"Emma! Emma wake up," cried a male voice tinged with desperation. My eyes slowly opened and for a second, the whole world seemed blurry before finally coming in to focus. Right above me was a pair of concerned green eyes that connected to the rest of Jack's worried face. Relief was evident in his features when my eyes finally opened.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," he cried before crushing me against him. In the background, I could hear muffled screams and shouts and loud labored breathing. Twisting my head away from Jack, I looked up to find a furious Michel screaming at his father who had undoubtedly been my captor. I remembered his threat so clearly but at that time I had stupidly dismissed it for an empty one.

"If you ever as much as come near her or the rest of my family, I won't hesitate to get the police involved, do you understand," Michel said in barely contained anger. Michel's father nodded vaguely before staggering off, probably unbalanced due to the wounds Michel had already inflicted on him. Glancing away from his retreating figure, I turned to Michel who was looking at me with a heartbreaking expression on is face. He came closer and kneeled down before me, tucking a single strand of my hair behind ear. His touch was so gentle, so unlike the man that had faced his father mere seconds ago.

"I'm so sorry," his voice broke at the end as tears began to slip down his face. His face was lined with regret and guilt as he looked up at me with anguished eyes. The pain in his face broke my heart and tears began to stream down my face as well. I felt slightly embarrassed, as the flood of tears I was releasing seemed like slightly too much for what had happened. Michel took me in his arms, gently rocking me back and forth, burying his face into my hair. I realized that the fundamental reason as to why I was crying wasn't because of my ankle, or Michel's face but because of how weak that moment had made me feel.

"I felt so weak, so helpless and I didn't do anything except panic." I blubbered through my tears. Michel tilted my face up and I realized his tears had stopped long ago. He was now looking at me with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Emma you were strong enough to leave everything you had ever known in your life to come with 2 strangers to find you mother. You were strong enough to stand up to my own father, a man almost twice your age and you were strong enough to not break down when you weren't able to find your mother. Everyone has his or her limits and today pushed you past yours and you can't blame yourself for that. Besides, you were trying to fight against a burly man in his 30s; you can't blame yourself for not winning that fight Emma. " His eyes seemed to shine as he said this and I realized he truly believed everything he said, and it made me want to believe him too. I nodded slowly, wiping away my tears and he stood up before swinging me up into his strong arms. He held me tightly, like he'd never let me go. I didn't want him to.

"You don't always have to be strong Emma, I'll always be there anyway, whenever you need me," he said before bending down and pressing a light kiss to my forehead. I gripped his shirt tightly before losing consciousness, hearing the steady heat of his heart against my ear.