The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 183

Chapter 183

Emma’s POV:

The parking lot felt impossibly quiet after the chaos of the restaurant.

I watched Daniel place the takeout containers into the insulated bag in the back seat. His movements were slower than usual, as if each action required conscious effort.

I was already buckled into the passenger seat, my hands folded in my lap.

Through the windshield, the sky stretched pale and endless above us. But I couldn’t focus on the scenery. My attention kept drifting to Daniel’s profile as he closed the trunk, to the set of his shoulders, to the way his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

He slid into the driver’s seat and gripped the steering wheel, but didn’t turn the key. The silence expanded between us, filling the car like water

rising.

I studied his face. His mouth was set in that careful, controlled line.

“Are you okay?” The question came out softer than I’d intended.

Daniel’s fingers flexed on the steering wheel. I watched his throat work as he swallowed.

For a moment, I thought he might give me his usual response-I’m fine-the automatic deflection he’d perfected over thirty years.

But the words never came. He just sat there, staring straight ahead, his hands gripping the wheel like it was the only thing keeping him

anchored.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, the click loud in the stillness.

Daniel’s head turned slightly, his eyes finding mine through those perfectly clean lenses.

Without thinking, I reached for his right hand where it rested on the wheel. His fingers were cool beneath mine. I lifted his hand from the steering wheel and brought it to the side of my neck, pressing his palm against my skin.

“Daniel.” I took a breath, steeling myself. “I need you to know something.”

His eyes met mine fully now. Behind the lenses, I could see something vulnerable flickering in those deep brown depths.

“No matter what happens in the future…” I paused, making sure he was listening, really listening. “No matter what your family thinks. No matter what the world says. I will always love you. Foever.”

The words hung in the air between us. I watched his pupils dilate, watched his throat work as he swallowed hard.

The sunlight slanted through the windshield, casting us both in a warm golden glow that felt at odds with the weight of the moment.

I reached into my coat pocket with my free hand, pulling out a small bag of maple candies.

9:06 am P P P P

Chapter 183

“You know what my grandmother used to tell me?” I said softly, tearing open one of the candies. “She said when you’re sad, if you keep it all locked inside, it’s like roots growing into the ground. The deeper they go, the harder they are to pull out.”

Daniel’s eyes tracked the movement as I unwrapped the amber-colored candy, his expression unreadable.

*But if you have something sweet…” I brought the maple candy to his lips, “it’s like pouring syrup over those bitter roots. Slowly, they start to

dissolve.”

He stared at the candy for a moment, and I saw something shift in his expression. A memory, perhaps. Something distant and half-forgotten.

Then I remembered-years ago, at a Prescott family Christmas gathering. I’d been dating Nicholas then, young and uncertain, trying to find my place in their glittering world. Daniel had been standing alone in the corner.

I’d approached him with a cup of hot cocoa, nervous and unsure. And I’d offered him a maple candy, just like this one. My grandmother says these make people happy, I’d whispered, before fleeing back to the safety of the crowd.

Had he remembered? Did he know, even then, that the girl offering him that small kindness would one day become his wife?

“Emma.” His voice was rough, barely above a whisper.

I waited, the candy still held between my fingers.

Slowly, carefully, he parted his lips. I placed the candy on his tongue, felt the briefest brush of his mouth against my fingertips.

The maple sugar began to melt immediately, its sweetness spreading across his palate. I watched him close his eyes, watched the hard line of his jaw soften just slightly as the familiar taste registered.

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RVisitor

chapters are becoming shorter!

7 days ago

11

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The Forbidden Throb