Broken Roses: The Love Drama of Emily and James
Margaret bursts into her daughter’s flat at dawn, her footsteps echoing in the quiet. She finds Emily in the kitchen, face buried in her hands, shoulders trembling with silent sobs. Margaret freezes.
“Emily, what’s happened?” Her voice wavers with concern.
Emily doesn’t answer, only gasps between sobs.
“Sweetheart, is the baby all right?” Margaret’s heart clenches with fear.
“No, Mum, the baby’s fine,” Emily whispers, wiping her damp cheeks.
“Then why are you crying like this?” Margaret steps closer, searching her daughter’s face.
Emily, unable to speak, suddenly thrusts her phone at her mother. “Just look!”
Margaret takes the phone with shaking hands, scans the message, and goes pale as if struck by lightning.
Meanwhile, James, just back from a long work trip, quietly sets his heavy bag down by the door of their home in the outskirts of York. In his hands, he clutches a bouquet of red roses—Emily’s favourite. He’d dreamed of surprising her, imagining how he’d walk in, wrap his arms around her, breathe in the scent of her hair, and kiss her the way he hadn’t in months. Moving carefully, he steps onto the porch—then freezes at the sound of Margaret’s voice from the kitchen.
“I’ve told you a hundred times, Emily, you deserve better! It’s time to cut ties, to move on! You can’t keep suffering like this!” Margaret’s tone is sharp, unwavering. “He’s drained you, and still you pity him! Some things can’t wait, love. Trust me, this is for the best!”
James feels the ground vanish beneath him. The words burn like hot iron. Emily doesn’t argue, and her silence shatters him. Does she truly think so little of him? Has she been miserable all this time? The roses tremble in his grip. Instead of going inside, he quietly slips on his shoes, grabs his bag, and walks away without a sound, leaving behind the home he once believed was his.
His chest is hollow, as if winter wind has settled inside. He trusted Margaret like family—how could she despise him so? And Emily… If she’s already decided, he won’t give her the chance to leave him first. He loves her desperately, but if she’s unhappy, he’ll let her go—for her sake.
He spends a sleepless night at a mate’s place, replaying Margaret’s words. By morning, heart heavy, he texts Emily: “I’ve found someone else. Don’t wait for me. Be happy. Goodbye.” Sending it feels like severing something inside. He boards the first train to London, determined to erase the past.
In London, James changes his number, deletes every photo of Emily, and buries himself in work as a bus driver. He rents a tiny flat and collapses into bed each night, desperate for escape. Days blur into weeks, then months.
When Emily reads the message in the dead of night, she can’t believe her eyes. Tears stream down her face as she rereads it again and again. She waited for him, counted the days—only for him to betray her. When Margaret finds her weeping the next morning, she rushes to her, frantic.
“Emily, what’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
“No, Mum,” Emily chokes out, handing her the phone.
Margaret reads aloud: “I’ve found someone else. Don’t wait for me. Be happy. Goodbye.”
She gasps, pressing a hand to her chest.
“Mum, why would he do this?” Emily sobs. “He found someone else while he was away! And I—I’m alone now. How do I go on? What about our baby? He wanted this child so much, and now he’s left us!”
“Don’t you dare say that,” Margaret says firmly, holding her close. “You have a reason to live. Soon, you’ll be a mother. That’s your purpose, your joy. We’ll manage, I’ll help. And he… he doesn’t deserve your tears.”
The words soothe Emily, though she still loves James, burying her feelings deep. Months later, she gives birth to a healthy boy, naming him Oliver. He’s the image of his father—same bright eyes, same golden curls. Emily often murmurs to him, “Oliver James, my little one, are you hungry?”
Oliver grows bright and cheerful, filling Emily’s days with laughter. When he turns three, she takes him to London to visit her friend Charlotte, who’s insisted for years they come. A few days later, they board a bus to the zoo—and there, behind the wheel, Emily sees him. James.
Her heart stutters. “James!” slips out before she can stop herself.
He turns, their eyes locking. For a moment, he’s stunned into silence.
“Hello, Emily,” he finally says, voice quiet.
At first, he doesn’t notice the boy clinging to her hand. Bitter realization twists inside him—has she had a child with someone else? They dreamed of this… But then Oliver looks up and asks, “Mummy, who’s that?”
“That’s your dad,” Emily says clearly, stepping off the bus before James can react.
The words echo in his head. “Your dad.” He can’t move, can’t breathe. Apologizing to passengers, he stops the bus and chases after her, grabbing her arm.
“Is it true? He’s mine?”
Emily nods, eyes glistening. “I never lied to you. Go, your bus is waiting.”
He knows this isn’t the time, but he can’t let her leave. “Meet me here at nine tonight. Please.”
At the zoo, Emily can’t focus. His shock—did he really think she’d betray him? Logic tells her to walk away, but her heart pulls her back. That evening, she leaves Oliver with Charlotte and goes to the stop.
James waits in the drizzling rain, umbrella in hand. Spotting her, he runs over, shielding her. “Let’s go there,” he says, nodding to a nearby café.
They order tea, the silence thick until James speaks. “That boy… He’s really mine?”
“Yes,” Emily whispers. “When you left, I was pregnant. I waited, wanted to tell you—but you didn’t give me the chance.”
“I was there that day,” James admits hoarsely. “I heard everything.”
“Heard what?”
“I came early, wanted to surprise you. Had your roses. But then I heard your mum telling you to leave me. Saying I’d worn you down, that you deserved better. You didn’t argue. I thought you’d made up your mind, that you didn’t want me anymore. So I sent that text. But there was never anyone else. Only you.”
Emily stares, tears falling. “You got it all wrong! We weren’t talking about you—it was my boss, David! He made my life hell, overworked me, humiliated me. Mum begged me to quit before the pregnancy showed. I loved you. I still love you! But you left without letting me explain!”
James is stunned. How could he have misunderstood so badly? Emily stands to leave, but he pulls her close and kisses her.
From that day on, they don’t part again. Together, they raise Oliver, surrounding him with love. That moment becomes their lesson—never make hasty decisions without knowing the whole truth.
