My name is Emma Palmer, I am 23 years old and I graduated with honors from Harvard Law School as a criminal lawyer. And if you're wondering if I'm a nerd... I received an eighty percent scholarship to attend and was the top of my class, receiving job offers from valuable companies upon graduation.

And like any other girl, I live in the suburbs of Santa Barbara, California. I live with my mother, who raised us alone because my father never wanted to take responsibility for us. From what my mother has told us, he was married and my mother was his secretary, so he never thought about leaving his wife. My mother had enough of it and left him.

I also live with my younger sister, Mia. She is three years younger than me and has just finished college in Santa Barbara, just like Jimmy. Unlike me, she chose a shorter career path. Mia and I talk daily; we are very close, although she is very different from me. She is beautiful, the funniest girl whom any man would want to marry. She has told me that she has a boyfriend whom she loves and they plan to get married soon.

A few weeks ago, I just graduated, and I couldn't be happier. I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend Jimmy for 3 years, although no one knows because my mother is very strict. Our relationship started in high school, and during college, we were far apart. He stayed at a university in the city while I had to move to Massachusetts for 2 years to finish my degree.

We stayed in touch, and Jimmy visits me at the university three times a month. We have had some conflicts because I haven't been able to be intimate with him. I still feel like it's not the right time to take that step. Every time we see each other, he tries to go for a kiss, but I avoid it. I want our relationship to be perfect, and I want to remain a virgin until marriage. He has promised me that once he returns to Santa Barbara, we will get married and he will speak to my mother to get her approval. We plan to have a big wedding at the city's parish with many guests.

I arranged to receive my university papers earlier, so I could surprise him and my family with my return.

On my way home, I was very nervous. I had finally graduated and could start working to pay the mortgage for the house and some loans I had taken to stay in college.

At the airport, I ran through the hallways because I was about to miss my flight for waking up late.

While running, I bumped into a man and fell to the ground. He spilled his coffee on his tie.

"Damn it! Are you blind?" said the man in a shiny black suit, looking at Emma lying on the floor.

"Sorry, I didn't realize," Emma said, looking at the man, who seemed like he was sculpted by angels, as she stood up.

"My suit is expensive. Consider yourself lucky that I won't charge you for it because I'm in a hurry," the man replied irritably, wiping himself.

"I apologize. Are you also blind to not realize it was an accident, or does your fancy tie prevent you from thinking clearly? It was me who could have been hurt, as it seems I tripped over a stone. But you know what? I'm not going to argue with a guy like you," Emma said, walking away from the man, annoyed with her suitcase, leaving the man surprised.

The man looked at her in astonishment since no woman had ever dared to speak to him like that. On the contrary, they all knew him and fell at his feet. So when he heard her, he just watched her leave and smiled.

Emma walked towards the passport relocation and looked back once again at the man who hadn't stopped staring at her. A chill ran down her spine as she walked and boarded the plane, trying to remove the strange man's gaze from her mind.

Three hours on the plane were enough time for Emma to freshen up and change her clothes before reaching home. To her misfortune, the snow season was approaching and the plane was delayed due to the cold and windy weather.

Night had fallen and Emma was impatient to get home, unaware that she would receive a surprise that would change her entire life.

As the plane landed, her phone rang. It was a message from Jimmy...

"Hey, my love, this time you didn't answer any of my calls. Is everything okay?! 🥺" Jimmy sent from his phone, sounding nervous.

"Hi, my love, I'm sorry, I had to take care of a lot of paperwork for university. But tell me, what are you doing? What will you do tomorrow?!" Emma asked, smiling, as she knew she would see Jimmy tomorrow.

"I'm about to go to sleep. I've already changed into my pajamas, had dinner, and I'm going to sleep. You should do the same. Don't forget that I love you, Emma, and you'll always be the love of my life! ❤️" Jimmy wrote, adjusting his bowtie while looking at himself in the mirror, his face sad as he stared at a photo of Emma stuck on the mirror.

"I love you too. I can't wait to come home and talk to my mother and get married!" Emma replied, grabbing her suitcase to get off the plane.

"I also long to see you and talk to you, my love. Rest well. I love you. ❤️ " Jimmy responded with a sigh, as his mother entered the room.

"Jimmy, what are you waiting for? We're running late! Hurry up! Your father will start getting impatient, you know him!" Jimmy's mother said, an elegant woman dressed in a loose black dress, with a diamond necklace and a high and beautiful hairstyle that made her blue eyes sparkle.

"I'm ready, mother. Let's go." Jimmy said, leaving his room to get into the car where his father was already waiting inside.

