It was a while after Claire's departure before the professor arrived home. Evening was settling in and the sun was setting as the professor entered the front door. All was quiet in the house. The professor poked his head in the kitchen door, but it was empty. "They must be upstairs," he thought. He suddenly heard voices coming from outside the back door on the patio. He leaned in and listened.
"She can't hurt us anymore, Luke,"he heard Flora say. "Andrea's going down and she's never coming back, I know it."
"That's what we thought last time, but she was out within a year," Luke pointed out. "And if she and her accomplices start a fight, Emmy won't really be able to fight back without putting the baby at risk..."
The professor closed his eyes and stopped listening. He knew full well that Luke was right in what he said. Andrea was far from gone until she accepted that she couldn't have what she wanted.
But there was something else niggling at the professor. Something Andrea had said earlier.
"I have knowledge of your beloved niece. Something which could destroy her utterly. Something which no one else knows, no one but me and her father... I know everything about the girl, you see. She took everything from me. And I could easily assist her on her departure from this world. I'm sure death will be a release from the emotional pain she will suffer after finding out what i know... But not yet. I want her to lose everything she has first. I want her to feel true pain before i tear her world apart completely. Trust me, you will see..."
Andrea's file said that she had mental issues. The professor had assumed that her old crush on him had caused her mental problems to spiral out of control. But her words had contradicted that. It sounded more like she wanted revenge on an old foe. Bronev seemed as surprised as the professor was to hear these words, so the professor doubted that this was a mere Targent scheme...
But while Andrea was being held in custody, he had time on his hands to ponder this further. For now, he finally had Emmy and flora back, and more importantly, his unborn child was now safe from harm. He left the kitchen and made his way upstairs to find Emmy - and finally talk about everything they had encountered.
As the professor made his way down the hall, he could hear a sad sigh coming from his room. He looked in the door to see Emmy laying on the bed, neatly on her side, facing away from him, with a photo frame in her hand.
He crept in the bedroom and sat on the bed beside her. He rested a hand on her shoulder as she turned around to face him. She looked upset. The professor looked at the frame in her hand.
It was a photo of the two of them on Emmy's last birthday. The professor had just put a gold necklace which he had bought for her as a present around her neck and had wrapped his arms around her waist. She was beaming at him and had taken his hands.
"So she's gone?"
The professor nodded. "Yes, she is. Celeste and Markus are devastated."
Emmy's face suddenly screwed up and she began to cry, tears pouring down her face.
"Oh, Emmy..." he wrapped his arms around her. She began to sob uncontrollably.
"I-I-I'm s-so s-sorry, H-H-Hershel-"
"I know, Emmy... It's not your fault..."
"I love you, Hershel..."
The professor tilted her chin up and kissed her. Emmy sniffed and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting another kiss on his lips. They laid there for a short time, kissing and holding each other until they finally broke apart.
"Hershel?"
"Hmm?"
"Everything will be alright, won't it? She won't come and hurt us again,will she?"
"I…" the professor looked into her eyes. "I honestly don't know, Emmy."
Emmy smiled. "At least you're being honest, Hershel." She kissed him again. "And we're okay, aren't we?"
The professor smiled at her. He sat on the edge of the bed and began rooting in the drawer. "of course we are,my dear." He suddenly remembered the letter he had in his pocket. "Emmy?"
"Yes?"
"Claire wrote me this letter before we started going out, and she gave it to me just before she left." The professor handed it to Emmy. "Could you read it to me?" he then continued to rummage through the drawer.
"Er…" Emmy cleared her throat and began to read:
"Dear Hershel Layton,
It's the strangest thing. I like to think that i am honest and open about what i think and feel, yet as i write this i find that i don't have a clue as to how to begin. I suppose i ought to start by telling you that there is something important that i want you ti know about me. I want you to know that out of the many people I've met in my life, you are the first person i think of when i wake up in the morning, and the last person i think of at night. You are different to anyone I've ever known before, and in so many ways.
You're so warm and kind to everyone you meet and you treat them all with the same kindness no matter who they are. And you still do. I suppose that's what i love most about you.
I love you, Hershel Layton. Through all the time we've spent together recently, I've fallen in love with you. I've never felt this way about anyone else before, Hershel. I have always been open about my feelings, so i felt that you needed to know. It's okay if you don't feel the same. But i would be glad if you ever got to know the extent of my love for you. Life is too short, who knows what will happen next?..." Emmy trailed off as she began to cry again. The professor shut the drawer, placed a small box in his pocket before climbing back onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Emmy again.
"There, there, my dear," he murmured, kissing her hair. "It's alright now..." he held her at arms length and sat on the edge of the bed again. "My dear... I have something else here..."
Emmy rested her head on his shoulder as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the small box he had placed inside moments before. He handed it to Emmy.
"Open it, my dear. Go ahead."
"What is it?" Emmy asked.
"Something I bought for Claire many years ago, but I never got the chance to give it to her... I would be honoured if you would have it, Emmy."
Emmy opened it. A white gold ring sat snugly in the small box with a 5mm diamond glittering in the light of the bedroom. Emmy's eyes widened.
"I want you, Emmy. I want us to be a proper family; you, me, Flora and Alfendi. I want you to become my wife."
Emmy looked into his eyes as he got down on one knee beside her. He took both of her hands.
"Marry me, Emmeline."