Fragments of Love

Chapter 1: The Break Up

"There is always tension between the possibilities we aspire to and our wounded memories and past mistakes" Sean Brady

Emily stepped out of her car in the almost empty parking lot for the coffee shop, the cold breeze hitting her face as soon as she stepped out. It was almost seven in the evening, and she was still wearing her sunglasses; maybe she was trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. She walked across the parking lot feeling a mixture of melancholy, anger and frustration all at once. She almost didn't show up to meet him…she literally stopped twice on the way there to convince herself she was doing the right thing.

It felt weird meeting him like this, away from D.C., away from their family and friends, like it was something prohibited…it had not been in a long time. Yet, she felt like this was something that needed to be done away from everyone's eyes. She walked into the coffee shop and spotted the dark-haired man sitting at a table in the far corner of the little restaurant. She sighed and made her way to the one man who used to comfort her at night, but seemed so frightening to her now. This should not hurt as much as it did; yet, it was killing her to stand here in front of him.

"Hey, I ordered you some coffee." Aaron said, when she sat down at the table.

"Thank you." She said as she pushed her glasses back revealing her dark eyes that were now red and glistening. He knew she had been crying probably all the way to the coffee shop, and he hated himself for making her do that. Lately, he had been doing that a lot.

"Thanks for meeting me." Aaron said, because he didn't know how else to start.

Emily didn't answer but just looked down; he could see the tears in her eyes threatening to fall again. She distracted herself by taking a sip of the coffee he had ordered for her… she almost smirked, he had ordered her a triple cinnamon latte, with skim milk. Just like she liked it, he knew her so well and yet he still didn't know much.

He hated that they had to meet at some random coffee shop away from everyone's eyes like they were doing something wrong. He hated that he could not meet her at her place, or his like a normal couple as they had in the past. He hated that they could not have a conversation without it ending in an argument and her walking away crying. He hated that he could not hold her in his arms like he wished he could…like he once used to and simply kiss her breathless and tell her how much he loved her. Unfortunately, that had not worked in a very long time, actions were louder than words right now. He remembered that he used to make her laugh so hard, but now it only seemed that he only knew how to make her cry. How in the hell had everything gotten so messed up? Why had he allowed this to happen?

"I hate to see you like this." He said sadly, looking at her examining her nervous behavior.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Emily said boldly, ignoring his statement.

"Em, really, I wish I could show you how much you mean to me, I just wish you could just see that." He sighed.

Emily smirked shaking her head, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Not enough for you to keep her from getting in our way, right?"

"I love you, Emily, if you don't know that, then I don't know what else to say."

"There is nothing you can say." Her reply was dry and cold. "You obviously love her more." Her eyes were hard and cold, and that hurt him so much; she used to look at him like he was the only man in the world.

"Don't give me that." He shook his head angrily, looking away.

"Then what should I say, Aaron?" She barked, "That everything Haley has done is okay?"

"She is the mother of my son." He said exasperated, he just wished she could understand that.

"And she has dictated our relationship for the past two years."

"Emily, I wish you could understand that it's not easy for me. It's not easy to be in this situation, she is the mother of my child."

Emily smirked again, shaking her head as once again tears pooled in her eyes; this was exactly why they were in this situation…because he had allowed his ex-wife to take control over his life and their relationship and had managed to slowly split them apart. Ever since Haley found out they were dating, she had become a nightmare in their relationship. At first, it had been little things like her calling him when he was with Emily to talk about Jack. Or, changing plans on him with Jack's weekend and ruining their plans together as a couple. Then, it became more obsessive, when she started to completely mess with Jack's and Aaron's weekend in order to stop him from seeing Emily. Naturally, Aaron didn't want to have a custody battle with her and traumatize Jack even more; he didn't want to fight with his ex about when he got to keep Jack each weekend. He knew Jack was having enough issues as it was, and he and Haley fighting over him was not an option now. Jack was only four years old, and he was having some issues adapting and being around people. Haley blamed that on Aaron walking out of their relationship even though it was she who had cheated and left him. So, he let Haley get away with her machinations for a while, that was, until his relationship with Emily began to have issues because of that.

At first, it was small arguments where they didn't necessarily agree with his decision, either they had to change their date plans, or not go out at all. It upset Emily, but she was trying to be supportive, and even though they disagreed and would have small fights about it, it was nothing a bouquet of flowers and a great night of cuddling didn't fix. But, then the fights became more intense, and Emily necessarily didn't get over the fights as quickly as she used to. They would fight loudly, and she would leave his place slamming the door, and they wouldn't talk for a few days, but even then, they still managed to get back to that place again. But now, everything was so damaged that Emily was snappy all the time, and they hardly ever spent time together even though they were engaged. When they actually did spend time together, it usually ended in a fight, and they had not moved in together for the same reason…Haley.

