Emma

''Yes here, please.'' I ushered the driver to stop as I handed him the money in a rush. I got off the cab, struggling with my broken arm but made it out anyways.

The car traveled down the street, leaving me on my own.

I heaved a sigh, remembering the last time I came here: I was with Noah then, and we were like honey and butter, didn't wish for more then. But now standing here alone felt odd.

My breathing came out ragged when I knocked on the perfectly polished door, waiting for a reply from the other side. I heard footsteps and a moment later, the door was pulled open.

''Oh dear, thank God, you are okay!'' Her soft voice filled my ears as she took me in her arms, gently not to hurt me. I smiled at her sweet gesture, feeling true concern radiating off of her. Noah was right when he said that she is one of the best things in this world. ''Come on in, dear.'' She ushered me inside.

As usual, the baking aroma was the first thing to face me after stepping foot inside. It smelled like... vanilla. I took off my shoes, remembering Noah's words when we were here the first time, and then we presumed our walk inside.

''It smells fantastic as usual.'' I said with a cheeky smile, causing her to chuckle lightly.

''Wait here, I am going to serve you the best vanilla muffins ever.'' I snickered inside happily.

I stayed rooted in my place, waiting for her to come back. I took my time looking around the living room only to notice that it was filled to its brim with Noah's photos. They varied from when he was a little baby, then maybe kindergarten kid, and so on. I felt my heart tug when my eyes landed on a photo of him with her, probably taken from his mobile phone on selfie mode. He was hugging her side while planting a kiss on her head.

My zoning out session came to an end when I saw her petite form entering the living room again. I replaced my troubled expression with a faint smile, but couldn't help but notice how her face was sculptured into a frown.

She sat down on the large chair, ''Here you go, taste it and tell me.''

I didn't need to be told twice as I took a mouthful, savoring the taste to its very end, ''God, how do you do it?'' I whimpered, still too engrossed in the piece of heaven in my mouth.

''I spit in the mixture.'' She shrugged, and I giggled at her sarcastic remark, taking another bite. ''Are you okay, Emma? You are not hurt, right?'' Her face turned serious all of a sudden.

I swallowed first, ''Yeah, yeah. The injury is very minor.'' She still looked distressed, and I felt like there was something else to it.

Seeing my expression, she nodded and took a deep breath, ''I didn't know it would come to here, Emma, but seeing how things escalated, I think you need to know some stuff.''

The aura was not serene anymore, in fact, I have never been more nervous. Her sweet features were now uptight in sadness that made my heart swell. What could be bothering her?

''But before I start, what we will talk about right now, Noah shouldn't know of at any cost, alright dear?'' She reached her warm hand to caress my knee. I nodded, too lost to even utter a single word.

She spoke, ''I know how much you love Noah, dear, and I am so happy that he has finally found a girl that he can drown her in his love. He loves you, take it from an old woman who has lived too much on this crappy excuse of a planet.'' My mouth gaped like a fish out of the water.

H-he doesn't love me... Yeah, he doesn't, don't be silly!

I felt her squeeze my knee roughly, ''My mistake. He doesn't love you,'' I felt my heart sink, ''he adores you, Emma.'' My heart flattered, and I felt like a doll between her hands, ''I have never seen him this happy, or look at someone the same way he looks at you.''

I stayed quiet as she continued, ''N-Noah, well...He doesn't have the best father.'' She sighed, and I could tell how hard it was for her to talk abut this topic.

My mind nuzzled in confusion, ''M-Mr. Knight?'' My voice went off weak, reflecting my state exactly.

All colors drained from her face, and I found myself dreading what I was about to hear now. She reached her hand to grip mine, as if making sure I was not gonna run away.

''The Knights are not Noah's real family.''

.

.

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''----W-what?'' I heard a low chuckle, coming out from my mouth? Tears burnt my eyes in agony, and I couldn't help the feeling that took over me, the feeling of crashing my body into his, so that I could bury my nose into his chest and cry.

I felt like I was choking.

''They adopted him, dear.'' I glimpsed tears in her eyes, making me slowly realize that this was the truth.

How? Noah loves his parents... Does he know that?

''He doesn't know, that's why this should never get out, you understand me, Emma?'' She stressed, pressuring my hand in a reassuring manner. I couldn't form a sentence, I couldn't even breathe like a normal person. I wanted to die right at this moment, or disappear.

Finally meeting her eyes, I managed to say, ''W-why are you telling me this now?''

Her eyes softened at my state, '' Noah's real mother is my daughter. She got married to a nice guy, spent a splendid year together before they knew about her pregnancy. Slowly, his fake face started to fade away, exactly like my daughter's happiness.'' She sighed out loud in pain, ''He transformed to a whole other person, and turns out he is the biggest asshole in the world, as well as the leader of one of the biggest street gangs.'' Swallowing, she continued, ''He used to abuse her a lot, but after each time, he would come and apologize, claiming that he loves her so much. I had no say in this because my daughter was stubborn and would get back to him every time something goes wrong.'' She sighed, drying the tears that had fallen, ''The day of labor, I was very happy to finally meet my little man, but that all took a turn when she died during giving birth. Her heart was too weak, and no one knew that until later.'' Her eyes were glassy, full of pain, but she continued, ''Her husband went mad at the doctors, and while receiving his child, he cursed him in front of my eyes, and left him to me. I had no problem raising my love alone, but I was wrong. The man turned out to be a psycho. He kidnapped Noah when he was only 9 months and was planning on killing him because he though he was the reason for the death of my daughter. He had unstable emotions and was sick in his brain, no one could control him.''