In the car, Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about Emma and feeling sad about what he was about to do, knowing it would change things forever.

"What's wrong, Jimmy? Why that expression? Get rid of it. We're only teaching you to take responsibility for your actions. And you know I don't want you to talk to Emma anymore. After this, I doubt she will even want to see you." His father said, driving angrily.

"I know, father. There's no need to remind me that I'm the worst person in the world." Jimmy said with a broken voice.

"Well, look at what you did to your girlfriend. Emma just graduated from Harvard. She's a good lawyer and a nice girl to maintain our status, but no..." Jimmy's father said, annoyed, raising his voice.

"Both of you, enough! We already have enough to deal with, so stop tormenting him. And you, Jimmy, it's time for you to tell Emma the whole truth before she finds out in another way..." His mother said, upset.

Upon arriving, Jimmy was very nervous. He didn't want to do it, but he had no other choice but to face the consequences of a wild night where alcohol and bad decisions led him to mess up with the wrong person, causing him to hurt the person he loved the most.

As Jimmy arrived, his mother handed him a bouquet of flowers and a basket full of fruit, as is customary for the groom's parents to bring something before the handshake.

"Walk, Jimmy, I'm freezing, man!" his father said impatiently, urging Jimmy on.

"Take that expression off your face, son. Anyone would think you're going to a funeral, not your engagement party!" his mother said.

Jimmy took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

On the other hand, Mia and her mother were arranging the final details on the table, while the guests were already in the living room enjoying appetizers and discussing how rushed things seemed.

"How do I look, Mother?" Mia asked, smiling and turning around for her mother to look at her.

"You look beautiful as always, my baby," her mother said, adjusting her hair.

"I wish Emma was here to meet Jimmy," Mia said sadly.

"She will come very soon and she will be happy to be an aunty so soon, so wipe that sad face off and be happy on this day that the guests are waiting for us," her mother said, smiling.

"You're right, she will be the happiest," Mia said, smiling and placing her hands on her belly.

The doorbell rang, and Mia's mother, Charlotte, opened the door with a wide smile, as Jimmy came from a wealthy family with good manners.

"Good evening, nice to meet you. Please come in," Charlotte said, smiling and greeting Jimmy's parents, while Mia stood nervously behind her, looking at Jimmy seriously.

"Good evening, Charlotte. I brought a gift," Jimmy's mother said, smiling and hiding what she truly felt in that moment.

Jimmy's father entered without uttering a word, greeting Charlotte and Mia, as he couldn't understand how Mia could be doing this to Emma without feeling the slightest remorse for what she might feel.

"Hey, my love, is everything okay?" Mia asked, seeing Jimmy enter serious, looking at all the people.

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just that all of this is overwhelming. But let's join everyone," Jimmy said, not taking Mia's hand.

On the other hand, Emma had finally left the airport after long hours of sitting. She stretched her legs, took a taxi directly home, and happily looked at the photos on her cellphone with Jimmy from high school.

Upon arriving, she was surprised to see so many cars parked in front of her house. She got out of the taxi, buttoned up her coat, took her suitcases, and started walking towards the porch where she could hear a lot of commotion inside, apparently there was a party.

She took a key from under the doormat and opened the door.

"My girl Emma, no one told me you were coming!" her grandmother said, hugging her tightly and smiling, as she hadn't seen her in years.

"Grandma, it's a surprise, but I'm the one surprised to see this party!" Emma said, taking off her coat.

"My girl, don't you know today is your sister's engagement party?" her grandmother said.

"Yes, Mia told me, but I thought it would be in a few months!" Emma said, surprised.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent and her mother began to speak. Emma approached a little, but there were so many people that she could barely distinguish Mia's hair among the crowd.

"I'm very grateful that you are here with us today, celebrating this great moment for my daughter," her mother said while holding a glass.

Emma made her way through the crowd until she reached where Mia and Jimmy were. He kneeled down in front of Mia, and Emma watched without knowing who the man was.

Emma looked up and saw Jimmy's mother, who looked at her as if she had seen a ghost, as only her parents knew about their relationship.

"Mia Palmer, today I come here to propose to you in front of everyone, and I wanted to ask you, will you marry me?" Jimmy said, on his knees.

"Yes, my love, yes...!" Mia said, embracing Jimmy tightly as tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks. With a kiss, they sealed their engagement.

As everyone began applauding, everything seemed to slow down. Jimmy slowly turned towards Emma, and Emma's smile instantly vanished as she saw him holding her sister's hand. It felt as if Jimmy had been stabbed in the chest when he saw Emma's eyes fill with tears and her face turn pale.