Bad Love an Alpha’s Regret by Elise Sinclair

Chapter 313

He holds out his hand and I take it, shaking.

His grip is firm and cool, and there’s something almost comforting about it.

“I’m Emily,” I tell him in return.

His smile deepens. “That’s a pretty name.”

I laugh at this.

Ronan might be too charming for his own good.

“I think it’s pretty basic myself, but you’re welcome to your opinion.”

He gives a quick, friendly laugh.

“So, Emily, what has you out here looking so down on a day like today?”

I take a slow breath, working out how I can explain without sounding crazy.

“Something bad happened to me, something traumatizing,” I begin, choosing my words carefully. “Something that went on for a long time. I finally got out just recently, and now my family are treating me like I’m fragile and broken. Maybe because I am.

7

But I don’t want to be. And I can’t stay with my family, I can see that. It’s just not going to work. They’ll hate me when the realize the truth of everything that happened to me. Except I don’t know what to do, and don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Ronan nods, listening with sympathy and understanding.

And I realize it’s something no one has bothered to do since I got home.

They all just assume they know what happened to me, and what they should do about it.

that moment with

wasn’t real..

line to kill me

to me points to you actually being extremely strong and brave. You survived that bad thing you went through. And maybe these might seem like empty words, but I’m sure if you look inside yourself, you’ll see that

think I’ve ever stopped to consider that I

to me.

Just not in the

www

were literally torture, but I can do

that makes it all worthwhile.

not to ever go through that, because I can’t

since it puts me in greater danger from people

there are benefits to the new me, if I decide to look at it

that no one in your family can probably see. But

believe how much this stranger has actually seen me- in a way Aaron and Jessica and Axel and everyone else maybe never will.

they just

are they simply so caught up in their own drama–and I was gone for ten years, so they’ve all moved on without me–that

spiteful way, I just mean in an

kind of way.

their loss if they can’t see any of that. You’re strong. You’ve proven that to yourself. You don’t need to prove it to

I’m speechless.

but I’m deeply

say to him, emotion catching

he gets to

these trails a few times a week,” he says. “Maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.”

smiling, because I hope I do see

also get to my feet, and we stand

forward and hug him.

then hugs me back, and