Regina walked briskly through the Sheriff's station, slamming doors in her wake.
"Regina?" Charming called over to her from his office, a confused expression on his face.
"Have you seen Miss Swan?"
"Emma should be in her office, I'm-"
Regina turned and walked to the office, ignoring the bothersome prince.
When she reached the small room, she was met with utter emptiness. Pictures had been removed from the walls, the blonde's tacky seat cushions missing from her cheap office chair. A small rectangular envelope lay on the empty desk. Regina took a shaky breath and held it in her hands.
Dear Regina,
I'm writing this letter to say I'm sorry. Fuck, I don't know why I'm writing this letter, but I know that I'm sorry, and I'm a lot of other things that I can't seem to put down on paper. I guess I just want you to know the truth, even if it means nothing to you, you deserve to hear it. I guess I should start at the beginning to keep some semblance of organization going. I honestly was not cut out to be writing letters. Did you know I've never written a letter before? I think I'm stalling. Breathe, Emma.
The beginning isn't exactly the first time we met, because in the spirit of true honesty, I thought you were one of those single mothers who goes to Pilates a lot and probably runs a book club for 50 Shades of Grey or some weird shit like that. I guess for me, the beginning was when you gave Henry and I happy memories. You could've just given them to Henry; let him live in blissful ignorance while I suffer for the rest of my life knowing that I finally found my family and some curse took them all away. Since we came back to Storybrooke, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that. The only possible explanation for what you did would be that somewhere deep down in that big old heart of yours, you don't hate me as much as you say you do. For a long time I wished that I could hate you. I tried so damn hard to hate you, because God knows hating you would be easier.
All of my flaws, all of these things that separate me from Snow and Charming's perfect little daughter... I see them in you. When I think of these things in myself, I despise the person I am, and it's so fucking easy to hate myself. The thing is, I could never feel that way about you. I see the flaws that I hate so much and all I can think about is how somehow you're still beautiful and you're still good, and you still deserve the world. And you do, Regina. You deserve the world. With my whole heart I wish I could give you that, but the reality is, I'm only a small part of it. I'm just a drop of water and you deserve all of the oceans.
I suppose you've put the pieces together by now, if you hadn't already. I care about you. I care about you in a way that I've never cared about anyone. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love you, and part of me loving you is wanting what's best for you. I hate the idea of using magic on the kid, but I erased his memories of me before I left. Henry is yours now, just like you always wanted. I hope Robin can make you happy the way I never could. Take good care of Henry, okay? I don't know why I'm even asking that, I know you will.
Emma
PS. I'll probably love you forever, and the selfish part of me hopes you won't forget me.