Something Unexpected.

One hour ago.

"I'm leaving now, Mom. I'll be back soon."

"Come back soon, Emma. I'll prepare a very special dinner." Emma's mother replied from the living room while watching TV.

Emma, eighteen years old, is a high school senior. Like Dominic, who was her boyfriend, they had recently argued over nothing in particular. Looking back, it was trivial, but she still couldn't find the words to apologize.

As she left home, she headed to a nearby supermarket, where she usually bought groceries. Her mother had been sick lately, and the expenses for her medicine were so high that they could barely afford food. Emma needed to work to at least cover her school expenses.

Maybe that's why their relationship has stalled. Although Emma thought of it that way, she knew that such insignificant things didn't matter much to Dominic. They had been in a stable relationship for the past two years, but recent issues with her mother had disrupted her life as she couldn't juggle two things at once. Maybe it was the stress that led her to argue with him when she heard Dominic mention joining the military if his plans for college didn't work out.

As Emma descended into the elevator of her residential building, the faint reflection of the metal door revealed her charming face. Her hair was dark brown, with thin eyebrows and eyes of the same color that matched her hair. She wasn't very tall, which suited her well.

But for Emma, this was insignificant because being pretty to others was all she had. No one understood her as well as Dominic, and that's why they became a couple. Yet the world was too irritating for her; she was angry that she had to strive to be a good person when others who had an easy life were complete jerks.

Throughout her life, she hadn't had a good childhood since her father's death. Her mother's decline over the years, as she was the only one struggling to make ends meet, was evident and had crushed her. The expenses were so high that Emma had even thought about dropping out of school, but she knew that if she did, there wouldn't be much of a future for just the two of them.

If, for some reason, she got sick, her mother would have to take care of her, and then she wouldn't be able to work. Expenses like rent, utilities, and many other things, including her mother's medicine, would be too much for their budget. Emma cried silently every night. She had no one else until she met Dominic, who saved her from a man who wanted to harm her.

Over the months, they discovered that they attended the same school, so their relationship became even closer. She doesn't know when it happened, but she became very dependent on Dominic to ease her frustration, just as he relied on her to get out of the house a bit.

They reached a point where, even if they were just dating, there wouldn't be much difference. Beyond the emotional aspect, they spent most of their time together, and just when Emma thought everything was improving in her life, her mother fell seriously ill last week.

"Should I call him?" Emma turned on her old cell phone and dialed Dominic's number, but after it rang, a voice saying that her credit had run out reached her ears, making her frown and curse him in secret.

Right now, she couldn't spend money on trivial things like phone data, much less try to pay to make calls, because her mother's medicines had recently run out, so they had to buy more.

"What can you do? I'll see if there are some things on discount before going for the vegetables." Emma bent down to some shelves just after entering the supermarket. Her indifferent face gave her a unique attractiveness that captivated many men, but to her, they were all just lying idiots who only cared about looks.

Needless to say, some of her old friends had been cheated on after having intimate relationships with their partners; that was all many men looked for in pretty girls. Although that wasn't the majority of cases, it was obvious that having a relationship at a young age always carries risks.

Young love means that both the man and the woman are not mature enough to understand what each is willing to offer for the other. For this, you need to know perfectly what your value is; otherwise, the relationship would only last for a few years, if not less.

"These seem to be reasonably priced, fitting my budget." Emma reached out and took some bags of pasta, but at that moment, she felt a penetrating gaze that made her frown.

Just behind her, a man who seemed to be checking the TVs was actually staring at her shamelessly. Not that this hadn't happened before, but now it seemed different because that man in his thirties seemed drunk and obviously showed signs of being drugged.

"Think that the only thing I was missing was an idiot like you." Emma was furious, but she decided not to make a scene and continued her shopping. However, wherever she went, that drunk man followed her without exception.

Several minutes had passed, and Emma was losing patience. As she turned her head, the man's steps had quickened, so she grabbed a glass bottle, ready to defend herself.

