Master of his heart (Max and Brielle) novel Chapter 1196

Emma's tears flowed even more freely, but Peyton had no clue why she was crying so hard.

"Emma, what's with the tears? You've got the money now, don't you? You see, I was always going to give it to you. The Odeberg family mess is over. As long as we steer clear of them, they’ll leave us alone. We can go back to our lives, just the two of us. And about the baby..."

Peyton paused, then continued, "We still have two thousand left. Maybe it's best to go ahead with the abortion."

Emma's mind buzzed. It was her mother's decision to hide the money that had kept her from going to college.

She had a chance to get out, a chance to...

"The most painful words in the world are 'could have been.'"

Emma felt completely drained, too exhausted to even feel hungry.

Peyton brought her a plate of food, thinking her silence was because she was starving, and quickly placed a fork in front of her.

"Come on, eat something. Don't be mad at me for hesitating; it was twenty thousand dollars, and the Odeberg family set us up. If they'd asked for less, I would've given you the rest. I did it for both of us. Making money gets harder every year, and with you being pregnant, do you really want to go back to foraging in the hills?"

Emma's body felt like jelly. The smell of the food didn't make her hungry; she just cried, numb.

She never thought things would turn out like this.

So hopeless.

And Peyton kept on talking.

"Keeping that money wasn't about greed. Everyone's right; what's a girl like you need so much education for? Look at the college grads from the next town; none of them want to come back. Too much learning, and you get too independent. Emma, you're my only daughter. I don't have a son to rely on. If not for you, who do I have? If you leave me, I might as well be dead."

It all seemed so absurd now.

She wanted to scream, to cry, but found she couldn't shed another tear.

She just bit her lip harder, staring blankly into space.

There's no greater sorrow than a broken heart.

After a while, Peyton stopped crying and didn't say another word. She went to get another plate of food and set it in front of Emma.

"Get your strength back first. Once you're better, we'll deal with the baby. We can't stay in this village any longer, with everyone whispering about us. Once you're well, we'll move to town. I'll find work as a housekeeper, and you can find a job too. We won't starve. You may have no shame, but I still do."

The final remark was about Emma's pregnancy, a stigma in their community for being unmarried and pregnant.