Emmeline was having none of that and shrugged away from him as he tried to hug her. She wasn't about to break into hysterics. Not yet at least. But she did turn on him with an angry look in her eyes.

"Don't," she said quickly, watching him cautiously now, "You don't know who you like."

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#LovelyLadySet

Handsome's heart dropped in his chest. She looked pissed.

"I do know. You can ask- well." Fuck, he hadn't exactly told anyone about his crush on Miss Woodcroft, had he? At least a few people had their suspicions about Maddie, but well... he was sort of over her how.

Fuck.

"I was always- I don't know. I never liked that you liked him," he said, referring to Munny.

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— set by MJ —

Emmeline crossed her arms over her chest and glare at him. He was so ridiculously full of shit.

"Bull shit," she said, not flinching in the slightest at the blunt words. Apparently whiskey could turn her to the worst on the flip of a knut. "You encourage me," she said, anger clearly radiating off of her at that point, "And you even talked to him about it. Don't deny it, Handsome."

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#LovelyLadySet

His eyes went wide as this petite, five-foot girl went from giggly to sad to angry. He took a step back, hoping the distance would help her calm down. Despite knowing he was right, he wasn't sure what he could say to convince her of such—especially when she was like this. He wasn't innocent here, but he sure as hell didn't mean any harm.

"I wanted you to be happy!" he protested. "If you were going to like him no matter what, I wanted to make sure he treated you well. I- I care about you."

(Apparently whiskey could make him emotional.)

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— set by MJ —

Emmeline roll her eyes, clearly not believing anything he was saying to her. She'd heard all about the rumors of his relationship with another working class girl. And that thought gave her an ah-ha moment.

"No, what you care about is an easy pair of skirts that you don't have to worry about if you get them with child," she spat at him, "Us working class girls are meant to be easy and more easily paid off so you never have to see them or your bastard again."

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#LovelyLadySet

Merlin. He wasn't sure whether it was his words, the kiss, or the firewhiskey that had gotten to her, but her words were sharp and they hit him hard. The last time he'd had someone speak to him so cruelly and judgmentally had been when Sweetie had all but admitted that she wished he would have died instead of their father.

He bit down on his lip to prevent any further emotion from showing. He didn't wish to anger her further, nor did he want to express the extent of the pain her words caused him.

He was a man.

"Forgive me," he said stoically. "If I would have known you felt that way months ago, I would have cut the acquaintanceship before allowing myself to form an attachment. I'll- I'll leave you be."

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— set by MJ —

His words barely registered in Emmeline's mind. She was too far past the point of rage to understand anything in that moment. Instead, when she heard his final words, she turned on her heel and left. It wasn't until she walked out of the room, face red with anger, that she broke down to tears intent on leaving the pub without a second thought. Clearly The Three Broomsticks was nothing but a heartache for the Woodcrofts.

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#LovelyLadySet