"Hey, jerk, I was ignoring you, but it's very obvious that you've been following me for the last ten minutes, so stop it or I'll call the police." Emma's voice was full of coldness, without any fear of confronting the man in front of her.

"Beautiful, I'm going the same way; who do you think you are to speak to me like that, you damn bitch?" The man asked, looking at Emma intimidatingly. From his tattoos and bandanas in his hands, it was obvious he belonged to a gang.

"Just go to hell and stop following me." Emma turned around with her shopping cart, feeling increasingly worried, but the only way to get rid of a stalker like this was to go to a crowded place.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, so listen when I do."

"Go to hell; I told you to stop following me!" Just as Emma was about to throw the bottle at the stalker and run, a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Dominic..." Emma let out those words as her boyfriend's figure advanced towards the man with malicious intentions. She knew her boyfriend better than anyone; he had a quick temper with people looking for trouble and had fought several times at school, so if she let him proceed, things could escalate into something better avoided.

"Is there a problem, buddy?" Dominic looked at the tattooed man coldly.

"You idiot kid, if I want trouble, you don't have the guts to deal with it." When the man said this, he lifted part of his shirt, and the handle of a gun showed above his pants.

Dominic smiled and said, "If you show a weapon, you better know how to use it. Is a drunk like you faster than me?"

When the man heard those words, he saw a gun in Dominic's hands and frowned, but knowing that the other party was armed too, he said, "Screw both of you; I'm out of this stupid place."

"Shouldn't you apologize? Damned gangster..."

"Screw off!"

Dominic was about to unleash his anger on this guy who had harassed his girlfriend when suddenly a slender hand held his arm.

"That's enough, Dominic; let's get out of here." Emma said, looking into his eyes. She wanted to end this as soon as possible, as seeking more trouble was something she didn't want.

"Did that jerk do anything to you?" Dominic asked as his hand touched Emma's cheek, his eyes showing a brutality that was normally hidden under a friendly smile or indifference towards others.

Emma shook her head and said, "I'm fine, Dominic; he was just following me since I entered the supermarket, but it's nothing serious."

"You should have called security or me immediately. Why do you always want to do everything on your own? It could have been dangerous. What if I hadn't been here?" Dominic asked, slightly annoyed by Emma's actions but more upset by that idiot from a moment ago.

"I'm fine; that's what matters." Emma hugged Dominic without saying anything else. She had seen the gun he had, but she didn't mention it. In this country where anyone could carry one, Dominic's father had told him to take one wherever he went just as a precaution.

As Emma hugged Dominic, he stroked her back while trying to hide his furious expression. He remembered the training his father had given him—how to react in a dangerous situation, returning pain with more pain, and eliminating the threat if it became a headache. After his mother's death, his father had taken care of him as best as he could, so those trainings that a child wouldn't normally have, Dominic had experienced them.

But as Emma hugged him, his urge to tear apart that damn gangster slowly faded, and he whispered, "You've always known how to calm me down. Why didn't you call me earlier? About last time, are you still angry?"

Emma looked up and shook her head. "I don't have money to buy data; my mother's medicines are very expensive; and we barely have enough money to eat. Isn't that pitiful? I guess I have to double my working hours; the pension has been delayed for the past few months, so it's really hard."

"Do you need my help, Emma?" Dominic had never helped Emma without her request; the last time he did, she got the wrong idea that he pitied her. But beyond that, he possibly believed that she would have the wrong idea about whether he was her boyfriend for money or something else.

Although he didn't need money due to the card his father always left him, Dominic had never known if his financial situation was stable or not. The last time he had mentioned to his father about getting a part-time job, he ended up permanently giving him a credit card, so he really didn't know. What he did know was that he never lacked money, no matter when he used it.

Emma smiled and said, "You know my answer; let's go; we have to keep shopping."

Yes, she definitely doesn't want to be a supposed burden to him, but Dominic always ignored that and bought everything she needed more than enough so she wouldn't feel bad.