In a way, Aaron was glad, because they would have killed each other had they moved in together, and it would have been worse for Jack to see them fight so much. But, he also loved Emily more than anything, he really did, and it broke his heart that their relationship had become so damaged because of his ex-wife. He was absolutely sure that every single fight he had with Emily during their entire relationship was because of Haley, and he could understand why the brunette was so hurt.

"I can't do this anymore." Emily said, with tears in her eyes.

"Em, please." He just wished she could understand how hard it was for him to be in the middle of this.

She reached into her purse pulling out a little black velvet box and setting it in front of him. His heart dropped, and he looked at her sadly…he didn't need to open it to know what it was, he knew that box perfectly. It was the engagement ring he had bought for her a year ago. He had not even realized she wasn't wearing the ring anymore, God only knew when she had taken it off any way. Aaron had been so focused on the situation with Jack and Haley, he hadn't noticed whether she was even wearing it. He reached for her hand in desperation; he didn't know what else to do.

"Baby, don't do this, please…." He begged, trying to hold her hand.

"I can't do this, Aaron, not anymore." She said, pulling her hand away from him as tears finally started to roll down her cheeks. He wanted to pull her into his arms so badly, but she was so upset, and he knew that would be a very bad move. He hated to see Emily cry, especially when he caused those tears, right now, he just wished he could make things better.

"I just wish you could understand." He said sadly, it was a lot more complex than Emily thought it was.

"I understand perfectly fine, I have understood for almost two years...it will never change, she will always have first priority in your life no matter what!"

"That's not true, Em, I love you, I have for a long time, it's you who owns my heart."

"Yet, you do anything she wants even if it gets in the middle of our relationship."

"You know that's not true, Emily." he defended himself, but she just glared at him. It wasn't true, not really, anyway. He had allowed Haley to blackmail him using Jack as an excuse and letting it come between him and Emily for a very long time, and he was aware of that, but it was so much more complicated than that.

"It will change, I promise you." He vowed, but Emily shook her head "no".

"You've said that in the past, and it changes for a few weeks, but then it goes back to the same…her controlling every single thing we do. Our time together, our time with Jack, God, Aaron, I'm engaged to you, and I can't even spend time with your son without her throwing a fit about it."

"He's her son, Em, she's just being over protective."

"Stop justifying her actions!" Emily said, almost too loud getting the attention of a few nearby tables. "He is your son, too, and I'm not a criminal; we've been together for two damn years, Aaron."

"Look, I'll talk to Haley…everything will change from now on."

"It's never going to change, you've said that a hundred times, you've promised me so many times this will change and it never does, I can't do this anymore." She cried.

"Obviously, Haley means so much to you that we can't even live together because of her."

"She threatened to take my son away, Emily, and move to another state. What was I supposed to do?"

"Don't give me that crap, Aaron, you could have gone to a lawyer if you really wanted to end all of this. It could have made a difference."

"I don't want Jack in the middle of a custody battle." Aaron responded, in a defensive tone.

"He is already in the middle of a custody battle!" She snapped. "You can't even spend an entire weekend with your own child without her approval and interference."

"I don't know what you want me to say." He replied, defeated.

"I don't want you to say anything, Aaron, I am done!" Emily wiped away her tears. "I love you, but I can't do this anymore. I won't let your ex-wife dictate my happiness."

"It's our happiness." Aaron said sadly, looking at her and the ring.

"Oh really?" She questioned. "Because from where I'm standing, the only thing that matters to you is her happiness and what she wants."

"That is not fair."

"And you think it's fair that I can't even spend our anniversary with my fiancé because his ex-wife managed to set up some bullshit to keep him away from me!" Emily barked angrily, her eyes full of tears.

"Sweetheart, I won't let that happen anymore."

"I have to go." She said, wiping her eyes one last time and standing up from the table.

"Emily, please let me fix this." Aaron begged.

"It can't be fixed, not this time." She said sadly, walking away and leaving him alone in the coffee shop staring at the velvet box on the table.

He had proposed to her a year ago, she was his entire happiness; despite the fights they were having, he had never loved anyone the way he loved Emily. He had never felt like this about anyone, she made him so happy, she and Jack were the light in his eyes, and the reason why he got up every morning. If only he had put a stop to Haley's bullshit when he was supposed to, or like he was supposed to, that was all Emily had ever asked from him, and yet he hadn't been able to do it.

"A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them." John C. Maxwell