Emily was so furious at her brother's constant backtalk that she felt like she was going to pass out. A sharp pain twisted in her stomach-a warning. There was still a baby inside her. She couldn't let anger take over.

"I told you to find a real, stable job-not to mess around PLAYING entrepreneur with your friends."

"Mess around?" Francie shot back. "I've got a whole plan, okay? And Aaron's already said yes! He's a business genius. If he thinks it's a good idea, what makes you think you know better?"

His smug tone made Emily's blood boil. A mix of betrayal, disappointment, and rage surged through her. Aaron had never once mentioned helping Francie open a bar. What-was her opinion just completely irrelevant now?

And Francie's reaction when she hinted at her and Aaron splitting up? It wasn't concern for her. He didn't care if she was being mistreated. He only panicked because it might mean his funding would get cut off.

Her own brother-closer to Aaron than to her. She was beyond disappointed. And now he was yelling back at her like she was the problem?

"You need to remember who your actual family is!"

Francie snapped, "All I know is real family supports you no matter what!"

"That's blind support, not love!"

"You keep saying it's for my own good-but it's always 'no' to this and 'don't do' that. How is that good for me?"

Their voices kept rising. The bodyguard who had been keeping his distance now started walking back toward them, sensing trouble. Emily caught the movement from the corner of her eye-she didn't want this entire conversation ending up in Aaron's ears.

She locked eyes with her always-reckless brother. "I'm going to talk to Aaron. That bar? Forget it. It's not happening."

"What?! No-Emily, I already told my friends! You're seriously screwing me over!"

Francie shouted, visibly pissed but desperate too. He stepped toward her.

The bodyguard quickly extended an arm, blocking his path. "Please don't get too close."

Francie glared at him. "Do you even know who I am? I'm her brother-why the hell can't I get near her?"

The bodyguard replied calmly, "Mr. Lopez instructed us to keep Mrs. Lopez safe. Your emotions are running a little high, sir. Please calm down."

The moment Aaron's name came up, Francie deflated just a bit. His tone turned sarcastic, bitter. "Wow. Must be nice, sis. Having a husband who's always there to protect you."

No matter how mad he got, Francie wouldn't actually lay a finger on her. Still, having to sit through her lectures always rubbed him the wrong way.

Emily gently pushed the bodyguard's hand aside. "It's fine," she muttered.

Was this protection... or surveillance?

She looked at Francie's sulking face. "If you've got that much time on your hands, go visit Grandma."

"For what?" Francie rolled his eyes. "All she does is praise you anyway. What's the point? Might as well not go."

"When did you become like this?" Emily's voice was heavy. "She worked herself to the bone raising us. And now that she's sick, you can't even bother to check in? You've visited once in six months."

"She's living in luxury. VIP suite, best meals, best care-thanks to Aaron. What exactly do you need me there for?"

Emily could barely recognize the boy standing in front of her. Every other word out of his mouth was Aaron, Aaron, Aaron.

"Forget it," she said coldly. "I'm done arguing. Go think about what kind of person you're turning into."

She turned and signaled for the bodyguard to follow. Francie still wasn't finished-he kept yelling at her until she climbed into the car. But she didn't look back. The car pulled away, and she let the distance swallow his voice.

At around eleven, Emily finally heard the sound of Aaron coming home. She closed the book she'd been pretending to read-she'd been forcing herself to stay up just to wait for him.

"You're still up?" Aaron asked as he walked in.

After the tense conversation they'd had earlier that afternoon, he wasn't showing any lingering emotion. His tone was casual, like everything was normal.

Emily pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders. "Do you have a minute? I want to talk about Francie."

Aaron paused. Usually, when she waited up for him, she'd help hang up his coat, ask about work, check if he was tired. Not tonight.

She didn't do any of that.

She was pulling away.

Reining in his thoughts, Aaron tossed his coat aside and loosened his tie. "You mean the speeding ticket?"

"It wasn't just speeding," Emily said, her voice firm. "He illegally modified his Motorcycle. And I also heard he said you agreed to help him open a bar."

Her eyes were locked on him-accusing, searching.

Aaron sighed and sat down on the couch. "He came to me last month. And yeah, I agreed."

"You didn't think to talk to me first?" Emily sat beside him, angling her body toward his. "He just got in trouble at a bar. Did that slip your mind?"

"Francie asked me not to tell you," Aaron said. "He wanted to make something of himself first. Thought he could surprise you once it started working."

Emily frowned. "So what-you thought the money was pocket change, so it didn't matter?"

Aaron's brows pulled together, but his tone stayed even. "I'm not just handing it to him. It's a loan. He said he'll pay me back once they start turning a profit."

"YOU believe him?" she muttered, pressing her fingers to her temple. She couldn't understand why Aaron was being so lenient with her brother.

Aaron blinked, his eyes dry. He reached over and gently patted her hand where it rested on her thigh. "He's not the same kid he was three years ago. He's grown. Maybe give him this one chance, yeah? He's your family. I just want to help take care of you both."

Emily's thoughts were spinning. How was she supposed to trust someone who was still getting into trouble this afternoon?

"I know you see him like a little brother too..."

Before she could finish, Aaron's phone started ringing. He glanced at the screen, and his expression shifted instantly-serious, sharp.

"Hold on," he said quickly, and picked up.

Emily stared at him, stunned. Who would call at this hour?

She watched as his face tightened. He spoke low, in fragments: "Don't cry... Tell me where you are... I'm coming."

The call ended in under a minute.

Before she could say a word, Aaron stood up abruptly, grabbing his coat.

"Sorry-I have to deal with something. We'll talk when I get back."

Emily rushed over and grabbed the hem of his coat. "It's almost midnight. What kind of 'something' is this?"

She didn't want to care.

