“Here’s the whole truth about your fiancée,” his father said dryly, handing Edward a flash drive.
Edward kept glancing at his watch. Hed booked a table at The White Orchid, the most exclusive restaurant in Manchester. Emily was already ten minutes late, and punctuality mattered deeply to himone of the qualities he valued most in people.
Sighing, he flipped through the menu again, though he already knew what hed order. Fatigue and the earlier conversation with his father had left his thoughts jumbled. Just as he reached for his phone, the restaurant door swung open.
“Darling! Im so sorry!” Emily rushed to the table like a whirlwind in a pale blue dress that hugged her slender frame. She leaned down and kissed him lightly, the scent of spring flowers and something warm and familiar making his irritation vanish instantly.
“You know I hate waiting,” he said, trying to keep a stern face, but his lips betrayed him with a smile. It was impossible to stay angry with her.
“Ah, but I,” she teased, eyes sparkling, “love knowing a gorgeous man is waiting for me. Traffic was horridsome old woman crossed so slowly I nearly screamed!”
Edward laughed. “You spent half an hour on your makeup, didnt you?”
“What! Only twenty-five minutes!” she shot back, mock-offended.
He couldnt look away. Her chestnut hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, her blue eyes shone, and her dimples made her smile utterly captivating.
Every time he looked at her, he still couldnt believe his luck. Theyd met two years ago, dated for eighteen months, been engaged for a year. And now
“To us?” he raised his champagne glass.
“To us,” Emily smiled, but there was something flickering in her gaze that unsettled him.
They ordered and chatted easilyher latest shift at the clinic, a funny story about a little patient, how the head doctor called her their “golden nurse.”
“Hows work? Still moving forward with your fathers project?” she asked, taking a bite of salmon.
“Fine,” Edward shrugged. “On schedule, but deadlines are tight as usual.”
She nodded, then casually asked, “Speaking of deadlines when are we finally setting a wedding date?”
He froze. Again.
“Em, weve talked about this. Once the project with Dad wraps up”
“Yes, yes, I know,” she waved impatiently. “But its been six months! Edward, I dont want to wait anymore. Weve been engaged for a year! Whats the holdup?”
“Im not stalling. The timing just isnt right.”
“When will it be? When Im fifty? I want to be your wife, not your fiancée!”
“Emily, Im swamped with work”
“Oh, please! As if planning a wedding would take more effort than showing up on time!”
“Its not about that,” he snapped. “I want everything perfect.”
“So do I!” she exclaimed. “And you know whats perfect? A beach wedding! Weve talked about itMaldives, Bali, the Seychelles, pick one! They handle everything, we just show up.”
“Again with the island wedding! Do you just want to flaunt it? Make all our friends jealous?”
Emily pushed her plate away sharply. “So thats what you think? That Im only with you for money? That I care more about a lavish wedding than you?”
“Isnt that it?” The words tumbled out before he could stop them. “All you talk about is the wedding, the trips, the places you want to see. Never about just being with me.”
“Youre impossible!” Tears welled in her eyes. “I just want to marry you! And you keep making excuses! If you dont want to, just say it!”
“Im not making excuses!” His raised voice drew glances from nearby diners. “Why do you keep pressuring me?”
“Because I love you, you idiot! But you dont get itor maybe you dont care!”
Edward stood abruptly, tossing large bills onto the table. “You know what? Im not doing this here. Call me when youve calmed down.”
He stormed out, ignoring the waiters bewildered look and Emilys muffled sobs behind him.
***
Edward sped through the city, well over the limit. His latest-model Jaguar handled the curves smoothly. He blasted music, trying to drown his thoughts, but it didnt help.
Why had things with Emily become so difficult? When theyd first met, everything had been different. He remembered their first encounterwalking into his fathers clinic for documents.
His father, Richard Whitmore, was one of the countrys top cardiologists and owned a chain of private medical centers. He never mixed business with family matters. “The business stays in the family,” he often said.
Edward, the only son and heir, had grown up under not just parental care but the watchful eyes of everyone around him. School, university, workhe was always treated differently.
By twenty-five, hed grown weary of women who saw only his wealth and status. Models, businesswomen, socialitesall wearing the same masks, their smiles hiding calculation.
Then he met Emily.
That day, shed been at the reception desk, filling out forms. A simple white nurses uniform, her hair in a neat ponytail, nothing extra. When she looked up and smiled, something inside him shifted. Her gaze held no falsenessjust warmth and a light hed never seen before.
He found excuses to talk to her, asked her for coffee, then dinner
Emily was unlike anyone hed ever known. Raised in an ordinary family, working since sixteen, paying her own way through university. He was drawn to herher authenticity, her humor, her lack of pretense. Nothing like the women in his world.
His mother, Margaret, adored her instantly. “Shes real, Edward. Hold onto her,” shed said after their first meeting. Shed called Emily “my girl” ever since.
But his father Richard never spoke against her. In fact, he praised her professionalism. Yet whenever Edward mentioned serious plans, something unreadable flickered in his fathers eyes.
“Shes a good girl, Edward. But not for you,” hed said once. The words stuck in Edwards mind, seeding doubt.
Maybe his father saw what he couldnt. Maybe Emily was like the othersjust better at hiding it.
Thoughts like these grew stronger after fights like tonights. Her push for a wedding, her dreams of grandeurwas she just another gold-digger in disguise?
“Damn it!” he hissed as the car screeched to a halt at a red light.
He loved Emily, no question. But tonight, shed cut deep. For the first time, he considered breaking things off. No matter how much his heart ached for her, he wouldnt let anyone use himnot even her.
***
He got home near midnight. Not bothering with the lights, he kicked off his shoes and headed to the living roomonly to find his father there, a whiskey in hand, staring at the muted TV.
“Youre still up?” Edward dropped into the opposite chair.
Richard studied him. “Waiting for you. Your mother called Emilywanted to invite you both for Sunday. She was in tears. What happened?”
“Nothing. Just a fight.”
“About?”
“Dad, not now. Im exhausted.”
His father didnt push. Instead, he poured another whiskey and handed it over.
Edward took it gratefully. The burn dulled the tension.
“You know,” Richard said suddenly, “when I met your mother, my parents objected.”
“Really? You never mentioned that.”
“People dont like admitting mistakes,” his father smirked. “They thought she was too plain for me. That a nurse from the countryside wasnt fit for a Whitmore.”
“What did you do?”
“I ignored them. Best decision of my life.”
Silence settled between them. Edward knew this wasnt just small talk.
“Did you and Emily fight about the wedding?” Richard asked bluntly.
Edward sighed. “She kept pushing. Whens the date, why am I stalling. And this obsession with a beach weddinglike she just wants a spectacle.”
“Are you sure thats all it is?”
“No,” Edward admitted. “But sometimes I wonder. You always act strange when I bring up marriage. Like youre hiding something.”
Richard hesitated, then stood abruptly. “Wait here.”
He returned minutes later and handed Edward a small black flash drive. “Heres the truth about your fiancée.”
Edward stared at it. “What is this? Did you have her followed?”
“No. Just look. And Im sorry I didnt tell you sooner.”
Hands unsteady, Edward plugged the drive into his laptop. Medical files filled the screenreports, scans, specialist notes.
“What is this Emilys?” His voice cracked as he read the diagnosis.
Congenital heart defect. Severe. Progressive deterioration. Urgent surgery required
