My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“And Vanessa?” I had to know “Do you still have feelings for her?”

“No.” His answer was immediate, certain. “What I felt for Vanessa–it wasn’t love. It was familiarity. Comfort. A fantasy I’d built up over years that had nothing to do with reality. When she showed her true nature, when she hired rogues to kill you, any remaining feelings I had turned to disgust.”

“She destroyed us,” I said, the words bitter on my tongue.

“No.” Jeremy’s hand cupped my face, gentle despite his weakness. “I destroyed us Vanessa was just the weapon I used. But Emma, I made the choice. I’m the one who cheated, who lied, who planned to use you. All of that was me.”

The honesty was brutal. Part of me wanted him to make excuses, to blame Vanessa entirety, to make it easier to forgive him.

But this this raw accountability–this was what I needed to hear.

“I don’t know if I can do this again,” I admitted, tears finally spilling over. “I don’t know if I can trust you not to hurt me. And I hate that I still love you because it would be so much easier if I didn’t.”

“I know.” He brushed away my tears with his thumb. “And I’m not asking you to trust me. Not yet. Trust is earned, and I need to earn yours back. If you even want to give me that chance.

“I don’t know what I want,” I confessed. “Part of me wants to run. To protect myself. To never risk this kind of pain again.”

“And the other part?”

“The other part wants to believe people can change. That love

what we had before, but something stronger, more honest an survive betrayal. That we could build something new–not

“I want that too,” Jeremy said softly. “More than anything. But Emma, I won’t pressure you. Won’t push. If you need space, if you need time, if you decide you can’t forgive me–I’ll accept it. Your healing, your happiness, that’s what matters.”

I studied his face, looking for signs of manipulation or insincerity. But all I saw was genuine remorse. Genuine love. ↑

“I need time,” I said finally. “I need to figure out who I am now, separate from you, from us. I need to know I’m staying because I want to, not because the mate bond is pulling me back.”

“The bond is dissolved,” Jeremy reminded me gently.

“I know. But something still connects us. I need to understand what that is. If it’s just trauma bonding, or habit, or actual love worth fighting for.”

“Okay.” He nodded, though I could see the fear in his eyes–fear that I’d decide he wasn’t worth the fight. “Take all the time you

need.”

“But I’m not leaving,” I added quickly. “Not yet. I’ll be here while you heal. But Jeremy, when you’re better, when you’re back to full strength–we need real distance. Real space for me to figure this out.”

Pain flashed across his face, but he nodded. “I understand. And Emma? Thank you. For being here now. For giving me even this much. It’s more than I deserve.”

“Probably,” I agreed, a small, sad smile crossing my face. “But apparently I’m a glutton for punishment.”

“Or incredibly brave,” he said. “My father told me what you did at the pack meeting. That you could have shown that video, destroyed my reputation completely, but you chose mercy instead.” 1

“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for the pack.”

“I know. But you could have done both–protected the pack and destroyed me. You chose not to.” His eyes searched mine. Why?”

Chapter 35

+25 BONUS

Because destroying you would have destroyed me too, I thought. Because I still loved you even when I hated you. Because somewhere, beneath all the pain and anger, I still hoped we could find our way back to each other.

But I wasn’t ready to say any of that out loud.

“Because Vanessa had already won enough,” I said instead. “I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of tearing this pack apart from the inside.”

It wasn’t the whole truth. But it was true enough.

A knock on the door interrupted us. Dr. Reeves entered with a physical therapist

“Ready to try walking today?” she asked Jeremy with an encouraging smile.

He looked at me. “Will you stay?” 4

I should say no. Should start creating boundaries, start that distance I’d just told him I needed.

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