Luckily for Emma, she didn't see much of Regina after the wedding. Every time she visited her grandfather, she made sure that the brunette was nowhere to be seen, not that it was too hard given that Regina had decided not to live with her mother.

She was tempted to skip Christmas too, knowing that Regina would be there. But her mother had almost killed her when Emma suggested she might go to the Bahamas with her friends for the holidays.

Besides, Emma loved the dishes that were made for Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner was a huge tradition for the Whites. As a kid, Emma never cared about the presents; she only cared about going and eating as much as she could. Not much has changed since then. Only that her parents now got angry when she got sick from eating too much. There were several "You should know better, Emma!" and "You have to learn how to control yourself, Emma!" from the parents.

"Emma, how lovely is to see you," Cora said as she opened her arms to hug her.

"It's good to see you, too, Grandma," Emma replied with the same amount of fake love in her voice as she hugged the older woman.

"You cleaned up nicely for the occasion," Cora pointed out with a smile. Their relationship was based on passive-aggressive comments and false smiles.

"Yes, well. Got to make my favorite granny proud and all that shit," she added, not caring for her vulgar language. She knew Cora hated that, too.

She smiled at Cora's glare, but before she could continue annoying her, a giggle caught Emma's attention. Emma turned around and saw a young boy covering his mouth.

"Hello," Emma said as she walked towards the boy, "And, who might you be?" she asked, kneeling to be at his level.

"I'm Henwy," he replied. "You said a bad wowd," the boy pointed out, "Mommy hates bad wowds."

He made Emma smile, not only because of his statement but also because of his adorable pronunciation.

"Let's not tell mommy then, alright?" Emma proposed, tickling his belly.

"Are you telling my son to lie to me, Miss Swan?"

Emma grunted and rolled her eyes, because, of course, this adorable boy was Regina's son.

"Regina, wonderful to see you again," Emma stood up and flashed Regina another one of her fake smiles. Regina, however, saw through her empty grin with a raised eyebrow. "So, this is my cousin?" the blonde tried a joke to lighten up the mood.

"No," Regina stated coldly. Then, she turned to Henry, and her face seemed to transform when she looked at the boy, "Henry, wash your hands. Dinner is ready."

Much to her delight, Emma was seated between Henry and her grandfather. Which was great because her parents couldn't lecture her as she swallowed her third serving of whatever-fits-into-her-plate, and she didn't have to listen to anyone but Henry and his endearing obsession with superheroes.

Four slices of chocolate pie later, Emma found herself in the bathroom, emptying her stomach as the rest of her family opened their presents.

"Henry has been asking for you," she heard from across the door.

"Leave me alone," she managed to say before she started puking again.

Naturally, Regina did the opposite to what Emma asked her. She opened the door and locked it behind her.

"Not in the mood or shape for a quickie, Regina," Emma joked as she cleaned her mouth with a piece of toilet paper.

Regina rolled her eyes and helped Emma to her feet, "You shouldn't eat that much."

"Thanks for the unsolicited advice," the blonde rinsed her mouth, "Hey, maybe you and my parents can establish an Emma-Don't-Pig-Out Society."

"You're an idiot," the brunette pointed out.

"And you're nosy."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Right, because I need a good influence in my life."

Regina crossed her arms over her chest, "You're still holding a grudge over that? It's been over six months!"

"It's impossible to forget when your mother loves pointing out how disastrous my life is." Emma answered, "It's like a hobby to her!"

"It's not just your life the one she loves to comment on." Regina looked to the floor, "In fact, ever since I adopted Henry, she'd been telling me how I'm never going to find a suitable partner now."

A part of Emma's brain registered that Regina had used the word 'partner' and not 'husband,' but she wouldn't process that information until much later.

"Oh, trust me," Emma laughed, but it was not a joyful chuckle but a hurtful one, "Henry is the least of your worries when it comes to finding a 'suitable partner,'" and with that said, she walked out of the bathroom.

She only stopped in the living room to notify her parents that she would be celebrating New Year's in the Bahamas with her friends. And then, she left the house.

Her stomach was still feeling uneasy, but somehow, she knew it had nothing to do with the food.