The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Daniel’s POV:

The screen lit up with Nicholas’s name, and I felt the familiar weight settle over me.

I excused myself from the living room, leaving Emma to unpack, and made my way to the study.

The door clicked shut behind me, muffling the sounds of the apartment. I took a breath before answering.

“Nicholas.”

“Daniel. Thank God.” His voice came through sharp, agitated. “I need you to help me track down a car.”

I leaned against the desk and asked doubtfully. “What happened?”

“Emma’s been fucking poached, that’s what happened.” The bitterness in his tone was palpable.

“Wait” I straightened, my jaw tightening. “What does this have to do with a car?”

The bitterness in his tone was palpable. “Tom saw her two nights ago–getting out of some luxury car right in front of her dorm. Same make as yours, actually. One of those limited editions.”

My hand tightened on the phone.

“I need to know who it was,” Nicholas continued, his voice sharp with frustration. “That model–there can’t be more than a handful in Boston. You have connections at the dealership, right? I need a list of owners.”

I should tell him. The words were right there, ready to end this absurd charade.

But something held me back.

“Why does it matter?” I asked instead, keeping my tone neutral. “You broke up with her. What she does now–who she sees–that’s not your concern

anymore.”

There was a pause on the other end. Long enough that I could practically hear him recalibrating, searching for justification that wouldn’t sound as petty as

it was.

His laugh was sharp, humorless. “You don’t get it. It’s about…the principle of the thing, Daniel. We weren’t even broken up for two weeks and she’s already climbing into some rich asshole’s car? After all that innocent act–refusing my gifts, acting like I was asking too much when I wanted to hold her hand?

So this is about protecting a stranger from Emma’s supposed gold digging tendencies.”

“Exactly!” Nicholas seized on it, missing or ignoring the skepticism in my tone entirely. “You don’t know what her family’s really like. Danel. But i sane it firsthand.

I waited, saying nothing.

Her stepfather–Robert–he actually cornered me outside the business school last spring. Started with all this friendly bullshit about getting to know Emma’s boyfriend, then within five minutes he was pitching some investment scheme. When I said I wasn’t interested, he got pushy. Started talking abou.

9.25 am

Chapter 52

ppp.

how family helps family, how the Prescotts and Johnsons were practically related.”

“So you see why I need to know who this guy is,” Nicholas continued. “Before Robert Williams starts circling him, too.”

“He asked you for money.”

“Not asked. Expected.” Nicholas’s voice rose with renewed indignation. “Like dating Emma came with some kind of financial obligation to her entire extended family.”

That stopped me cold.

I’d known Emma’s family situation was complicated. The tension with her mother, the clear preference for her half–brother. But this was the first I’d heard of Robert Williams attempting extortion.

My grip on the phone tightened. I thought of Emma in the hospital, the way she’d looked when her mother appeared–braced, wary.

The careful way she’d tried to refuse the credit card tonight, insisting she didn’t need anything.

“You weren’t there, Daniel. You didn’t see how calculated it all was. How her whole family treated me like… like a resource to be mined. His voice took on an edge of self–righteousness. “Someone needs to look out for the guys in our circle. These girls–they see the cars, the name, and suddenly they’re willing to put up with anything for a shot at the lifestyle.”

T

Each word scraped against something raw in my chest.

“Are you serious right now?”

Each word made my jaw tighter. This was how he saw her. How he’d always seen her.

If this is how he saw her all along, I thought, why the hell did I wait?

Two years. I’d watched this unfold for two years, telling myself I was being honorable. Giving Nicholas a chance to prove he could be better. Giving Emma space to make her own choices.

And the whole time, Nicholas had been looking at her like this. Treating her like this.

What a waste.

“Nicholas.” My voice came out colder than I’d intended. “This is exactly why you’re not compatible. If this is how you see her-“

“Jesus Christ, Daniel, whose side are you on?”

I didn’t answer that. Instead: “A woman doesn’t need her ex–boyfriend’s approval to move on with her life. She doesn’t need your protection, your warnings, or your interference. If you genuinely believe she’s the calculating opportunist you re describing, then you should be relieved she’s someone else’s problem

now.

Nicholas fell into silence, his voice turned calculating. “So are you going to help me find out who, or not? Because I swear to God, when I figure out which

asshole is-

“What?”

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