At twenty, Emily Harper couldnt have imagined what lay ahead. She was at university, deeply in love with her boyfriend, Daniel Whitmore, and dreaming of their weddingsomething theyd already begun discussing.
Daniel was older, having finished his service in the Royal Engineers before they met at her schools autumn ball. Shed never forget the first time she saw him. Though theyd attended the same school and lived in the same town in Surrey, hed graduated years before her.
*Whos this handsome bloke?* Emily had thought when he walked in.
Hed scanned the room, searching for familiar faces, until his gaze landed on hersand he smiled. She was smitten instantly. How could she not be? He wasnt like the other lads.
“Hi, I’m Daniel,” hed said, approaching her. “And you are?”
She blushed. “Emily.”
“Dance with me?” He took her waist, and they spun across the floor.
She barely felt the ground beneath her. His touch was sure, guiding her effortlessly.
“Youre a natural,” he murmured.
He stayed by her side all evening, insisting on walking her home afterward. They lingered under the streetlamps, reluctant to part, but she knew her mum would worry.
Daniel was never dull. After school, she stayed local for university while he worked. His energy was infectiousalways joking, always surrounded by mates. Soon, she was swept into his world: weddings, pub nights, weekend trips to the Lake District.
He surprised her with roses even in February. Every date felt like an occasioncosy cafés, countryside picnics, long drives with friends.
In her third year, he announced, “Were spending New Years in the Alps. Ive booked us ski lessons. Youll love it.”
Shed squealed, throwing her arms around him. “Youre brilliant!” Then, laughing, added, “But Im terrified of heights, you plank!”
The trip was magical. She took to the slopes faster than expected, dreading the day it ended.
Then came Mothers Day. Daniel arrived with two bouquetsone for her mum, one for her.
“Happy Mothers Day,” he said, kissing her cheek. “These are for you, love.”
Her mum sighed. “Daniel, this is too much.”
“Its fine. Jake and Tom are heading up to Manchester for worktheyve got me a spot. Pays solid. Ill save up for the wedding, maybe even a car.”
Emilys stomach dropped. “I dont want you to go.”
“Just three, four months tops. Well call every day. I want our wedding to be perfectdont you?”
“Id marry you in a registry office tomorrow,” she said softly. “I just want you here.”
But his mind was made up.
The pay was good. They called often. Then, mid-lecture, a cold dread gripped her. Theyd spoken the night beforewhy fret?
Yet by evening, her pulse wouldnt settle. She called him. No answer. Five tries. Silence.
She rang Tom instead.
“Tom, wheres Daniel?”
His voice was hollow. “Hes gone, Em.”
*Gone?* The line went dead.
“Mum!” she screamed, collapsing into sobs.
The nightmare unfolded. A live wire. A fatal shock. Daniels mother, Margaret, grey with grief, barely spoke. His father and younger brother, Oliver, retrieved his body.
The funeral passed in a blur. Numb, Emily visited Margaret often, sitting wordlessly beside her or tending Daniels grave.
Oddly, Margaret clung to her, insisting she stay closeespecially once summer break began. They visited cathedrals, drank tea in silence.
“Lets go to Brighton,” Margaret proposed one day.
Emily agreed, though she couldnt fathom why. Daniel was gone, yet his mother wouldnt let her go. Even her own mum urged her to move on.
For a week, they walked the beach. Margaret napped in the afternoons; Emily scrolled her phone, restless.
One day, she wandered to the pier alone. The sea melted into the sky. Gulls wheeled overhead. Laughter and music swirled around herlife, vibrant and indifferent.
“A face like yours shouldnt look so sad,” a voice said.
She turned, ready to snapbut froze. The man reminded her of Daniel. Something in his smile.
“Beautiful people arent meant to be happy,” she muttered.
“Rubbish,” he said. “Im James.”
“Emily.”
A few exchanged words, then she walked away. But James watched her go. Hed noticed her days agoalways shadowed by that older woman, never smiling.
They had two days left. Margaret dozed; Emily slipped out for groceries.
James appeared at the shop exit, taking her bags. “Let me help.”
They sat at a café. He was leaving soonback to Surrey, where she lived.
*”WaitIm from Surrey too,”* she said, stunned.
James grinned. “Then Ill see you there.”
Hed graduated from her uni, worked at the councils design office. Single now, after a messy breakup.
She confessed everythingDaniel, Margarets suffocating presence.
“Thats odd,” he said. “Parents usually pull away after”
“I dont know why she wont let go.”
They swapped numbers. Back at the hotel, Margaret was frantic.
“Where *were* you?”
Emilys patience frayed. The weight of Daniels absence, Margarets griefit was smothering her.
That night, packing, she mentioned starting fresh back home.
Margarets gaze turned sharp. “A new life? Of course. Youre young. But youre family now. I thought maybe youd be carrying Daniels child. Or perhaps you and Oliver”
Emily recoiled. “Are you *mad*? I dont want OliverI dont want *anyone!*”
She sobbed violently, the first time since the funeral. The truth hit her: Margaret saw her as a placeholder.
*Home,* she thought fiercely. *This ends now.*
Maybe meeting James was a blessing.
Autumn arrived. She dated James quietly. One day, she visited Daniels grave alone.
“Goodbye,” she whispered. “Thank you for the joy you gave me. But I have to live now.”
At the cemetery gates, James waited by the car.
With him, she breathed again. She rarely saw Margaret. Within a year, she married Jamesand by spring, she was expecting their son.
A new life. A different life. But hers.