She shouldn't care.

But in that moment, she couldn't help herself.

"Em, don't do this. I really have to go." Aaron looked genuinely anxious, but he didn't yank his coat free from where Emily was gripping it.

"We were in the middle of talking about Francie. Didn't you just say we're family? That you wanted to take care of us?" Her voice was tight, almost pleading. She already had a good idea who was on the other end of that call-she just wanted to see if Aaron would stay.

Even with that hope in her eyes, Aaron didn't change his mind.

"Your brother's NOT in any danger. Ami fell. I NEED to check on her."

Emily let out a cold, hollow laugh. She fell, and that was enough to make him run out the door at this hour? She stared into his tired eyes, and still-he didn't hesitate. Not even for a second.

"She's hurt, but it's not life-threatening. WHY do you have to go yourself? Can't you send someone else?" Her tone was icy, laced with something even she didn't fully realize-jealousy.

"I WON'T feel right unless I go. Ami just got back to town-she doesn't know her way around, and she won't feel safe with someone she doesn't know." He checked his watch again.

Emily's gaze dropped. He was making her sound unreasonable. A strange, choking emotion started twisting around her chest, tangling tighter and tighter. Her grip on his coat tightened. "Don't go."

Aaron froze.

Emily had never asked that of him before. No matter how late he came home, how often he left, she'd always smiled, told him to come back soon, maybe pouted a little, asked for a makeup dinner or an extra hug. But now, her eyes were filled with something else-something desperate-and it made him hesitate.

Then his phone rang again.

This time, the voice on the other end was loud enough that even Emily could hear it clearly. A girl's voice, crying. "Aaron, where are you? I'm so scared..."

And Aaron answered instantly, "I'm almost there. Hang on, okay?"

Emily froze.

That tone-so gentle. So tender. She used to think that voice was reserved just for her. But not anymore. Something inside her cracked open, sharp and raw. 

Her hand slowly let go. She felt the fabric of his suit slip through her fingers. Her lashes trembled as she looked down.

Aaron quickly straightened his clothes, reached out to brush her hair back. "I'll be back soon."

What time did he actually come back? Or did he ever?

All Emily knew was that he didn't return to their room the entire night.

All because of one phone call from Amelia-he dropped everything like he was under a spell.

He'd told her before that Amelia was married, told her not to overthink.

If she ever had the chance, she would love to meet Amelia's husband-just to ask how the hell he managed to be so... forgiving.

Aaron had been so distracted lately, he didn't even bother having the bodyguards restrict her movements anymore-which, honestly, was a win for her.

Emily stared blankly at her contacts list, her finger hovering over one name: Georgia. She kept tapping in and out of the screen, hesitating... and then finally, she gathered the nerve and hit Call.

Georgia had once been her closest friend-before she got married. About a year into her marriage, their contact slowly faded.

Aaron had suggested more than once that she spend time with the wives of his business partners. Emily tried. But their conversations were always about the latest luxury bags, who got the rarest gift from their husband, or where they were going for spa weekends. She never fit in with any of that.

And honestly, she knew those women talked behind her back. Called her the "lucky Cinderella," and said Aaron only kept her around because she was harmless. None of them were real friends. Just fake smiles and shallow clout.

Thinking of Georgia... she couldn't quite pinpoint why they'd grown apart. She wasn't even sure if Georgia would want to hear from her after all this time.

But as she sat there debating, the call suddenly connected-and the first thing she heard was a baby crying.

Then came Georgia's voice: "Hello?"

The sound threw Emily off so much she momentarily forgot what she meant to say.

"Hello? Emmy?"

Emily blinked. "Gigi... was that your baby crying just now?" she asked, surprised.

Georgia laughed softly. "Yeah. Just turned three months."

"Oh my god... it's only been a little while and you've already had a baby?" Emily blurted out, skipping right over any formal greeting.

"Yeah... it's been almost two years since we last saw each other."

That hit Emily hard. Two whole years. And she hadn't known anything-not about the pregnancy, not the baby. Some friend she'd been.

She spoke, a little embarrassed, "Sorry, I got carried away. Honestly... I called because I've been wondering how you've been."

The line went quiet for a second.

"Emmy... did something happen?"

The sudden concern cracked something inside her. Emily'd thought she'd hidden it well. Worn her mask like armor. But even someone she hadn't spoken to in years could sense something was wrong.

"Yeah... I haven't been doing too great lately," Emily said, voice soft. "I was just thinking about our school days. You popped into my head, and I wanted to talk."

She'd wanted to suggest meeting up, but it felt selfish-like she was only reaching out when she needed someone. That wasn't fair to Georgia.

Just hearing her voice again felt like enough.

But then-Georgia beat her to it.

"Hey... are you free today? Wanna meet up?"

The world lit up. Emily's lips parted in surprise, a little caught off guard by how fast her heart fluttered. Her fingers trembled slightly against the phone. "I'm free! Where do you wanna meet?"

"I've got to swing by the library around three. We could meet out front afterward?"

Emily's eyes welled up. "Perfect. I'll see you there."

Her heart was pounding by the time she left the house, nervous but full of hope. And when she saw Georgia standing quietly in front of the library, it all came rushing back-memories of university days, of the same girl waiting so they could walk home together.

"Gigi!" she called.

The woman with a low ponytail turned around and, as soon as she saw her, broke into a soft, familiar smile.

Emily had braced herself for coldness, some distance. But Georgia was just the same as always-gentle, like a breeze in early spring.

"Emmy... it's been forever. I didn't think you'd actually call. Honestly, I thought you were still mad at me."

Emily was so caught up in the joy of seeing her again, she didn't even register the odd tone in that sentence. "What? Gigi, what are you talking about? If anything, I thought you were mad at me."