David kept glancing at his watch. He’d booked a table at The Silver Oak the most exclusive restaurant in Manchester. Emily was already ten minutes late, and that always put him in a foul mood.
Punctuality was one of the virtues David valued most in people.
With a sigh, he flipped through the menu again, though he already knew exactly what hed order. Fatigue from work and the recent conversation with his father left his thoughts muddled. Just as he reached for his phone to call Emily, the restaurant door swung open.
“Darling! So sorry I’m late!” Emily swept toward the table like a whirlwind in her pale blue dress that hugged her slender figure. She leaned in and kissed David lightly. The scent of spring flowers and something uniquely her washed over him, dissolving his irritation in an instant.
“You know I hate waiting,” he tried to sound stern, but his lips curved into a smile anyway. It was impossible to stay angry with her.
“But I,” Emily flashed him a mischievous grin, “love knowing a handsome man is waiting for me in a posh restaurant. You wouldnt believe the traffic! Then this elderly woman took forever to cross the roadI nearly lost my mind!”
David laughed. “Let me guess. You spent half an hour doing your makeup.”
“Excuse me!” she protested, mock-offended. “Only twenty-five minutes.”
He couldnt look away. Her chestnut hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkled, and the dimples in her cheeks made her smile utterly enchanting.
Every time he looked at her, he could hardly believe his luck. Theyd met two years ago, been together for a year and a half, and engaged for one. And now
“A toast?” David raised his glass of champagne.
“To us,” Emily smiled, but something flickered in her eyes that made his stomach twist.
They ordered and chatted easily about their day. Emily, as always, animatedly recounted her work at the hospital, the funny mishaps with young patients, how the head doctor praised her as the “golden nurse.”
“Hows work for you?” she asked between bites of salmon. “Still managing the project with your dad?”
“Fine,” David shrugged. “On schedule, but deadlines are tight as usual.”
Emily nodded, then casually asked, “Speaking of deadlines when are we setting the actual wedding date?”
David froze. Here we go again.
“Em, we talked about this. Once the project with Dad wraps up”
“Yes, yes, I remember,” she waved impatiently. “But thats been dragging on for six months! David, I dont want to wait anymore. Weve been engaged for a year. Whats the hold-up?”
“Im not stalling. The timing just isnt right.”
“And when will it be? When Im fifty? I want to be your wife, not your fiancée!”
“Emily, Im swamped at work”
“Oh, come on! As if youd need to do anything more than show up on the day!”
“Its not about that,” David snapped. “I want everything to be perfect.”
“So do I!” she exclaimed. “And you know what would be perfect? A destination wedding! Weve talked about this. Ive even looked at brochuresMaldives, Bali, Seychelles, take your pick! Everythings arranged there. Wed just need to show up.”
“Again with the island wedding!” he shot back. “Do you need all that glitz, or just the bragging rights?”
Emily pushed her plate away sharply. “So thats what you think? That Im only with you for money? That all I care about is some lavish party?”
“Isnt it?” The words slipped out before he could stop them. “All you talk about is the wedding, the trips, the places you want to visit. Never once do I hear you just want to be with me.”
“Youre impossible!” Tears welled in her eyes. “I do want to be with you! But you keep making excuses! If you dont want to marry me, just say so!”
“Im not making excuses!” David raised his voice, drawing stares from nearby diners. “Why are you pressuring me like this?”
“Because I love you, you idiot! But you dont get it! Or maybe you just dont care!”
David stood abruptly, tossing several large notes onto the table.
“You know what? Im not doing this here. Call me when youve calmed down.”
He stormed out, ignoring the confused glances from the waiter and Emilys muffled sobs behind him.
***
David sped through the dimly lit streets, well over the speed limit. His latest-model Jaguar handled the curves smoothly. He blasted music, trying to drown out his thoughts, but it didnt help.
Why had things become so complicated with Emily? When they first met, everything had been different. He remembered their first encounter.
Hed gone to his fathers clinic for some documents. Dr. Richard Harringtonone of the countrys leading cardiologists and owner of a private healthcare chainnever mixed business with family matters.
“Business stays in the family,” he always said.
David, the only son and heir, had grown up surrounded by privilegeand the weight of expectations.
In school, university, at work people treated him differently.
By twenty-five, he was tired of women who only saw his wallet. Models, ambitious career women, socialitesthey all wore the same mask, their smiles hiding calculation.
Then he met Emily.
That day, shed been at the reception desk, filling out forms. A simple white nurses uniform, hair in a neat ponytailnothing flashy. When she looked up and smiled at him, something inside David shifted. There was no pretense in her gazejust warmth and a quiet light.
He found an excuse to talk to her, then asked her for coffee, then dinner
Emily was unlike anyone hed ever met. Raised in a modest family, shed worked since sixteen, paid her own way through university. He was drawn to her authenticityher humor, her lack of pretension. Nothing like the women in his world.
His mother, Margaret, adored her instantly.
“Shes real, darling,” shed said after their first meeting. From then on, she called Emily “my girl,” even when they were just dating.
But his father Richard never spoke ill of her. In fact, he praised her professionalism at work.
Yet every time David mentioned serious plans with her, his fathers expression darkened.
“Shes a lovely girl, David but not for you,” hed once said. The words lingered, planting doubt.
Was his father seeing something he missed? Was Emily just like the othersonly better at hiding it?
Those thoughts resurfaced tonight. Her push for a wedding, the elaborate plansit reminded him of his exes, all desperate for status.
“Damn it!” He slammed the wheel as the car screeched to a stop at a red light.
He loved Emilyno question. But tonight, shed struck a nerve. For the first time, he seriously considered breaking things off. No matter how much his heart ached for her, he wouldnt let anyone use himnot even her.
***
David returned home near midnight. The house was dark, except for the glow of the TV in the living room. His father sat with a whiskey, staring blankly at the screen.
“Youre still up?” David dropped into the opposite chair.
Richard studied him. “Waiting for you. Your mother called Emily earlierwanted to invite you both for Sunday. She was in tears. What happened?”
“Nothing major. Just a fight.”
“About?”
“Dad, not now.” David rubbed his temples. “Im exhausted.”
Richard didnt press, just poured another whiskey and handed it to him.
“Drink. Itll help.”
David nodded and took a sip. The burn grounded him.
“You know,” Richard said abruptly, “when I met your mother, my parents were against it.”
“Really? Never knew that.”
“People dont like remembering their mistakes.” Richard smirked. “They thought she was too common for me. That a nurse from the countryside wasnt fit for a Harrington.”
“What did you do?”
“I ignored them. Best decision I ever made.”
They sat in silence. David knew this wasnt just small talk.
“Did you fight with Emily about the wedding?” Richard asked bluntly.
David exhaled. “She kept pushing. Asking why Im stalling, why we havent set a date. And this obsession with a destination weddinglike she just wants some grand spectacle.”
“And youre sure thats all it is?”
“No,” David admitted. “But sometimes I wonder. You always get this look when I talk about marrying her. Like youre hiding something.”
Richard studied him for a long moment, then stood decisively.
“Stay here.”
He disappeared into his study. David finished his drink, uneasy. His father, usually so composed, seemed agitated.
***
Minutes later, Richard returned and handed David a small black USB drive.
“This is the truth about
