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“Of course, it is, dear,” Cara said, sitting once again on the mat. Probably to prevent my escape. “Now, why are you so afraid to share such great news with us?”
The sudden feeling of tears pricking at the back of my eyes had me blinking rapidly. Patty noticed, and she quickly joined me and Cara on the floor.
“Emma, what’s wrong? Did my son do something to make you cry? If so, I’ll kill him.”
“She doesn’t really mean that literally, you understand,” Shannon added.
I laughed, but that only caused the tears to slip free.
Patty cupped my face in her hands and gave me a gentle smile. “Talk to us, Emma.”
My chin trembled, and I drew in a shaky breath. “What happens when he finds out I stayed with Ben for ten years? Ten miserable years. He won’t… He’ll think less of me.”
Patty looked confused for a moment. I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder, and Cara moved out of the way for Rose.
“I stayed for over twenty years, Emma.Twenty. It started off with him verbally abusing me. The first slap came when he’d had too much to drink. He cried, I cried…we moved on.”
Patty held my hands as I stared at Rose.
She smiled and looked down at the mat, then back up at me. “You weren’t here when I had my big mat moment. The moment I confessed and told my closest friends that my husband was abusing me.”
I looked around at the other women. “You didn’t know?”
They all shook their heads.
“He never did it when Eleanor was around. And he was very careful about making sure the bruises didn’t show.”
My hand covered my mouth. It was like Rose was telling my story.
“Emma, you’re not the first woman who stayed in a bad relationship. Whether it was physical abuse or emotional or verbal…and unfortunately, you won’t be the last. What you have to do now is give yourself some grace.”
She smiled at her own words as she wiped a tear from my cheek.
“You were strong enough to leave him and make a fresh start. He can no longer hurt you or have control over your life. So now you need to let the control he has over yourmindgo, once and for all.”
“I’m trying,” I said between sniffles. “I think I’m getting there. It’s just…” Placing a hand over my heart, I closed my eyes.“I’ve never felt this way before. The way Aiden looks at me is so new, and I don’t want to taint that with my past.”
“Oh, Emma, sweetheart,” Patty said as she wrapped an arm around me. “I’ve never seen my son look at any other woman—including Lisa—the way he looks at you. I knew the moment I first saw the two of you together. Emma, you have no idea what you’ve done for Aiden.”
“You really don’t,” Tammy added, as the other woman murmured in agreement.
“Emma, you’ve saved my son.”
My eyes went wide. “What?”
Patty nodded her head as a tear made its way down her own cheek. “He was so lost before you came, struggling so hard with his demons…guilt and sadness and fear for himself and Hadley. You brought a light back into my son’s eyes that I haven’t seen since the day Hadley was born.”
“Dalton says Aiden laughs at work again. He doesn’t hide out in his office, and he’s been spending more time with his friends.Youdid that, Emma.”
I smiled at Tammy, then Patty, before looking around at the other women. With a shake of my head, I let out a huge breath. “Somebody must have prayed for me.”
Patty tilted her head and gave me a questioning look.
“My whole life, I’ve never truly had anyone care about me. Not my father, my mother, my husband or his family. I’ve felt alone my entire life. There were so many times I wished I could just get in my car and drive away. Times I wished Ben would get called back up in the military and…”
Closing my eyes I felt my body tremble at the thought.
Opening my eyes, I looked at Rose. “Then one day, I woke up and just decided…it was enough. I was done. I packed a bag, took the money I’d been saving and just a few personal items, and I left. I went straight to a lawyer the wife of one of Ben’s friendshad used. He took my case pro bono, because his mother had been in an abusive relationship with his father.
