A long, painful silence followed. “Emily. I received a direct order from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs this morning.”
I stopped breathing.
“My promotion to a four-star General is on the President’s desk this week,” Noah explained, the pain clear in every word. “The Pentagon is terrified of a scandal. They’ve ordered me to distance myself entirely. I am forbidden from issuing a public statement, forbidden from appearing in civilian court, and forbidden from contacting you. If I step foot in that courtroom, I will be stripped of my command and forced into early retirement.”
He had spent thirty years serving his country. He had bled for that uniform. And now, to protect me—a woman he had known for two hours—he would have to sacrifice everything.
I closed my eyes. Tears slipped down my cheeks, hot and bitter. I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t become another person who took advantage of him.
“Noah,” I said, forcing my trembling voice to steady. “Don’t come.”
“Emily, I can’t just leave you to the wolves.”
“You have to. If Ryan finds out you sacrificed your career for me, he’ll just use it as more ‘proof’ that we’re passionately in love. It won’t help me, and it will destroy you. Stay in Washington. I will figure this out.”
“Emily—”
“Goodbye, Noah. Thank you for helping my daughter breathe.” I ended the call and blocked his number. It was the hardest thing I had ever done.
The next morning, I sat in the sterile hallway of the Cook County Family Court. Brenda, my lawyer, studied her notes and released a heavy sigh.
“Emily, I’m going to be straight with you,” Brenda said, adjusting her glasses. “Without that video, and without the General’s testimony, all the judge is going to see is a motive. Ryan has a pristine, albeit fake, paper trail showing you stole fifty grand. He has a photo of you draped over a famous bachelor. We are going in blind, and we have zero ammunition.”
“So what do we do?” I asked, watching Lily play with a wooden block on the floor, completely unaware that her future was about to be decided behind those oak doors.
