Emily's POV:
I could definitely say this was Damon's doing, and I looked at him.
"It's okay," he said, moving his hand around my waist and leading me forward to welcome them.
I stopped midway and whispered, "Damon… what if she says something about me in front of your parents?"
"She won't get that chance," he said, the last part sarcastically.
"Mom, Dad… how are you?" I asked them.
In the meantime, Stella hugged me.
"Hey! Happy Birthday, Emily," she wished me with a wide smile.
"Thank you, Stella," I said.
Jack came to give me a side hug and handed me a gift.
"I'll open it later," I said, looking at the gift in my hands, and he smiled.
I was looking at my mom and dad, but my mother kept avoiding my eyes — not even looking at me once. Just then, I felt something cool on my neck — a necklace being clasped.
I turned my face to see who it was, but before I could, I heard a soft voice, "To my beautiful daughter… a birthday present from your MOM. So don't take it off."
I turned and saw my mother-in-law, who had just called herself my mom. She was staring at my mother with rage in her eyes.
I cleared my throat. "Mom…"
She finally shifted her eyes to me and smiled. Just moments ago, she looked furious at my mother, but now her eyes were full of love for me.
"Mom, there was no need for gifts. You all being here is enough for me."
"I know, but this is for my happiness," she said, looking at the necklace. "By the way, did I tell you? You look gorgeous today."
I smiled and thanked her for the compliment.
"Mom, you go and enjoy with them. I'll be there in five minutes."
Just then Natasha joined us.
"Hey, Jack!" she said.
Mom looked at Natasha and then back at Jack with a curious smile.
I mouthed "five minutes" to Mom, whispering it.
"No need for those five minutes — come with me," she said, holding my hand and dragging me to Damon.
She kept me busy with small talk, but my eyes kept straying toward my father and mother. Even though they weren't my real family, I grew up believing they were.
God, I just want blessings from them — nothing more.
Praying silently, I held back my tears. I didn't want to shed tears at a moment like this — not when I was with Damon's family.
Mia and Jack were giving my parents company. Stella was with Damon, holding his hand and following him everywhere. Damon wasn't with me this entire time. But his mother stayed by my side.
I glanced at Damon, who was already looking at me. I smiled in his direction, but he looked away. He didn't even tell me how I looked today.
"Emily, did you notice Natasha being so different today?" Mom asked.
I looked at Natasha, who was behaving all girly — which wasn't her usual style.
"Yeah, Mom…" I said.
"Only around your brother Jack."
My eyes widened so much I thought they would pop out of their sockets.
"I'm just saying this from experience… but I don't know exactly," Mom added, looking at my mother.
"Mom, I know what you're doing," I said, looking at her knowingly.
"What did I do?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"You were being protective toward me in front of my mother — distracting me so she wouldn't ruin my mood by saying something."
I took a deep breath and continued, "But believe me, Mom… she is so good to Jack and Stella. If what you're thinking is true about Jack and Natasha, my mother will treat Natasha like a princess. She's cold-hearted only toward me."
Mom patted my back. "Stay strong, Emily… we will see what happens between them."
Just then, Natasha ran toward the door to receive someone and hugged him tightly.
"Who is that person?" I asked Mom.
"Natasha's father. You haven't met him — come, I'll introduce you," she said as we walked in his direction.
"Ethan," she called to him.
"Sister-in-law, how are you?" he asked politely.
"I am very good. This is Emily, Damon's wife," she introduced me.
"Hello, Emily. I'm Ethan Roy, Damon's uncle," he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
Damon came to welcome him, and the two started talking about business.
I think I had now met every family member in the Roy family — and they were all so nice — but something about Ethan gave me a negative vibe. Sometimes when we meet new people, we feel either a positive or negative energy. With him, it was definitely negative.
After some time, we cut the cake and had dinner with both families. Damon and I came to give send-off to my family.
I was talking to Stella when I heard my mother's voice.
"Can I talk to her for a minute?"
I turned to see she was asking Damon — which meant she wanted to talk to me.
Damon nodded and led her toward the garden, but he didn't ask me to come.
I was about to follow them when my phone vibrated with a text.
It was from Damon:
Damon:Can you come to the garden?
