Unspoken Truths
1216 Words
**New York – Late Night After the Event**
Emma lay in the soft hotel light, her arms wrapped around Aria’s small body. The sleeping girl smelled of sugar and vanilla from the cupcakes she loved so much. Emma’s mind raced, even though her eyelids were heavy. Sophie slept softly beside her, exhausted after the big evening.
Emma thought of the man she saw at the event he was tall, dark, intense eyes. The man who made her heart stop for a second. Her body had jerked, but she forced herself to keep busy and hide. She didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want him to know.
Her fingers slid over Aria’s soft curls as the past months pressed into her chest. She remembered the night she left New York, scared and pregnant. She remembered the doctor telling her everything was okay. She remembered her parents holding her when she was four, before the accident that took them away. She remembered her aunt's house, big and empty, and her aunt taking Emma’s savings when Emma moved to New York. She remembered finding out that no one was going to help her. No one cared enough to stay.
She would never forget that pain.
But looking at Aria, she knew she couldn’t let that happen again. She had promised herself she would do whatever it took to protect her daughter. She would not let the past destroy them.
The man at the event, the memories of Nathaniel, made her breath catch. It was just a one night stand. Nothing more. But the way he looked at her, faded now, but still haunting… it scared her. If he knew, would he come for their daughter? Would he try to take her?
She tightened her grip around Aria and whispered, “I will not lose you.”
---
**New York – Nathaniel’s Penthouse, Same Night**
Nathaniel Blackwell paced by the floor to ceiling windows. The city lights looked like sparks in his reflection. He felt hollow and lost. The event had passed, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the moment he had seen Emma. Or someone like her.
He replayed it in his mind; the ginger curls, the bright blue eyes, the way she paused when she saw him. Not everyone looked like that. Not to him.
He sank into the couch and ran a hand through his hair. He had told himself it was nothing. A trick of the light. But now he knew he still cared. He wanted to feel again. He needed answers.
Tomorrow he would ask his assistant for the catering company’s name. He would find out who they were, and who she was.
---
**New York – Hotel, Next Morning**
Sunlight filtered through the curtains that morning, but Emma didn’t sleep well. She woke up early, checking Aria’s breathing. Her daughter stirred and opened one eye.
“Good morning, princess.”
Aria smiled sleepily. “Cupcake?”
Emma laughed softly. “Soon.”
She tiptoed to the bathroom, leaning over the sink and staring at her reflection. She looked tired. Dark lines framed her eyes. She missed home, but she also missed feeling strong. Now she felt like a scared girl again.
She closed her eyes and breathed. She thought about the past. How everyone important to her had died or left and she tightened her shoulders, remembering that promise. “I will protect her,” she whispered to the mirror.
She splashed water on her face, righted her posture, and walked back to the room. Sophie was already awake, brushing her hair.
“How you doing?” Sophie whispered.
Emma shrugged. “Tired. But okay.”
“Should we eat before we go?”
Emma nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
---
**New York – Hotel Breakfast Room**
They sat at a small round table, a tray of fruit and toast in front of them. Aria ate slowly, watching pigeons in the courtyard below.
Sophie leaned in. “We need a plan. Today we bring our girl adventure. We check on the branch. And we leave.”
Emma stared out the window. “I don’t want to run again.”
Sophie placed her hand on Emma’s. “You don’t have to. But what if he comes looking?”
Emma shook her head. She felt fear creeping in. Fear she had buried deep.
“I’ll face it. For Aria.”
Sophie squeezed her hand. “Good. And if he shows up…I got your back.”
---
**New York – Aria’s Delights Bakery – Late Morning**
They stepped into the bakery branch with the same name as the one in Paris. The store smelled of freshly baked bread and sweet icing. Staff greeted them like family.
Aria ran to the counter and picked a chocolate cupcake with pink sprinkles. Her face lit up.
Emma smiled. She watched customers glance at her and Aria. Some smiled, some stared.
She wondered if they could tell she wasn’t American.
“It’s quiet,” Sophie said as they toured the back. “Feels nice.”
Emma nodded. “It’s okay.”
She loved that bakery. But it felt foreign now. This was New York and she almost never came back.
---
**New York – Hotel Elevator**
They rode up to the top floor. Emma pressed her thumb on the card.
Sophie leaned in. “If he finds us here… what will you do?”
Emma’s chest tightened. She closed her eyes. “I don’t know.”
Sophie took a deep breath. “You’ve done so much already. You’re enough.”
Emma smiled. “Thanks.”
---
**New York – Home, Later That Night**
Back in her suite, Aria slept in the crib. Emma sat in an armchair, glancing at photos on her phone. She saw an old Polaroid, her parents smiling in a park and she cried softly. Then another, her aunt emptying the fridge she had stocked—made her hands shake. Then a tiny pink cupcake picture she took years ago for Aria’s first birthday.
She remembered Nathaniel’s face from that night it was warm, kind, surprised. She pressed her lips together.
She didn’t want to think about him. Not now.
She put the phone down. Her eyes focused on Aria breathing softly.
She closed her eyes. “I will not lose you,” she whispered again. “Not to fate. Not to anyone.”
---
**New York – Blackwell Enterprises, Next Morning**
Nathaniel stepped into the bright office. His assistant was waiting.
“Sir, do you want the full company report or the catering file first?”
“Catering file,” Nathaniel said. “I heard something about a French bakery. The one that catered last night.”
The assistant handed a folder. Nathaniel opened it and read. His eyes narrowed.
“Find out who runs this company.”
He handed the folder back, calm but strong. “And send their address to me by noon.”
His assistant nodded and left.
Nathaniel stared at the folder for a long moment. Aria’s Delights in New York.
He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
“I want to know who she is,” he said, voice low but firm.
He turned to the window.
The city stretched before him.
There was no turning back.
- Writer
