Before Noah (Daniels Family 3)

I just hope she can forgive me for the decision I’m making without her input.

1

Ember

Three Months Later.

Heartache.

Betrayal.

Depression.

They’re my constant companions. Sitting on my shoulder like little devils, taunting me anytime I take a full breath. Infiltrating my soul when I experience one single second of happiness.

I feel the loss of Noah like a missing limb. He isn't just the man I've loved for so many years, he's an extension of myself. Hidden for so long that when I was able to have him, even for those few days, hope blossomed, and I thought this would be my happily ever after.

After discovering he was a married man, his silence has spoken louder than if he were yelling from rooftops. I've waited, for days, to hear anything from him.

A phone call.

A text.

Smoke signals.

Anything at all to say, we’re not over.

For Noah Brennan, I would have waited forever.

Until the end of time, I would have been his.

Now, I’m an empty shell of a woman who is just beginning life.

Kol and Arsen raised me after our parents died. I was the surprise baby, so I’m a decade younger than Kol, but they never treated me like an inconvenience.

Even so, I’ve been waiting a long time to ease my brothers' burden. And over the past few months, I’ve been forced to slap on a brave face, so they don’t realize how much Noah’s rejection is eating at me.

I feel slightly ill as I walk up the path to Kol and Thea’s house for a birthday dinner for Kol. Every year, for as long as I can remember, we’ve always had family dinners on birthdays. Friends always included.

Which means Noah will be here.

My stomach is already doing flips, making me nauseous, knowing I’ll be in the same room as him. Listening to his voice. Looking into his soulful eyes that fill me with a desperate kind of passion.

“Oh god,” I stammer out as I slowly walk up the steps to their door, debating turning around to leave.

My options are stolen as the door opens, and my sweet nephew Jake stands there. “Aunty Ember!” He flies into me, almost knocking us both on our asses.

“You grew again!” I laugh with him. I love this kid so much. He went through hell before Arsen and Marina adopted him. They all lucked out finding each other, and now, he’s thriving.

A blush works up his cheeks at my comment. “I’m almost taller than Mom now.” We share a quiet chuckle before entering the house.

“Hey, kid.” Arsen wraps me in a tight hug as Jake runs off. “You’ve lost weight.” His comment stings. Not because it’s insulting, but more the reason behind it.

“I think you’re just getting bigger in your old age,” I tease him instead. Not wanting him to worry about me.

He eyes me critically before chuckling and shaking his head. “Sassy as ever, I see.”

“Ember!” Thea and Marina squeal at the same time. Seeing how far Thea has come since Kol barged his way into her life makes my heart happy. She loves so freely now.