Without replying, I quietly walked into the garden and appeared in front of them from behind a tree. Both of them looked startled.
"You could have replied to his message first…" my mother said, holding her hand on her chest to calm herself.
My heart raced — my mother had just spoken to me. This was the best birthday gift ever.
"You wanted to talk to me?" I said, smiling widely, ignoring Damon's presence.
"Can I talk to her privately?" she asked Damon.
He looked at me. I mouthed to him, It's okay. You can go.
He left us, and I stood there, admiring my mother's face — the one I had missed so miserably.
I wanted to hug her. I wanted to hear her voice again.
"Happy Birthday," she said, looking for something in her handbag.
"Thank you, Mama," I said softly.
"Actually, we don't know your exact birthday. Your grandfather decided to celebrate this day as your birthday."
My heart sank.
"Why today?" I asked, lost.
"Your grandfather — I mean, my father-in-law — said this is the day he took you in his arms and called it your rebirth."
After she corrected herself, calling him her father-in-law, the earth beneath my feet felt like it was shaking. He was the only person who proudly talked about me — and now she was taking even his memories away from me.
"He is my grandfather," I said stubbornly, refusing to cry in front of her.
"Okay, your grandfather."
She took out a box from her handbag and handed it to me. Then she handed me a letter — the letter I had written that day, the one that went missing when I returned from the hospital.
"I read this letter, Emily."
Letter:
To Mom & Dad,
Thank you for allowing me to have a shelter under your roof even after Grandfather died.
I'm sorry that you had a hard time because of me.
Thank you for raising me even though I'm not your daughter.
You gave me this life, but now I'm going to waste it… because I want to see Grandfather, and now I'm going to see him.
I don't know what to say anymore…
I love you, Mom & Dad.
I love you, Jack.
I love you, Stella.
I will miss you all.
— Emily
I lifted my eyes when she said, "Emily, I want to put it as simply as possible. Your grandfather bought you against our will. At that time, Jack was still a small kid and had to share everything with you — and I hated it most.
"No mother will agree to raise a kid who is not her blood…"
Every time she used to get angry, I would rebel back. But not anymore.
I wasn't rebelling to hurt her — I was rebelling just to hide my tears.
And now, as she said not my blood, my heart shattered into pieces.
"And while growing up, you turned Jack and Stella against me — to hate me."
"No one hates you," I sobbed. "They both love you so much."
"Emily, past is past. Now you are married, you have a new family. So please don't bother us anymore."
With that, she left.
I collapsed on the grass, not crying out loud — but my stupid tears wouldn't stop.
"Emily…"
I saw Damon coming toward me, but the tears blurred my vision.
"Emily, don't cry… at least not today," he said.
"I am… not crying… but these stupid tears won't stop," I said between sobs.
He hugged me, kneeling down beside me.
"I will kill that woman," he said, his voice filled with rage as he stood up.
"Damon… stop," I said weakly, not having the strength to stand.
"Damon," another voice said.
I turned and saw Henry Roy and Aurora Roy — Dad held Damon's hand to stop him while Mom cupped his face and whispered something.
Everything went silent… and then everything went dark.
Emily's POV:
I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Mom sitting beside me, reading a book, while Dad was working on his laptop.
I tried to get up.
"You're up…" Mom said, putting the book aside and helping me sit. Then she called Ava to prepare some soup for me.
"Damon?... Where is he?" I asked, looking around for him.
"He's waiting outside," Dad replied.
Dad held my hands gently. "We are with you, Emily. You have a family now," he said.
I kept quiet, just listening to him.
"I don't completely know your pain… nobody does. But I can understand how it feels to lose a mother. We saw Natasha… she was just a little kid when her mother died in an accident. She was barely breathing when we reached her. Natasha was in the ICU.
"You met her father earlier. He devoted himself to business after that and left Natasha in our care. We saw her cry in front of her mother's photo daily.
"At least we were there for her… and she could rely on us. But for you… we can't imagine how much pain you suffered alone. But now you have us… Damon, too."
Until now, I had just been quietly listening. But when he said I had them, I couldn't hold my tears anymore.
I wiped the fresh tears rolling down my cheeks.
"You can cry all you want, Emily," Mom said softly, holding me, "but promise me… you won't shed a single tear after this."
