Scars of our Love (A Revenge Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

April 2014 ...

Emily had picked back up her old habit of going for a run on the beach every morning. She had kept running most of her pregnancy, but she hadn't returned to the beach in a while. The beach had always been the only place she could let her walls down. It was her safe space in the Hamptons, away from the Graysons and all her problems. She felt like herself, out there all alone. She didn't have to fake anything, she didn't have to think about every single detail before acting on it. All she had to do was breathe and take it in.

As she ran, Emily passed by her beach house. She hadn't been back there since the stylist redid the Manor's main bedroom. She experienced happy moments in that house, but also some of her worst. All she could do was avoid this place she had once called home. As she ran passed it, she could see a car parked in the driveway. She thought it was strange, but wasn't really in the mood to investigate it further.

As she reached the Manor, Emily slowed her pace. Allowing herself to cool down before arriving at the beach in front of her new house. She sat in one of the Adirondack chairs she had installed on the beach. As her pregnancy progressed, it had become harder for her to do the simple task of her daily life. Sitting in a chair that was lower had now become a task, something she'd only do if she knew she wouldn't move for a few moments. It was relaxing, seeing the sun rise above the ocean. It was the view she had so loved as a child, and soon she'd get to share it with her own. As the thought ran through her mind, her hand instinctively caressed her stomach. Her little miracle who hadn't moved from most of her run, probably sleeping from the rocking motion of her body, was now starting to stretch.

Emily enjoyed moments like these. For the first time since she was eight years old, she was allowing herself to relax and let go. Let go of all of it. The Graysons, her father's fate, her own fate. All of the sorrows of her life felt washed away by moments like this. They were few and far between, but they seemed to be more of an occurrence lately. She was finally going to have the thing she had dreamed of ever since the night her father had been ripped away from her: a family. She rubbed her belly, and only a few weeks separated her from that dream, from her miracle, from her child. Maybe things were finally looking up for Emily Thorne. Maybe...

Facing the ocean, Emily hadn't seen the man approach her from behind. She had let down her guard and hadn't been as aware of her surrounding as she usually was. Her ninja instincts hadn't kicked in as they usually did. The man was tall, physically fit, not as fit as Emily usually was, but under her current circumstances, he would easily overthrow her if it ever came to it. He had previously done so. But this time, he wasn't here for that. The man was wearing jeans and a grey hoodie that had seen better days. His hair was messy and his beard was trimmed. He was walking slowly towards Emily. He could observe her hair, she had pulled it back into a ponytail, but a few curls had escaped from it. The sun shined in it. God, he had loved to watch her hair shine in the sun in the mornings. For three years, she had been his dream. She was the woman he had wanted to wake up to every morning of his life, but then he had learned the unbearable truth: she had lied to him. She had manipulated him, she had betrayed him. All for her seat at the socialite table. He had thought she was the love of his life, and now his hatred for her surpassed the love he had once felt.

"Emily," Daniel growled.

Startled, Emily turned her head to face the man who had called her name. Her hands instinctively clutched her swollen stomach. "Daniel", she let out, "what are you doing here?" She gazed in horror at the state of the man in front of her.

Daniel was visibly inebriated. As he walked closer to Emily, she could see his legs lurch. He seemed lost thousands of miles away. She could see the sadness on his face, and rage. But sadness was the main emotion she could read. His eyes seemed filled with tears he wasn't ready to let roll down his cheeks. His jaw was clenched. The person she was facing seemed so reminiscent of the boy she had once ended her engagement with. He had the same look on his face he did the night he had confronted her, the night she had first broken his heart. Daniel seemed far from the boy she had once loved. The man she had shared years with. He was broken, and under all the hurt he had caused her, under all the hate she had for him, she still cared about him. Emily's face changed, it went from horror to heartache. He was the boy she had once loved in this broken man's body and she couldn't help but feel sad for the way he had turned out, for the man she had helped destroy.