Chapter 2: What Margaret Had Been Preparing
Part 2 ⬇️
Jennifer turned around.
The color drained from her face the moment she saw me.
"Daniel—" she started.
"Don't." My voice came out quieter than I expected.
Quieter than I felt.
Emma spun around.
The pot slipped from her hands and clattered against the ground.
Her eyes filled instantly.
"Daniel?
You're…
you're home?"
She looked at me like she wasn't sure I was real.
Like she had spent so long surviving that hope had stopped feeling safe.
I crossed the space between us and took both her hands in mine.
They were red and rough and trembling.
"I'm home," I said.
"I'm so sorry."
Jennifer stepped forward.
"Daniel, listen to me.
Emma struggles with managing the house.
We were only—"
"I watched for ten minutes before I walked out here." I didn't raise my voice.
"I heard Michael's toast.
I saw the table.
I saw the cars.
And I saw my wife scrubbing pots while you stood over her giving orders."
Jennifer's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then my mother appeared in the doorway behind us.
She looked at Emma.
Then at me.
Then at the velvet box that had fallen from my pocket onto the ground.
Something shifted in her expression.
Not guilt.
Calculation.
"Daniel, sweetheart," she said smoothly.
"There are things about Emma you don't know.
Things we've been trying to protect you from."
Emma's hand tightened around mine.
And I realized — whatever my mother was about to say, she had been preparing it for a long time.
---
What secret has Margaret been holding back — and why does Emma look more afraid than relieved?
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