Chapter 12 - Emily Didn’t Want Rebecca Gone
Everyone assumed Emily would say she hated Rebecca.
She didn’t.
When the therapist asked what she wanted, Emily answered:
“I want Rebecca to stop saying Dad said stuff.”
That was it.
Not:
Make her leave.
Not:
Don’t marry her.
Not:
I hate her.
Stop using Dad’s voice.
Adrian almost cried hearing it.
Emily still remembered good things.
Rebecca taught her to braid ribbon.
Made pancakes shaped like stars.
Sat beside her during a thunderstorm once.
Helped choose her flower-girl shoes.
Children do not organize people into clean categories as quickly as adults do.
Rebecca frightened her.
Rebecca also loved her in some ways.
That complexity made the betrayal harder, not easier.
Adrian asked Emily:
“Do you want me to marry Rebecca?”
The therapist stopped him gently.
Wrong question.
Too much responsibility.
Adrian understood immediately.
He apologized.
That became another lesson.
Emily did not need to decide the adult relationship.
She needed safety inside whatever adults decided.
So Adrian reframed.
“What do you need from me?”
Emily answered:
“Ask me if I said things.”
Simple.
If Rebecca says Emily wants something—
ask Emily.
If Rosa says Emily feels something—
ask Emily.
If anyone claims the child sent a message—
check.
May you like
Not because children always communicate perfectly.
Because nobody gets to become permanent translator of another person.
