Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat echoing the tremors of uncertainty. There, in the distance, stood a figure, a mysterious silhouette draped in a mask and an unusual hat. All she could discern were his eyes, which locked onto hers with an u...
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"She made the mistake of talking to them together," Alex continued. "If Nancy had been alone, she would have handled it differently. Later, when you approached Nancy for help, she couldn't merely give you the sum you needed because her husband would have immediately noticed, and he's not one to forgive money issues easily. So, she decided to offer you a job and tell her husband that you were working for free to pay off your mother's debt. According to Annie, he really wasn't happy about it. He wanted his money back and they had a huge fight. Eventually tho, Nancy managed to persuade him to accept her plan. She argued that if they didn't employ you, they'd have to hire someone else at a full salary due to the higher number of kids enrolled this year. Fortunately, Mr Kargle pays no attention to Nancy's job so he didn't know that that was a complete and utter bullshit. So, he agreed, but she didn't tell him the whole arrangement she had with you. He was unaware that Nancy was giving you £200 each month. Obviously, he's still oblivious and hopefully it stays that way. I realize it's not much, but you have to appreciate her predicament. She couldn't give you more without him becoming suspicious, but she still did her best to try and help you."
"Wow, I had no idea. Is he really that horrible? I mean, you did say he loves her."
Alex concurred, his tone laden with disdain. "There's some debate about that. Some say he loves her. Me? I'm not so sure about that. But one thing's certain - he'd do anything to gain more money and to protect the money he already has. I'm pretty sure he'd easily throw her out if he knew she was giving you any money."
"If that's true, then that's horrible."
"Yup, he's a greedy, selfish asshole."
"But you still haven't told me why she wanted to keep you away from me," Emily pressed. "And don't feed me that 'to protect you' bullshit."
"It's not bullshit; it's true. She told me to stop seeing you to prevent you from getting hurt. At first, I didn't listen. I didn't really care that much to be honest, but then, after our walk that night when we stood on your porch," he looked at the floor before saying," I realized how much I cared for you."
A rush of warmth flooded Emily's face. She tried subtly adjusting her hair, allowing it to cascade over her cheeks in an attempt to conceal her blush from his notice.
"I don't know about you, but in that moment, all I wanted to do was kiss you," he said, lifting his gaze back up, "but I knew that if I did, there would be no turning back, and you'd become entangled in all this mess. So, I decided to take a step back. You've already had a difficult life, and all I wanted was to avoid causing you more pain. If we got involved, I couldn't guarantee your safety from my past. I don't know what those people are capable of, but I couldn't risk putting you in danger. I realized I couldn't be selfish, so I had to let you go."
Unsure of how to respond, Emily fidgeted in her seat.
"But you are a stubborn little thing and you just keep coming back. And now that I've told you all of this, I sincerely hope you understand why it's best for us to keep our distance," Alex pressed on.
