“Come on, share with me,” I say and I let out a soft giggle.
“The only woman trouble I have ever had was with my ex, Emma.” He says as he looks down to floor and I can tell that this may be a touchy subject for him.
“What happened?” I insist as I maintain my stare on his eyes.
“It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t every relationship?” He smiles and then he continues to talk.
“Emma was my girlfriend, we met at a club in Soho and I fell for her instantly. I was very nervous to even speak to her, but I managed to pick up enough courage to approach her. I asked her out and she said yes, am I boring you yet?”
“No, go on.”
“We dated for nine months and I was in love with her. Even though she would not admit it, she felt the same way. She is five years younger than me and at first I just thought that it was her age that was holding her back from committing fully to me,” James’s voice is shallow and I can tell that he still hurts over this girl.
“What was holding her back?” I say.
“She had issues that went far beyond what I could have imagined.”
“What were they?” This strikes a chord with me and resembles what I first thought of Adrian. I want Dr James to tell me more I am very interested to hear his story.
“Emma’s mother is very protective of her. She does not like guys getting too close to her daughter, and Emma was always worried about what her mother would think of her and I. So she kept our relationship a secret for a long time.”
“That must have been hard.”
“It was, I loved her and I wanted her to move in with me but I knew she never would. She cared too much about what her mother would say and in the end it ruined our love.”
“Why would a mother do that to her daughter?”
“I guess it was because of her mother’s own experiences.” This is starting to sound familiar to me. The mother’s concerns and the name Emma strikes a liking to Maggie and Adrian’s sister Emma. I shake of the feeling and I think it is just a coincidence.
“Did the mother have a bad experience with a guy?” I say still with the crazy idea in my head that Dr James is referring to my Adrian’s distant family.
“Emma’s father left them and I don’t think her mother ever fully got over that.” I am stumped the similarities that just keep coming.
“What was the mother’s name?” I ask him and it feels as if my heart has stopped beating as I await his answer.
“Maggie I think,” I gasp loudly and I can see that Dr James looks puzzled by me.
“Is there something wrong?” He says. My mind is racing and I do not know what to say, what a small world this is, my doctor is the ex-boyfriend of Adrian’s sister. This type of thing does not happen.
“I know the mother, Maggie.” He looks confused.
“How do you know her?” I sigh, “The boyfriend that is MIA, Emma is his sister.” He sits silent and reflects on what I have just said after a brief pause he finally says.
“I wasn’t aware she had a brother.”
“They literally just found out.”
“How can this be? Is he a step brother or a biological brother?”
“He is her half-brother, they share the same father, and he also left Adrian when he was very young, and I guess that he did the same to Emma.”
He shakes his in disbelief. “Has he met her?”
“I don’t think so, I only found out about Emma on the day I was shot.”
“How did you find out about her?” He asks.
“Maggie is a chef and she was working for Adrian at the condo in which I was staying. She told me about her daughter and we finally came to understand that she and Adrian were siblings.”
“This is unbelievable.”
“I know, but you have to understand that there is a reason why Maggie acts in that way about relationships.”
“I had a feeling that she was hurt before by a man, whenever I asked Emma about it she wouldn’t tell me.” I nod in agreement and I feel that Dr James deserves to know the truth.
“Maggie met Emma’s father when she was a young college student in Chicago. Maggie had dreams to become a journalist and while she was out on a work experience programme, she met and fell in love with Edward Black. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. Soon after they got together Maggie found out that she was pregnant.” I look at Dr James’s face as he processes the new information he has now found out about the girl that he loved. I feel sorry for him and I think that he still loves her. I wonder about Emma and if she has any issues that go further than commitment. I know for sure that Adrian has suffered and he has problems still to this day, about what happened to him. Although Maggie was the best mom she could be and always put Emma first, I cannot help but think that perhaps Emma suffers in silence about her father leaving her.