Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO ALWAYS NEEDED SAVING
I had spent three years telling myself Mia was simply dependent.
Immature, perhaps.
Accustomed to being rescued.
But not deliberately cruel.
After meeting Richard, I began to question that assumption.
Not because Mia had been given a room.
Because she knew I hadn't agreed to it.
And she'd said nothing.
That evening, I received another message from her.
Emma, can we please talk woman to woman? I hate that Daniel is suffering.
I stared at the screen.
Then replied:
We can talk once, in a public place.
She answered immediately.
Thank you. You're such a good person.
I didn't respond.
We met at a coffee shop the next morning.
Mia arrived wearing a pale blue sweater.
Her eyes were red.
She looked exhausted.
“Emma,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“Mia.”
She sat down.
For a moment, she simply stared at me.
Then she began crying.
“I never wanted this.”
I waited.
“Daniel is miserable.”
I said nothing.
“He barely sleeps.”
Still nothing.
Mia wiped her eyes.
“He loves you.”
I looked at her.
“Then why are you here?”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Why isn't Daniel having this conversation with me?”
Mia looked down.
“He asked me to help.”
I nodded.
“Of course he did.”
She leaned forward.
“Emma, Daniel has always taken care of me.”
“I know.”
“He's like my brother.”
“I know.”
“So why does that bother you?”
I took a slow breath.
“It doesn't bother me that he cares about you.”
“Then—”
“It bothers me that he makes decisions affecting me without asking.”
Mia looked away.
I continued.
“You had the security code to a house I helped pay for.”
She nodded.
“You were planning to move in.”
Another nod.
“And you knew I hadn't agreed.”
Silence.
I leaned forward.
“Didn't you?”
Mia's eyes filled.
“Daniel said you'd understand.”
I waited.
She whispered, “Eventually.”
That word told me everything.
Eventually.
After the wedding.
After I'd moved in.
After my money was committed.
After leaving became harder.
I looked at her.
“Mia, did you ever tell Daniel you didn't want to move in if I was uncomfortable?”
She hesitated.
Then said:
“I didn't think I should have to.”
I nodded slowly.
“Thank you for being honest.”
She frowned.
“Emma—”
“You're allowed to need help. But I'm allowed to decide what happens in my home.”
Mia's expression hardened.
“You keep calling it your home.”
I stared.
“Because I helped pay for it.”
She looked away.
“Daniel owns it.”
The words hung between us.
I felt something settle inside me.
There it was.
The truth beneath all the wounded expressions.
Mia didn't see me as an equal partner in that house.
She saw me as someone who had helped Daniel acquire something.
Something Daniel could share with her.
I stood.
Mia looked startled.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
She began crying again.
“Please don't do this.”
I looked at her.
“I'm not doing anything to you, Mia.”
I picked up my bag.
“I'm making a decision about my own life.”
That evening, Olivia came over.
I told her everything.
She listened.
Then asked one question.
“Do you still love him?”
I looked down.
“Yes.”
Olivia nodded.
“And do you want to marry him?”
I swallowed.
“No.”
She squeezed my hand.
“Both can be true.”
I began crying.
Because until that moment, I'd thought love was supposed to make the decision for me.
Now I understood.
Love mattered.
May you like
But so did trust.
And I no longer had any.
