, they decided to make Sunday a chill day. After breakfast, Lucus had taken Clary out to the cafe to bake with her, while Emma and Zia had spent the morning grabbing brunch and then going to a museum. Zia shared some of the photos she had gotten around to editing, sending them to Emma's phone.There was one in particular where Clary was sitting on Lucus shoulders and Emma was poking at one of Clary's feet. It was not one of the posed shots; it must have been a candid shot that Zia had taken while they were setting up. All three of them were laughing, the look of joy on Emma's face making it almost unrecognizable. It was a drastic difference from the first family
Damon turned and walked over to the couch, taking a seat and relaxing before looking at Emma."I'll offer you the same thing I did last time. Child support in any form that you need for your daughter and yourself A house, tuition for school, and lessons for whatever else she wants to learn will all be provided for her. I'll even extend it past when she reaches adulthood and make sure she's provided for until she can stand on her own two feet. All you have to do is hide away again."He shrugged as he continued, "I won't even specify where you have to go. If you want to go abroad and start afresh, I'll make that happen. If you want to stay in Korea, fine. Just disappear from my son's sight and don't contact him again.""I will not do that.""Really? Even when the consequences this time are much worse?"The alpha leaned forward and fixed Emma with a cold look."If you refuse my offer, I will make sure that every success Lucus has achieved in the last seven years disappears."Prepared to
When Lucus cried himself to sleep, Alex helped him get to bed while Allen heated up some of the food and put the rest in the fridge. When Alex came back out, he put a plate of food on the table and told him to come eat."Are you staying here?""I think it's best that we do, right?""Yes, eat something. I think we'll need to keep our energy up in the days to come."Alex reached out and grabbed Allen's wrist as he moved away from the table.He said softly, "You need to eat too," and pointed to the food on the table.Allen was happy. "I'll do it, but first I want to make sure he's sleeping well."After giving Alex another encouraging smile, she went into Lucus room and sat on the edge of the bed, watching his sleeping shoulder move up and down in a steady rhythm.She couldn't help but think about the first time she saw Alex, just over a month after Emma had gone missing. Zia finally got in touch with her, told her what was going on, and asked her to check on Lucus. When she got to the ap
When she got home, the dishes for breakfast were already done, and Zia was sitting on the couch with two bottles of beer and a few cans of beer on the coffee table.Emma asked, "Were you going to drink during the day?""No, but just in case you needed it."Emma laughed and shook her head as she sat down next to her and curled up against her. With a small hum, Zia put out an arm and pulled Emma close to her.Emma mumbled after a few seconds, "He was the reason I failed every interview.""What?""He said he made sure no one would take me in if they still wanted sponsorships and chances to perform.""...Chairman Madden? Was it him?""Yes.""What. What the fuck?"Yep.""So that's why you left: because Lucus father was standing in the way of your dreams?""What? No, that's silly.""Then..?""He said that if I didn't leave Lucus, he would shut down all of his stores and kill him.""Emma, she can't really mean that.""That's what he said, and if he could stop me from going to an interview an
When Emma was done taking notes on her students, she sighed. "Okay, I'm done with my lessons. I'm going to leave before all the staring makes a hole in the side of my head.""We're just worried about you," Jasmine said with a frown and a look of hurt on her face.Emma felt sorry right away and let out a sigh. She moved forward and put her arms around Jasmine. It made her feel better when Jasmine gave her a strong hug back."I'm sorry. I know you're sorry, and I'm very grateful for that. I just... I need to take this next step on my own, you know?""I get it, but if you don't mind, could you remember something for me?"She leaned back and got a little pat on the face from Jasmine. "You're not alone, Emma. I know you've been through a lot on your own, but now you have a family with you, not just Clary but also the rest of us, including Lucus."The last piece of information made Emma think that Zia had probably said more than she had said, but the memory gave him a bit of a shock."You d
"Is this all because of that omega? Are you still willing to throw away your life and your duty as an alpha?""As an alpha, it was my job to never leave my omega alone and always protect her, but I failed because I gave in to your temptations all those years ago.""I really should have gotten rid of that omega a long time ago."Lucus blood started to boil when his omega was in danger. "Don't touch her, because if you hurt her in any way, I will kill you.""Are you threatening to hurt your father?""I'm taking care of my family.""Ah, your family. Do you really think you can be a good father?""Why am I not surprised that you already know? Have you been keeping track of me all these years?""Please, I've known you for longer than you have."Lucus stopped in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What do you mean? And how long have you known?""Since your omega ran away, it has brought what could be your downfall with it."As Lucus thought about what his father had just sa
Damon Madden moved back because he knew he couldn't win this fight."You think we've won this battle? You think you've won, but you're wrong.""With all due respect, Damon Madden, you'll only hurt yourself if you say anything else."Emma looked at him steadily and spoke in a serious tone. "Damon Madden, you should stop trying and move on. If you hadn't looked down on people who weren't alphas, you wouldn't be in this situation right now.""You could have been nice to and helped your sons, and you could have left me alone back then. But because you stuck to your opinions, you lost the company you gave up everything else for.""You think that you can tell me what to do?" He screamed and moved forward one step. Lucus barked at Damon Madden to tell him to be careful, but Emma just shook her head."I'm not giving a speech. Think of it as the first thing you would do for your younger son. Don't try to hurt my family again. If anything, if you hurt someone I care about again, I'll show you w