Page 56 of The Billionaire I Left Behind

A voice breaks my thoughts. “Are you doing okay?”

I jolt, hand flying to my chest. Bryan stands just inside the doorway, arms crossed, his sharp gaze scanning my face. I hadn’t even heard him come in.

I swallow, forcing a smile. “Yeah, fine.”

His brow furrows. He doesn’t believe me. “Emma.” His voice is quiet, steady. He steps onto the porch, closing the distance between us. “You sure?”

“I said I’m fine.” I try to keep my tone light, casual, but it comes out clipped, too sharp.

Something flickers in his eyes. Disappointment? He shifts his weight, and for a second, I think he’s going to push, dig like he always does when he senses I’m not telling the full truth. But he doesn’t. Instead, he nods.

He turns to leave, but then pauses, one hand on the wooden post of the porch. His voice is softer when he speaks again. “Can I ask you something?”

I hesitate. “Sure.”

He exhales, looking out at the ocean for a beat before turning his gaze back to me. “Why did you leave?”

My breath catches. Of all the things he could have asked. I glance down, fingers twisting in my lap, and the familiar ache resurfaces. The memories are sharp, late nights, my father’s empty promises, the weight of bills piling up while he gambled away every last dime. Leaving Ocean Bay wasn’t just about escaping debt, it was about escaping humiliation.

"Never mind. I asked," he says as he turns to walk away.

“I had to,” I murmur, staring at my hands. He stops midway but doesn't turn to face me.

“My dad… after my mom died, he wasn’t the same. He started with drinking, then gambling but I wasn't aware because I was young when mom died. The gambling got worse by the time I was old enough to understand and found out. The debts…” I swallow. My throat tight. “They weren’t going away, and it was all crashing down. My dad decided we should leave, and I thought if I left, I could fix it. Alone.”

Bryan stays silent, listening, his presence solid beside me. I force myself to meet his gaze. “I didn’t want to drag you into it.You had your whole life ahead of you. I thought…” I let out a breath, shaking my head. “I thought leaving would protect you. Leaving would help me get out of the mess my father created. I was humiliated. I was too young to understand how much I would hurt my grandmother, how much I would hurt you.”

A muscle in his jaw tics. He rubs the back of his neck, gaze dropping for a second before locking back onto mine. “Oh, Emma.” His voice is low, almost pained. “You didn’t have to go through that alone.”

I don’t answer. Because back then, I thought I did.

Bryan exhales sharply, stepping closer, his frustration simmering beneath his controlled tone. “I get it, okay? I do. But I wish you would’ve trusted me. I could’ve helped you.” He wraps his arms around me in a way that encompasses me in that long-lost love.

I blink, emotions tangling inside me. “I know,” I whisper. “I just… I didn’t know how to let you. You were a teenager, too. You had a lot to deal with. Being an orphan at an early age wasn't easy for you, and you had your sister Liz to watch over. I just wanted you to be happy without me creating a mess.”

"You should have told me. You were never a mess to me. How couldn't you realize you're the one who made me complete?"

"I'm sorry,"

"It hurts me to think that back then you didn't even think of us. Of what we shared. Didn't our time mean anything to you?"

"It was the best time of my life Bryan, it honestly was."

"Then why? Why did you break my heart by leaving? Why didn't you think of our love?"

My eyes burn with tears hearing the pain in his voice. He sounds broken. And knowing I was the reason caused an ache inside me.

"It was for the best. Trust me you have no idea how deep the debt was. Even now I'm still dealing with it. I came back to townhoping for a fresh start. An opportunity to choose myself, my dreams. I'm sorry I hurt you, and I understand you will never forgive me for that…" But he interrupts.

"Shhhh…I forgave you a long time ago. I should hate you but surprisingly I don't. In fact, I don't want to think of the awful time that you must have gone through. It breaks my heart that I couldn't help."

"Yes, it was a hard time. I worked a bunch of jobs while still trying to finish my education. Grandma helped as much as she could which made all the difference in the world. And the longer I was away, the more humiliated and embarrassed I became, if that makes any sense.

I found out later that my dad realized that leaving town was his only option because of the overwhelming debts he had here. I thought he would change but it got worse, and he got involved with some bad people."

Taking a deep breath, I say words that have been trapped inside of me, and until this moment never spoken aloud. I whisper: "Bryan, I believe the hit and run that killed my father wasn't an accident,"

"What?” he shouts as he leans back to look into my face. “Oh Em, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you have held such pain inside, and all alone." His arms tighten, and the space between us shifts, the air suddenly charged, heavy with things unspoken. His green eyes soften, flickering over my face like he’s seeing me differently now, like he’s trying to piece together the girl I was and the woman standing before him.

---