I cried until I felt my heart grow lighter, and Mom kept holding me in her arms the whole time. I don't know how many hours passed — my loud cries slowly turned into soft whimpers.
"Thank you for being here, Mom and Dad," I said, finally breaking the hug.
Just then, the door to my room opened and Damon entered with the gifts I had received earlier.
"Mom, Dad — you can go rest now. I'll take care of her," Damon said.
They left, and Damon came to sit on the bed beside me.
"Open them. See what you got," he said, taking one of the gifts from the box.
I opened them one by one — expensive jewelry from the elders of the Roy family, a book from Mia as always, a beautiful photo frame from Jack with a picture of Damon and me from our reception party, an iPhone (new model) from Natasha, and my favorite chocolates from Stella.
And then… my mother's gift — an old model phone. I looked closer and realized it was my late grandfather's phone.
Damon looked at me. "Don't you want a gift from me?" he asked.
"You already gave me the most beautiful gift," I said softly.
"What's that?" he asked curiously.
"A beautiful family," I said, then continued with a small smile, "You know what, Damon… when you forced me to marry you, I thought I'd either kill myself one day or run away from you. But now… marrying you is the best thing God has ever done for me."
I moved closer to him.
"Is that so?" he asked, holding my hand.
"Just tell me, what do you want?" he asked again.
"Just you. Nothing else. But for now… I want to drink," I said, hoping he'd agree.
"Not today. You're already in a bad mood, and I don't want to take any risks," he said firmly.
But I knew how to change his decision.
"Ohhh! The great Damon Roy afraid of a drunk woman? This is such big news!" I said, laughing playfully.
"Nice try to poke my ego. But I don't fall for it, honey. Better try something better next time," he said with a smirk.
I moved closer until my upper body brushed against his biceps.
Leaning to his ear, I said seductively, "I'll treat you with what you've been waiting for if I drink… So think about it, Damon. This is your best chance."
"Nope. I'll enjoy you when you're sober," he said, placing a soft peck on my cheek.
Failed again.
"Come on, Damon… just one drink!" I said, standing up and crossing my arms dramatically.
"Don't be so dramatic, Emmi. Come on, let's go," he said, getting up and leading me to the bar in our home.
Damon's POV:
I shouldn't have agreed to her tantrum for one drink.
She is now a drunken mess.
"Damon, come let's dance!" she screamed, standing on the edge of the bar.
"Emmi, stop it and come down before you regret it tomorrow," I said, having enough of her craziness.
"Why? You want to have se* with me? I'm ready, my dear hus— hiccup—band! See, I was feeling hot just thinking about that night," she said, placing her hands on her cheeks.
"Oh yeah? Then come down. We'll go to your room," I said.
She smiled widely and handed me her hand.
I dropped her over my shoulder, carried her to her room, and threw her gently on the bed.
She unzipped her dress and tossed it to the floor — now in just her bra and panties.
I've seen plenty of women before, but none ever made me this excited. She was making it so hard to control myself.
I jumped onto the bed and kissed her lips. They tasted sweet — addicting. I deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with my tongue.
I finally broke the kiss when we were both out of breath. Then I kissed from her jaw to her neck, sucking softly.
Her neck curve felt like heaven.
She wrapped her legs around my torso, one hand tangled in my hair.
"Ahhh… Damon…" she moaned when I sucked her neck deeper.
I got up, unbuttoned my shirt, and tossed it away. Lying beside her, I pulled her closer to my chest and pulled the bedsheet over us.
She rested her head on my chest, not asking why I had stopped.
Soon, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
After a while, I closed my eyes too, but then I felt hot water drops on my chest.
I lifted my head and saw tears falling from Emily's eyes.
"Emmi?" I asked softly.
No reply.
"Emmi… you crying?" I asked again.
"Just stay like this," she said quietly. "Damon… can I ask you something?"
"What?" I asked, laying my head back on the pillow.
"You have so much money… you're a billionaire, and you have the power to do anything…" she said softly.
"So?" I asked.
"You asked me what I wanted for my birthday… Can you help me find my birth family?"
And just like that — she dozed off.
I wanted to ask her more, but to my surprise, she had already asked the question I was about to ask her.