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.

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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.

did have that

wasn’t

anyone–would be first in line to

Ronan says thoughtfully. “You don’t seem broken and fragile to me. Truthfully, I’m pretty sure the fact that you’re here talking to me points to you actually being extremely strong and brave. You

ever stopped to consider that

to me.

not in the

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can do things now that I couldn’t do before.

not saying that makes it all

to ever go through that, because I can’t exactly say what I’ve gained makes it all okay.

greater

me, if I decide to look at it from a different

can sense that you’re special, Emily,” Ronan continues in a sincere voice. “In a way that no one in your family can probably see. But I get the feeling that’s also because you don’t

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

they just not

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

mean in a spiteful way, I just mean

kind of way.

a little. “It’s also their loss if they can’t see any of that. You’re strong. You’ve proven

I’m speechless.

don’t know what to say, but

say to him, emotion catching in

he gets to his feel.

week,” he says. “Maybe I’ll

smiling, because I hope I do

also get to my feet, and we stand there

I step forward and

hugs me