Forever After (Unrestrained 5)

“They’re fakes. If Drake never said anything about emailing Lisa, I'm sure he didn't. Certainly not anything personal, unless he was trying to convince her to leave him alone."

"Why did they come by again? Just to show me the emails Drake supposedly sent to Lisa? They didn’t ask anything different than before.”

She shrugged. “The detectives like to get a sense of how a victim is doing and whether they might be lying. I’m sure they were looking for consistency in your story. Plus, maybe they showed you about the emails to see if you'd confess your doubts about Drake.”

She shrugged and raised her eyebrows as if helpless.

Of course, I felt a sick at the thought Drake was carrying on an email conversation with Lisa about anything personal. Why would he? If he did, it had to be to shut her up or stop her from pestering him. I knew Drake loved me… I knew he had no interest in Lisa…

I sighed. “I told them the same story already so I hope they have everything they need. I appreciate you coming by.”

She shook her head and waved me off. “Don’t mention it. I think I’ll stay until Drake gets back so we can talk about what happened.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said. At that moment, I heard some rustling from the bedroom on the baby monitor and went in to find Sophia was awake and kicking. Seeing her pretty little face made me relax a bit. I picked her up and carried her into the living room.

Lara stood and came over right away and looked at Sophie.

“She’s so beautiful, Kate. You must be very happy.”

I nodded and forced a smile. “I am. I wish all this was over.”

And then, I started to cry. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t help myself. I was so confused. So happy to have survived, so happy that Sophia was healthy and thriving. And yet – I felt like crying all the time. Even thought I didn’t really believe it, the idea that Drake had been secretly emailing Lisa all along made it worse.

“Oh, poor Kate,” Lara said and put an arm around me, kissing my forehead. “I'm sure Drake isn't involved with Lisa. In fact, I know he isn't. These are fake emails that she's made, nothing more. I know he has absolutely no interest in her. None."

"I know," I said and part of me fought with myself. I knew Drake had no interest in Lisa… "I seem to cry so easily now."

"It’s the baby blues,” she said and squeezed Sophie and me. “I’ve read about it. All new mothers get it for a few days or weeks.”

“It’s been months,” I said tearfully. “I still cry at the drop of a hat.”

“Does Drake know?” she asked and pushed hair from my face.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to upset him,” I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “I should be happy. Why can’t I be happy?”

She sat me down and took Sophie from me. Then, Lara glanced at me.

“You have PTSD, sweets,” she said, her face so solemn. “You better go to a psychiatrist or see a therapist. It’s very common in victims of crime. You had a terrible time of it – almost dying, losing your uterus, being in a coma. Drake should be aware of this.”

“I don’t want to burden him,” I said. “It’s been hard on Drake having this happen – Lisa attacking me, him giving up his Fellowship, putting his career on hold.”

“Sweetie,” Lara said and made a face. “This happened to you as well. Drake is much stronger than you give him credit. You can rely on him. Believe me.”

“He didn’t sign up for all this,” I said with a catch in my throat. “He had everything in his life arranged the way he wanted it. It was all going smoothly. Then I came along and now his whole life is different. He never wanted to get married, he didn’t ever think he’d be a father…”

Lara sat closer to me and put her arm around my shoulder. I took Sophie back from her.

“Hun, believe me, he is so happy that all this happened. He was trying to keep busy so he didn’t have to think about why his personal life was a mess and why his marriage failed. He said to me once that he was never happier than when he was with you. He finally felt that he had a real life and not a busy schedule. So, don’t ever think he regrets meeting you and doesn’t want all this. And don't for a moment believe he was secretly writing to Lisa.”

I let her hug me and tried to accept what she said but it was hard.

“You have the baby blues, hun,” she said and looked me in the eye, brushing my tears off my cheek. “I’m going to stay here until Drake gets back so I can talk to him, make sure he understands that you’re not doing well. He’s a doctor, sweets. He knows how to handle this. He almost went into psychiatry, if I recall correctly.”

“No, please,” I said and sat up straighter, putting Sophie on my shoulder. “I’ll talk to him. I promise. You go home. I realize now that my hormones are probably out of whack and that’s why I’ve been a bit sad.”

She glanced at me with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice hesitant. “You have to promise me you’ll talk to him.”

“I promise,” I said quickly. “I’ll talk to him tonight. After I let him tell me what happened with the editor. Then, I'll ask him about the emails.”