My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 177

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Chapter 177

“She’s always been like that “ima smiled. “Even before she could talk. She just connects with people. Doesn’t understand the reasons she’s not supposed to.”

Aldric looked at Cas, who had been quiet for the past several minutes. Just present. Watching. Letting Emma do what Emma did naturally–dismantle defenses with honesty and warmth.

“You sit on floors,” Aldric said to him. “For her. You sit on living room floors to be at her level.”

“It seems obvious. She can’t come up to my level. I can go down to hers.” Cas paused. “She explained the block stable history the first time–why horses needed stables, what historical stables looked like, why hers should have hay storage even though toy horses don’t eat. She was three years old. She’d remembered something I told her about pre–industrial transportation and built an entire architectural philosophy around it.” He stopped. “Aldric, I have been in diplomatic negotiations with heads of supernatural governments. I have never been more genuinely interested in what someone was saying than I was listening to a three–year–old explain hay storage.”

“Because it mattered to her.”

“Because it mattered to her,” Cas confirmed. “Which made it matter to me. That’s-” He paused, searching for words. “That’s what integration actually is. Not political frameworks or coalition agreements or quarterly reports. It’s mattering to each other.

One conversation at a time.”

Aldric sat with that. The room was quiet in the way that felt full rather than empty–all three of us watching an ancient creature

wrestle with eleven centuries of certainty.

Finally, he looked at Emma. “You said the people we lose get clearer with time. Not smaller.”

“Yes.”

“The person I lost–she would have said something like that.” He folded Grace’s drawing once more and tucked it inside his coat, close to where hearts were. “She would have offered me pot roast and told me to stop calling my feelings strategy.”

Emma’s eyes went soft. “She sounds like she was remarkable”

“She was the most honest person I ever knew.” He stood, signaling the meeting’s end in that way ancient creatures had- complete and definitive. “I haven’t changed my vote. I want to be clear about that. I’m still reconsidering eleven centuries of positions, and that’s not a quick process.”

“We know,” I said.

“But I will be honest about what I’ve seen here today. What I’ve–felt. Which is not something I expected to feel in a negotiation about supernatural political frameworks.” He looked at each of us. “Thank you for meeting with nie. For the drawing. For the- straightforward truth.”

“Thank you for asking,” Emma said. “Aldric? When you’re finished reconsidering. When you’ve found your way through eleven centuries of certainty to whatever’s on the other side–we’d like to hear what you found. Not for political reasons. Just–because

we’re curious.”

He looked at her for a long moment. And there it was—what I’d hoped for, watched for throughout the entire meeting.

A faint smile. Not political. Not calculated. Just an old creature encountering something genuine.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said. “About the horse names as well.”

After he left, the three of us sat in the quiet room.

“The drawing,” Cas said finally. “She sent Grace’s drawing.”

“She made it for him specifically.” Emma tucked her bag under her arm. “She said, ‘Someone who wants to know about the horses is probably sad and drawings help when you’re sad.“” She paused. “Five years old.”

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“She knew he was lonely,” I said. “She’s never met hire and she knew he was lonely.”

“She’s always known.” Emmasrood, “The same way she knew you were lonely, Cas. Way before any of us said it out loud. She just–ran to you anyway. She moved toward the door. “That’s why Grace scares the Council. Not politics. Not symbolism. Just that instinct to run toward people instead of away from them. If that spreads—if more children grow up with that instinct

intact-

“Their ideology becomes untenable,” Cas finished quietly.

“Exactly.” She paused at the door. “Come on. Grace will want to know if Aldric liked her drawing. And I promised her ice cream if she was patient today.”

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