Her shaky hands reached for mine in a strong grip.

''I already knew Samantha Knight as she was my daughter's friend. I called her because she was the only one I knew who had power and a big state in the country. She and her husband came to the rescue, bringing me back my dear Noah. Garret, my daughter's husband was sent to a lunatic asylum, but deep down I still knew that he wasn't completely ill, but an abusive brat. I tried sending him to jail, but the judge was against it, saying that he surely had a mental illness. I felt hopeless, afraid that he would come after Noah again because at the end of the day, I am an old woman with little money, what could this woman do?''

''Samantha and Jack had no children, and there seemed to be a problem with them because they have consulted many doctors about the matter. We decided to make Noah live with them, treat him like their real son, creating a serene life for my love, so he wouldn't grow up shocked. I agreed because I knew their intention very well, and I wanted what's best for Noah. They took him with them, and as you can see, I get to see him nearly everyday and the topic was long gone. A few years later, Samantha got pregnant with Skylar, Noah's sister. He lover her so much, as much as the little girl adores him. He sometimes brings her with him to visit me.''

I trembled, coldly. I couldn't believe what my ears were hearing, even if I tried, it was too hard. How did all of this happen to him? I felt pain spread through me, making me realize that I was a sobbing mess. I tried collecting myself, but it was too hard. She exchanged her seating and came next to me on the sofa, gathering my fragile body in her warm embrace.

''I-I am so sorry, dear.'' She patted my back, slowly and gently. I raised myself up to look at her.

''H-he is s-safe, right?'' I whispered, hurt pouring out of my voice.

''Garett visited me the night before you got hit by a car.'' She whispered, ''and apparently he has been out of the lunatic asylum long time ago.'' She reached for my hand, '' He threatened me by Noah, and said some stuff about how he was going to make our lives a living hell because of what we did to him. Then, I got the news of your accident and everything added up.''

H-he was the one who had hit me with the speeding car. And he is also the one behind the failed trial of knocking me out yesterday!

I felt my nerves freeze in an instant, all my senses were thrown away from a window. Surprisingly, this all didn't shake me as much as the fact that Noah was in danger. He mattered more than me to myself. I would die a million times if that would make him safe, but unfortunately, this is not how things work in life. Loving someone is most of the time the worst way to get hurt, it drives you crazy how you are helpless when it comes to them, and only them.

''He is using you, Emma, because he knows how much you mean to Noah.''

At this point nothing made sense. I was breathless as if I had ran a marathon.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does it always have to be innocents that are hurt the most? Why can't anything be simple? I am so tired and done with all of this. My eyes were tired with the things I see daily, my hurt was tried of how much it twists in pain. Everything hurt, everyday, every second of it.

xxx

We cried in each other's embrace for what seemed like forever, leaving the gapped silence hanging between us. No one tried filling in the gaps as we silently stayed in the same position.

After what seemed like forever, our crying had ceased down, but the silence was still there, but I didn't mind it one bit.

''I love him,'' I whispered, shifting her attention to me, ''I love him so damn much, it hurts.'' I gestured to my heart. ''He was annoying when I first met him, but there was always this thing that made me long for him.'' I sighed loudly, ''We maybe didn't have time to know each other well, but since the moment I had laid eyes on him, I felt it...'' I trialed off, noticing the gleam in her eyes, ''He was the one that I was meant to be with.'' I whispered, ''I know, but as cheesy as it sounds, it feels so true and so right. Like if anything happened other than that, I would be doomed.''

She laughed, ''When he first met you, he came from school to me, and hasn't stopped talking about how fiery you were, and how your brothers were the biggest pair of assholes.'' I laughed heartedly at that one, and she along with me, ''But I also felt it. The shine in his eyes, the passion in his talks, the way he wanted to learn how to make brownies, so he could give them to you.'' She giggled when I looked at her, confusion written all over my face.

''You mean the brownies he brought me everyday? you didn't bake them?''

''No, he did.'' She answered me simply, watching in amusement as my heart flipped.

''T-they tasted so good.'' I mumbled, unthinkably.

''Because they are made with love. Trust me, I was there to witness that cheeky smile he had on every time he would come to bake them.'' She laughed.

And just like that, I stayed with this awesome woman the whole night, totally forgetting about what she had told me. We baked brownies by the end of the night, and she insisted on giving me half of them when I am to go home. She brought all of Noah's baby photos with the knights, and even showed me a photo of Aurora, her daughter. She was in fact beautiful, exactly like Noah.

Dear Noah,

I am not going anywhere.

XOXO

see ya,