the arresting officer on your supposed murder case now does it?”
“This is ridiculous,” Maria sighed. “We were the victims here, and I’m having to sneak around and be away from my children when they really need me. I almost feel like just stepping out and saying here I am Amanda, come and get me because it’s all starting to piss me off. I need my girls and I need...”
“Emilio?” Melissa questioned.
“I just miss my family. Emilio is a big part of my family, so yes, I miss him.”
“It’s more than that. Even after everything Ben did to separate the two of you, you never caved and signed the divorce papers. You want to be married to him, admit it.”
Maria tilted her head to the side and just remained silent. She knew she had been caught, and there was no way she could deny it. “Yes, Melissa, I still love Emilio. I never wanted to leave, but you have to understand, at the time it was the only option. I couldn’t let Ben do to him what he had done to Richard. I had already cost Meg her father, and I couldn’t do the same thing a second time, costing Melia and Maddie theirs too. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I gave up love to keep them safe, even if it made them resent me for it.”
“Your girls love you, once they find out why you did what you did, they will understand. They all turned out to be amazing women, and my sons are lucky to have them. Well, at least Alex is, I’m not sure where things are headed between Matt and Melia. I wish they could come together and work things out, but she is furious and hurt by him. There may not be any coming back, but I’m not counting them out just yet. I have faith that they will remember why they fell in love in the first place.”
“I feel as if the issue they’re having is because of me. Melia took me leaving the hardest, she was the baby. I know she and Maddie are only a few minutes apart, but she was my baby girl. When I left, she couldn’t understand why her mom was abandoning her, and she blamed herself. I recall countless phone calls where I cried myself to sleep thinking about the pain in my baby’s voice. She was so affected, and I can’t help but think it’s carrying over into her adult life. She spends so much time trying to prove that she is a good mother so that Cienna never feels the way they did.”
“You had to do what you did for them, to keep them safe.”
“My head knows that, but try telling it to my heart. I damaged them. Meg had the worst trust issues, Melia has abandonment issues, and Maddie is afraid to commit. I really did a bang up job in the protection department.”
“They may have had all of that, but they are working past it. Meg and Alex are together and better than ever, Maddie and Nathan are in love, and I don’t think this is the end of Melia and Matt. They have been in love far too long to let it end this way. If I know my son, I know he is going to fight to the last breath to get his family back. This had to be an eye-opening experience for him. Matthew has the tendency to get overzealous about some things, and that may be just what he needs to do. Maybe she needs to see that he will fight for them. Maybe she just needs to know that he is not going to walk out.”
“Like I did...” Maria sighed. “Like I said, this is all my fault.”
“They are just at a rough patch. Everyone has them. I know they will make the right decision because they both love that little girl, and they will do what’s best for her.”
They had almost forgotten Jordan was present until he began to babble in his baby talk. He was smiling and moving his arms with animation. “It’s hard to believe he is only three months old, he is alert for his age, and so smart,” Maria kissed his forehead. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for making it possible for us to have this time together.”
“It’s my pleasure. I’m only hoping we can bring you together with the rest of your family soon. Ben says he
“This is ridiculous,” Maria sighed. “We were the victims here, and I’m having to sneak around and be away from my children when they really need me. I almost feel like just stepping out and saying here I am Amanda, come and get me because it’s all starting to piss me off. I need my girls and I need...”
“Emilio?” Melissa questioned.
“I just miss my family. Emilio is a big part of my family, so yes, I miss him.”
“It’s more than that. Even after everything Ben did to separate the two of you, you never caved and signed the divorce papers. You want to be married to him, admit it.”
Maria tilted her head to the side and just remained silent. She knew she had been caught, and there was no way she could deny it. “Yes, Melissa, I still love Emilio. I never wanted to leave, but you have to understand, at the time it was the only option. I couldn’t let Ben do to him what he had done to Richard. I had already cost Meg her father, and I couldn’t do the same thing a second time, costing Melia and Maddie theirs too. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I gave up love to keep them safe, even if it made them resent me for it.”
“Your girls love you, once they find out why you did what you did, they will understand. They all turned out to be amazing women, and my sons are lucky to have them. Well, at least Alex is, I’m not sure where things are headed between Matt and Melia. I wish they could come together and work things out, but she is furious and hurt by him. There may not be any coming back, but I’m not counting them out just yet. I have faith that they will remember why they fell in love in the first place.”
“I feel as if the issue they’re having is because of me. Melia took me leaving the hardest, she was the baby. I know she and Maddie are only a few minutes apart, but she was my baby girl. When I left, she couldn’t understand why her mom was abandoning her, and she blamed herself. I recall countless phone calls where I cried myself to sleep thinking about the pain in my baby’s voice. She was so affected, and I can’t help but think it’s carrying over into her adult life. She spends so much time trying to prove that she is a good mother so that Cienna never feels the way they did.”
“You had to do what you did for them, to keep them safe.”
“My head knows that, but try telling it to my heart. I damaged them. Meg had the worst trust issues, Melia has abandonment issues, and Maddie is afraid to commit. I really did a bang up job in the protection department.”
“They may have had all of that, but they are working past it. Meg and Alex are together and better than ever, Maddie and Nathan are in love, and I don’t think this is the end of Melia and Matt. They have been in love far too long to let it end this way. If I know my son, I know he is going to fight to the last breath to get his family back. This had to be an eye-opening experience for him. Matthew has the tendency to get overzealous about some things, and that may be just what he needs to do. Maybe she needs to see that he will fight for them. Maybe she just needs to know that he is not going to walk out.”
“Like I did...” Maria sighed. “Like I said, this is all my fault.”
“They are just at a rough patch. Everyone has them. I know they will make the right decision because they both love that little girl, and they will do what’s best for her.”
They had almost forgotten Jordan was present until he began to babble in his baby talk. He was smiling and moving his arms with animation. “It’s hard to believe he is only three months old, he is alert for his age, and so smart,” Maria kissed his forehead. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for making it possible for us to have this time together.”
“It’s my pleasure. I’m only hoping we can bring you together with the rest of your family soon. Ben says he
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