Chapter 44: My Choice!

Emma knew it was time. With the divorce impending, and since she hoped the meeting with the Elders would result in the dissolution of her marriage, she needed to talk to her parents. They’d raised her and she needed to give them one more chance to accept her eventual marriage to Dex.
She approached him with the idea of going to see them. “They are my parents and I need to at least respect that.”
They stood in their kitchen, which she was finally thinking of as hers now, too. He rested his forehead on hers. “You have such a beautiful heart, Emma.”
“What do you mean?”
“They sold you off to Lucien and you are giving them another chance.”
“It’s out of respect.”
“They’ve done nothing to earn your respect, Emma.”
“Are you trying to convince me not to go?”
He straightened. “No. I’ll support your decision. I’ll even drive you there if you want.”
She smiled up at him. How did she get so lucky that her fated mate was Dex? “I’d like that.”
“Can you wait until this afternoon?” he asked. “Give me time to clear my calendar.”
“Today?”
“Yes, today.”
She hadn’t thought about it today, but she might as well get this over with. She knew what was going to happen, but she hoped it was going to be different. “Okay.”
He smiled and then kissed her. “I’ll be back at lunchtime and then we can go.”
She couldn’t focus on anything for the morning and was happy to see Dex when he came home. They ate then he asked, “You ready?”
“As I’m ever going to be.”
On the drive over, she reviewed what she was going to say. None of it sounded right, but all of it was true. Dex stopped at her front door. “I’ll be within a five minutes drive. Call me.”
“Thanks, Dex.”
“I can come in if you want,” he said.
She shook her head. “No. I have to do this by myself.”
He nodded. “Remember that I love you.”
“I won’t forget.”
She watched him drive away, then steeled herself for what wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. She rang the doorbell as she’d done last time. Her mother, Barbara, opened the door. An invitation to come in was suspiciously absent.
Her breath caught in her throat and she had to remind herself that she was a grown woman. A Luna of a pack, mate to Alpha.
“Well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
She didn’t flinch. She was a strong capable she-wolf. She was only here to try one more attempt at reconciliation. If she had to leave her parents behind, she would. “Hello, Mom.”
“What are you doing here? You should be home with Lucien. The man is devastated.”
So devastated he battled my pack. Emma chose not to say that. “Lucien is not going to be my husband much longer. I want you to accept that.”
“We’ll never accept that,” Barbara said. “You married Lucien and you must keep to your vows.”
“I’m getting a divorce. Whether you like it or not, mother.”
“Well, I don’t like it. This wasn’t how I raised you.”
Emma’s anger was rising. They were not going to support her. Her parents. The ones who were supposed to love her unconditionally. “You raised me to be a doormat?”
“I raised you to honor your husband.”
“Even if he was cruel and cold?”
“Marriage isn’t that simple, Emma. We shielded you from the harsher parts of life. Looking back that might have been a mistake.”
Her heart raced in her chest and she couldn’t get rid of the lump in her throat. “Harsher than Lucien? He didn’t even let me be a Luna.”
“That was his choice as Alpha. Besides, you can’t handle the responsibility of the job.”
Emma straightened. Her own mother not only didn’t support her but had no idea who she’d become. “I am a Luna for a pack. Dex’s pack.”
“A second-rate Alpha if there ever was one.”
Emma took a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn’t help the situation. “I’m marrying Dex and you can choose to be there or not. I’m extending the invitation.”
“Don’t bother. It won’t be your real marriage. That’s to Lucien.”
Footsteps announced her father’s arrival, but he walked past the door without looking at her. Her heart broke. She couldn’t imagine having a child and doing this to them.
Emma wanted to scream. Her mother was not listening to her. This conversation was getting her nowhere. Her parents were set in their ways and they’d rather lose their daughter than accept Dex. How sobering for her. She took a step away from them both physically and emotionally.
At that moment, a sense of peace came over Emma. She wasn’t going to convince her parents of anything and she could now stop trying. As she turned away from her mother, she said, “Have a good life, mother.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That I’m done trying to convince you that I’ve chosen Dex.”
Emma left her mother in the doorway. She texted Dex from the end of the driveway. She’d never looked back at her mother. Not once. They’d made their decision and so had she. She wasn’t going to have any regrets, but she would need to mourn their loss as if they’d died.
Dex pulled up and she climbed into the truck. “You okay?”
She did an emotional inventory. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
“What happened?” he asked as he drove away.
“She isn’t ever going to accept my decision.”
Dex squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, it’s her loss.”
“You’re surprisingly calm.”
“I am. I’m sure I need time to grieve the loss of my parents, but I’m not going to give them any more power in my life.”
“Wow, Emma. You're sure of this?”
She turned to Dex. “I’m sure. I’m marrying you and they can’t stop me. It’s my choice, not theirs.”
He nodded, then turned back to the road. “I’m proud of you, Emma.”
“I’m proud of me, too.”
He laughed. “Let me take you out to dinner and we’ll put all of this behind us.”
Dex was the best. She couldn’t imagine life without him. “I love you, Dex. Our life is going to be perfect.”
“I’m not sure I can live up to perfect, but I’m going to do my best to make you happy. Happy wife happy life.”
“Happy spouse, happy house. It goes both ways, Dex.”
His smile said it all and it infused Emma with a warmth that nothing else in her life had ever done. She only had one more obstacle before they could begin their life together. After that nothing would stop her and Dex.