A BURNING HEART

"You are all the most despicable, loathsome people I have ever had the misfortune of encountering," Emily screamed, her face flushed with rage. "Emily, please, this is a courthouse!" Her mother said, her voice trembling as she tried to calm her daughter.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" Emily shouted, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Do you have any idea what you've just said? Do you have any idea of the damage you've caused?"

"Emily, stop this now," her father said, his voice stern. "We are in a court house, and you are making a scene."

"Oh, don't you dare," Emily scoffed, her voice dripping with contempt. "You are the ones who are to blame for this mess, not me. And now you want to lecture me on decorum and you mean I wouldn't even get to meet the man you all forced on me to marry" she shook her head, her eyes flashing with fury.

"Let's take this outside, you can see we're attracting attention." Her mother's voice was pleading, her eyes darting around the room nervously.

There was a sudden and eerie silence, as if time itself had Frozen in place. The four people in the room were frozen too, their eyes fixed on Emily, whose face had become a mask of cold, stony calm.

Her silence was more unnerving than her rage had been, and they found themselves holding their breath, waiting for her next move. It was as if a bomb had been planted in the room, and they were all just waiting for it to detonate. The tension was thick and heavy, the air electric with anticipation.

"Emily," Mrs. Rawlings called out, her voice shaking with fear and apprehension.

"Just take me to where I'll need to sign the remaining documents, as I find your presence at this moment to be stifling suffocating and oppressive." She paused, taking a deep breath, before continuing. "Let's just get this done with, so I won't have to see your faces for the rest 15 month." Her words were blunt, and the coldness in her voice was chilling.

Mrs. Rawlings and the others led Emily to the registry, where they handed her a thick stack of documents and showed her where to sign. She opened the first page, and saw Robert's signature already scrawled across the page. She signed and signed, page after page, until finally she reached the last page. She handed the document back to them.

They led her out if the building and into the sunlight, where she stood for a moment.

"Emily, you don't need to worry before your wedding day arrives, you'll see your finance," her mother reassured her, but Emily's eyes remained hard and cold.

"Don't patronize me," she snapped, her voice bitter and angry. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to deliver a message to my so - called finacé."

"Emily, please try to relax," Mrs. Rawlings pleaded, her voice quavering slightly. "I promise you will see him soon."

"No, you don't understand!" Emily burst out, her voice rising to a shout. "I need you to record what I'm about to say, right now!"

Mrs. Rawlings eyes widened in shock, but she pulled out her phone and started recording.

"Robert Rawlings," Emily began, her voice low and menacing. "You are a selfish, childish brat, and I never want to see your face. You are unworthy" with that she hissed and walked away from them.

Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings watched in dismay as Emily climbed into a taxi and drove away, her anger palpable even from a distance.

"We're sorry about her behavior" Mrs. Kevan said.

"We understand, I think Robert deserved every word she said," Mrs. Rawlings said, her expression grim. "He did have a choice to wait, but he chose not to."

"Yeah, Emily was just expressing her frustration and disappointed; After all, she'd been looking forward to meeting Robert. I can't say I blame her for being upset," Mr. Rawlings said.

"We have faith that this situation will pass in due time," Mr. Kevan said with a note of reassurance in his voice.

"I feel for your daughter. She must be going through a difficult time," Mrs. Rawlings replied, her tone tinged with sympathy.

"Please don't worry about her, she's a strong young woman and she'll get through this," Mr. Kevan said, trying to put the other woman's mind at ease.

Their conversation slowly tapered off, fading into the background noise of the place.

Emily walked through the door of her home, her body weighed down with a heavy sense of anxiety and frustration. She sank down onto the sofa, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

She tried to slow her breathing, to regain control of her emotions, but she felt on the verge of tears. She had vowed not to cry over this situation again, but the weight of her emotions threatened to break that promise.

Her thoughts whirled and her heart raced, and she struggled to find some calm in the midst of the storm. Just as she was on the brink of emotional collapse, her phone rang, jolting her out of her spiraling thoughts.

She answered the call without glancing at the screen, fully expecting to hear Camilla's soothing voice on the other end. But to her surprise, it was a man's voice that greeted her.

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked down at the caller ID. Seeing the name on the screen, her mood changed.

"Hello, Richard," she said, her voice sounding strained and unsure.

"Hey, Emily," he responded, his tone bright and cheerful. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," she replied, though her voice cracked on the last word, betraying the emotion she was trying to suppress. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away with her sleeve.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, sensing something wasn't quite right.

"Y - yes," she stammered, "Just watching a really emotional movie." She hoped he wouldn't press her for more details.

"Aww, well, that happens sometimes," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"So anyway, I was calling to tell you that I'll be coming to your city soon," he continued.

"To Solace?" She asked, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing.

"Of course!" He said, his tone light and cheerful. "And the best part is, I'll be coming to see you!"

Her heart leapt, and she felt like she might burst from the excitement. "Oh my gosh, are you serious?" She exclaimed.

"This will be the first time you'll be visiting me at my house. I'm so happy!" She gushed, the words spilling out in a rush.

"I know you'll be delighted, so I just wanted to give you a heads up so you won't be surprised when you see me," he explained.

"I'm still hoping this isn't a prank, or I won't take it lightly!" She Jocked, but there was a hint of seriousness in her tone.

"How could I be pranking you?" He laughed. "I'm being completely serious, and I'm looking forward to seeing you in person. It's been too long since we've seen each other, even though we've been talking all this time. So why not take advantage of the fact that I'll be in Solace and come visit you?" He finished his sentence.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She said, giddy with anticipation.

"All right, I'll see you then," he said. "Take care, and I miss seeing that gorgeous face of yours."

"I miss seeing your handsome face, too!" She replied with a smile.

"Bye for now!" He said, and the call ended.

Emily stared at her phone for a moment, feeling a mixture of emotions. She had been so excited to talk to Richard, but now she felt a deep sense of sadness.

"Richard, I was supposed to be with you," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "But now, my fate had been tied to another," she finished, her voice catching in her throat. She thought back to how she and Richard had met.