He looked the same as always, but his eyes didn't. They looked tired, maybe even disappointed. "What brings you here at this hour?" I asked. "I came to see my fiancée. Am I not allowed to?" "That depends." "On what?" His gaze was provocative. Mine stayed serious. "On where my fiancée actually is." "What do you mean 'where'? It's you, Emma. Obviously." "I thought you had forgotten about me. It's been weeks since we signed the agreement and—" "I've been very busy, that's all." I saw guilt in his face, and something else I couldn't quite read. He was hiding something. I didn't know what. "In that case, we should sit down and talk about our current situation." "What do you mean, Emma?" "I've thought about it more. I don't want to marry you, Keller." "Are you kidding me?" "Why would I be?" "You haven't shown up in weeks. I understand being busy. I'm not expecting us to live like a normal married couple or for you to call me every five minutes, but I won't mar

I needed to know if she still loved me, because if she did, I would not marry Emma. I knew it sounded cruel, but it would be even crueler to marry Emma while thinking about another woman. That would not be fair to Emma, to Nath, or to me. After dropping Emma off at her apartment, I went back home and ordered my secretary to come see me immediately. This was something I needed to discuss face-to-face. "Good evening, sir." "Good evening." "What's the urgency?" "Nath is back." "Nath? Your ex…" "Yes. Her. She's back. I don't know why. I'm not one hundred percent sure it was her, I only saw her from behind, but something tells me it was her. I need to find her, see her, talk to her, ask her why I could never find her every time I looked for her. I need to know if she still feels something for me." "Sir… don't you think a lot of time has passed since then? I mean… don't you think that's already part of the past? Maybe you should leave it there. I don't mean to upset you or

"Wow… you and Joseph really seem to adore Emma." "Miss Emma has earned it. She hasn't done anything extraordinary to deserve it, that's true, but her presence alone brings light and peace. That's more than enough to care about someone. Anyway, I'll take care of what you asked. If you'll excuse me, Mr. Keller." And with that, my assistant left to carry out my orders. One week passed. Then two. Then another. There was no response from Nath. I was only supposed to wait a week, but I waited two more, then another. She never replied to the letter. I felt defeated, but I understood. She already had a life. A life where there was no place for me. What surprised me was how easily I seemed to resign myself to it. Maybe deep down, I had already started to let her go. I didn't know. My mind and my heart were a complete mess. In the end, I decided to look for Emma. My chest tightened knowing that from this moment on, there would be no turning back. I would get engaged and marry Emma, and

After listening to Andy's plan and realizing that even if I married Emma and not Nath, planning a wedding wasn't simple at all, we decided to start by looking at engagement rings. We didn't pay much attention to the price. I could afford any of them. Rose gold, white gold, yellow gold, silver, zirconia, sapphires, diamonds, rubies. I looked through them with mild boredom. There were too many, and none of them caught my attention. I wasn't that interested either. Andy noticed. "Could you at least pretend you care?" "I do care. It's just that…" I tried to make an excuse. "Just that what?" "It's just that none of them stand out to me. They all look the same, and I can't find one that feels like Emma." "I get it." She turned to the saleswoman. "Excuse me." "Yes, miss. Have you chosen?" "Not yet. Do you have something more exclusive? Something sober but sophisticated. Price doesn't matter, he can afford it." "Of course. I'll show you our newest collection. It has

"Wow. If I were Emma, I'd be melting right now after hearing that. You're a total romantic gentleman. A smooth talker." "Yeah. And to answer the other point, Emma will be my wife. She needs to wear a ring that suits her, but also one that shows how important she is to me and to the Keller family. Even if I have to spend more on her than I ever would have on Nath, I need to make it very clear to everyone how much Emma is worth." "I get it. In that case, you should buy her more than just an engagement ring. I don't know, maybe a set. Earrings, a necklace, something that matches the ring you choose." "Good point. Let's see what they're about to show us first and whether it fits Emma's style." After that brief exchange, the saleswoman returned. She carried two glass cases with her. In the first was a ring with a pink, heart-shaped diamond. It was beautiful. Despite the stone, it was quite discreet and romantic. It was white gold, and the gem looked as though it were held captive