The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 181

9:05 am P P P P

The Forbidden Throb

Chapter 181

Nicholas’s POV:

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

My entire body had gone numb, like someone had injected ice water directly into my veins.

All the righteous indignation I’d felt just moments ago-the anger, the sense of betrayal, the wounded pride-it had evaporated completely. Burned away by the truth of what Daniel had just told me.

I thought of myself at six. Playing in the garden while Mom watched, laughing when I showed her the frogs I’d caught, feeling her hands

smooth my hair when I scraped my knee.

After all of ot, Daniel was still being my older brother. Still cleaning up my messes. Still looking out for me.

Everything I have, I earned myself. Through my own work. My own effort.

The words took on a different meaning now. Not a rebuke, but a simple statement of fact. Daniel hadn’t been given anything. Not love, not comfort, not even basic maternal acknowledgment. Everything he’d become, he’d built from nothing.

While I’d been handed the world on a silver platter and complained it wasn’t shiny enough.

“I” My voice came out strangled. I swallowed hard, tried again. “Does… does the family know? About you and Emma?”

Daniel’s gaze lifted slightly, his expression carrying a certain detachment. “I told them.”

“Grandfather accepted it. As for Mother’s attitude-” He paused, and something flickered across his face, too quick to read. “That has nothing to

do with me.”

The casual dismissal in his tone made my chest tighten.

My brain felt like it had been thrown into a blender. I tried to process what he was saying, to line up the pieces in some kind of logical order. but they kept slipping away from me.

“So I’m…” I swallowed hard, my eyes widening as the realization hit. “The last one to know?”

My ex-girlfriend had married my own brother, and this bombshell of news was only reaching me now?

“I chose not to tell you until after your graduation,” Daniel said quietly, cutting off my question with an answer that somehow made it worse. “You needed to focus on completing your degree. I didn’t want you to make any impulsive decisions that might jeopardize your academic standing.”

Protection. He called it protection.

Like I was some fragile thing that needed to be shielded from reality. Like I couldn’t be trusted to handle the truth without self destructing,

The worst part was-he was probably right.

?

↑ shift

Ja

end

enter

9:05 am P PPP.

Chapter 181

If he’d told me a month ago, when I was stressed about finals and networking events, I would have lost it completely.

Again.

The sound of footsteps on the wooden platform made me look up. A young waiter approached our booth, carrying an elegant shopping bag embossed with the country club’s logo. He bowed slightly toward Daniel.

“Mr. Prescott, here are the dishes you ordered.”

“That’s fine, thank you.” Daniel’s voice had shifted, becoming warmer, more approachable. “Just set them on the table.”

Daniel’s attention shifted to Emma. I watched him notice her untouched lobster roll, the way she’d only picked at her Caesar salad.

“You said your appetite wasn’t good earlier,” he said gently, reaching across the table to close the takeout container with those long, elegant surgeon’s fingers. “Take this home. You can eat it later tonight when you feel like it.”

The tenderness in his voice made my chest ache.

He stood, moving around the table to where Emma sat. I watched-couldn’t look away-as he helped her into the camel-colored cashmere cardigan that had been draped over her chair. His movements were practiced, intimate. Like he’d done this a thousand times before.

“Do you need your scarf?” His voice was low, meant only for her. “It’s windy outside.”

Emma shook her head, but Daniel was already reaching for the soft gray cashmere scarf, tucking it gently into her arms.

I’d never taken care of Emma like that. Never paid attention to whether she was cold or hungry or uncomfortable. I’d just… assumed she was fine. That she’d speak up if she needed something.

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9:05 am Pppp

The Forbidden Throb