Kiwi // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Fifty-Five

EMMA

I play with the rose ring on my right hand ring finger after I finish up dinner. Everyone's talking and enjoying each other's company, four couples at the table. Harry's next to me talking to Mike and Naomi about their baby, and I can't help but smile at his questions.

I love how open he is about wanting a family. He's never hid that from me, and has done nothing but show me how much he loves kids. It makes me think of our future together.

For so long, I wasn't sure if I would get the big family I always wanted. Anytime I was in a relationship with another person I catered to their preferences. Especially with Jake. Jake didn't want kids, and I was seriously going to settle with him. In my mind, as long as I got a wedding I could live without children. He had convinced me that there was no one that could possibly love me more than him, and if I left him I would get neither kids nor marriage.

He was such a piece of shit.

I was so over whatever game he was playing. Suddenly, he wanted me back. Now that he had seen he had no control over me anymore he needed to stake his claim.

It pissed me off beyond belief that there were people out there that were like this. Of course I had the luck to fall for one of them, but now that I had Harry I was sure what love actually felt like. I didn't like that my old relationship was such a major factor in this one. Harry deserves better, and I realized that more than ever today.

I had spent most of the afternoon worrying about him and how he was handling the stress. This thing with Jake was starting to affect his mental health and it made me sick. I did my best to calm him, sending him cute pictures of me throughout the day so he could have visible proof that I was safe. I knew because of this last threat that he would be hard pressed to leave me alone.

That didn't much bug me, however. I'm pretty sure I could spend every second of the day with him and never have enough.

I didn't want Harry to know, but I was less concerned with my safety in the whole Jake situation than his. I had the sinking feeling that Jake didn't just want me, but wanted to hurt me irreparably. Hurting Harry would do that. He saw the way we acted together, and I could just imagine him watching us leave the gym together, kissing each other every time we got into our respective cars.

I could practically imagine him clenching his jaw at the sight of us. Growing angrier and angrier every time a smile crosses my face.

Honestly, I got the impression that Jake needed serious mental help. I wondered if he had always been like this, or if it was a newer development. Sure, he was always a dick, but obsessive? That was the thing with us: I was always the one hanging onto our relationship desperately, not him. He had made it clear how little I actually meant to him.

Maybe it was just a possession thing. Like I was a prized treasure that he put on the market, thinking no one would actually buy, but got sellers remorse the moment Harry scooped me up.

But I did wonder why he was obsessive over me. He was letting Lauren live her life without him even though she had been the one to break things off with him. It made no sense why he was fixated on me.

"Hey, you okay?"

I looked up to see Harry watching me carefully, his hand encasing both of mine. He must've seen how fidgety I was getting, knowing it was a tell of mine.

I nod, "Yeah, just thinking about stuff."

"Like what?" He asked quietly, keeping our conversation as private as possible.

"Just what happened today." I admit.

He frowned, a worried expression overtaking his beautiful face, "You know I'll keep you safe, right?"