Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 120

Mrs. Johnson usually had a light breakfast; after a small bowl of soup, she went out to the backyard to trim the rose bushes.

That left only Charles and Amelia at the table.

“Are you still feeling unwell?” Charles asked.

“I’m fine now.” Amelia offered a sincere thank you. “Really, I don’t know what I would’ve done without your help.”

Charles waved it off. “Don’t mention it.” He hesitated, his fork pausing midair. “Are you really not going to tell Daniel about the pregnancy?”

Amelia shook her head. “No. He has his life; I have mine. After the divorce, there’s really no reason for us to see each other again.”

Charles had so much he wanted to say, but every word felt wrong. In the end, he swallowed them all.

Amelia scooped up another spoonful of soup with her porcelain spoon, then glanced up, something on her mind. “Did anyone come to check on me last night?”

She couldn’t tell if it was a dream or if it had actually happened, but she seemed to remember hearing Daniel’s voice—and maybe even replied to him.

“My mother checked in on you a few times,” Charles answered.

“Oh.”

Amelia couldn’t say if she felt disappointed or just foolish. She silently mocked herself for even thinking Daniel would come. Given what happened yesterday, he was probably at the hospital with his precious Porcelain Doll. As if he’d bother to check on her.

So it was just a dream after all. A vivid one, too—she seemed to remember lashing out at him, though what she’d said was a blur. Only the last words lingered in her memory:

“Daniel, I don’t want to see you. Please, just stay out of my life.”

After that, there was nothing but endless darkness.

Street vendors called out as they sold braided pastries, old men strolled along in wheelchairs with tambourines on their laps, ready to break out in song, and every trash can was neatly locked shut.

Amelia leaned against the car window, wide-eyed with curiosity, taking in the city like a child discovering a new world. “Wow. Elm City really does live up to the hype—just as magical as everyone says online.”

Sophia adopted a mock-serious tone. “You can call Elm City magical, but don’t you dare say the people are weird.”

Whether Elm City people were eccentric or not, Sophia’s parents certainly were.

Knowing their two girls were coming home, they didn’t wait around with a table full of food like sentimental parents in a family drama. Instead, they left two handwritten notes on the entryway cabinet.

“Sophia, Amelia—It’s not that we wanted to go out, but the girls kept calling us to join their game night, and we just couldn’t say no. Dinner is up to you tonight. Mom will cook something special tomorrow!”

The other note read, in nearly identical handwriting: “Dad couldn’t get out of it either. I promise I’ll spend the whole day with you tomorrow.”