His face was downcast, and he looked to be on the verge of tears. I walked over to him quickly, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands in mine.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly. He ignored me. “Sean, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” he said without looking at me. His voice was flat and devoid of all emotion.

“Stop shutting me out.” I sighed. “Please, just talk to me.”

“I said it’s nothing,” he said, anger crossing his face. “Leave it be, Emily.”

His words felt like a slap to the face. I frowned and dropped his hands, finally sick of the way he was treating me. I stood up and shook my head slowly, preparing myself for a fight.

“Look,” I said boldly, spinning around to face him. “That’s enough.”

“What?” Sean asked, his eyes narrowed.

“You’ve been treating me like shit, on and off, for days now,” I said. “And I’ve had it. All I’m doing is trying to help you. I take care of the kids because—”

“That’s your job,” Sean said.

“Excuse me?” I snapped.

“You take care of the kids because that’s your job,” Sean said again.

“You’re right,” I said, nodding my head. “It is my job and yet, this morning, you wouldn’t let me do it. You interfered when I tried to discipline Sarah, and now, she’s going to think it’s okay to lash out at me when I tell her no.”

“She’s my daughter and I—” Sean began but my anger was too much to control.

“I don’t take care of your kids just because I’m getting paid to,” I said, trying to keep my voice down so I wouldn’t wake Tommy and Sarah. “Somehow, after everything that’s happened between us, I thought we meant more to each other than that. I thought I was actually becoming a member of this family, but I guess I’m not. If I’m just the hired help, then fine. I’ll leave you alone. I’ll just worry about the job you’re paying me to do.”

With that, I turned to leave the room, but Sean jumped up to stop me. He grabbed my arm and spun me back around to face him.

“Where’s this coming from?” he demanded.

“You!” I said. “You push me away every chance you get. You’re totally fine having sex with me, but the second I try to actually get close to you, you shut down. God Sean, you’re sitting alone in the dark. You’re clearly upset and instead of talking to me about it, you get pissed, lie, and say it’s nothing.”

“I don’t have to talk about anything if I don’t want to,” he said darkly.

“You’re right,” I scoffed. “You don’t, but I thought our relationship was going somewhere. I thought you cared about me.”

“I do,” he said.

“Then why won’t you talk to me?” I asked. “Why lie to me when I ask what’s wrong? Why push me away every time I try to show you how much I care? Why pretend I don’t exist every time you get moody?”

Sean didn’t answer. His face fell, and he dropped his hand from my arm. I stood there silently, waiting for him to answer my questions, but he never did. He just stared at me as if he didn’t quite know what to say. I could feel tears pooling in my eyes, and I didn’t want to cry in front of him.

“Good night, Sean,” I said.

Without another word, I turned around. As I walked upstairs, I thought Sean might try to stop me, but he didn’t. He just stood in the middle of the living room and watched me disappear from sight.

When I reached my room, I closed the door softly behind me and fell onto my bed. I didn’t even bother getting undressed. All my energy was gone. After the day I had, my head was pounding and my stomach ached.

I laid on top of the covers that night, hugging my pillow and finally letting the tears fall from my eyes. As I finally drifted off to sleep, I wondered if Sean would fire me in the morning, or if somehow, he would finally let me in.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - SEAN

Friday morning arrived with a fresh wave of guilt. When my eyes opened, I immediately felt the weight of what I’d done. My eyes fell closed again, and I groaned, sure that I’d ruined things with Emily for good.

I pulled myself out of bed and walked slowly into the kitchen. I wondered if she would quit because of my behavior. Deep down, I knew she loved Tommy and Sarah too much t

Tags: Rye Hart Romance
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