|Last-minute changes|

The next day, Jamie waited at the company's main entrance for Emma to appear, but it was strange not to see her. She was never late, always on time. He looked at his watch again, and five minutes had already passed since the time she usually arrived.

"Where could she be if she's always so punctual?" he frowned and entered the building. On the way to the elevator, he thought that perhaps to avoid running into him at the entrance, she had gone up to her office earlier. So, before starting work, he would try to have a decent conversation. The wedding was just around the corner, and it had to be celebrated. When he reached the floor, several risk specialists were taking their seats at their desks. Jamie approached Emma's boss.

"Good morning, Mrs. Byrne. I'm looking for Emma. Do you happen to know where I can find her? Has she arrived?" Mrs. Byrne frowned.

"Emma?" she asked, puzzled by his question. "I gave Emma yesterday and today off so she could have more time to finalize the details of her wedding." Then she narrowed her eyes. "Is everything alright?" Jamie nodded.

"Yes, everything's fine. It's just that yesterday, I had to take care of some things outside the house and..." Jamie didn't know what else to say. "Thank you. I'll call her cell." She nodded and then returned her gaze to the computer screen in front of her.

Jamie pursed his lips. "So that's why she got to the apartment earlier," he thought, wondering if someone had set a trap for her.

Throughout the day, Jamie called Emma many times until, on the last attempt, the call wouldn't go through. He imagined she might have blocked his calls and messages because she didn't seem to be online. His phone rang, and he thought Emma was finally calling him back, but no, it was his mother.

"Tell me, Mother," he said as he answered.

"What do you mean there won't be a wedding?" Jamie's eyes widened.

"It's nothing, there will be a wedding, and..." his mother interrupted him.

"Emma sent a text saying the wedding is canceled and thanked me for the son I raised. So, I ask you, what have you done? Do you know the shame we'll face if there's no wedding? I've invited many people to this wedding, Jamie. I don't know what you did, but you need to fix it NOW." Then she hung up. Jamie let out a long sigh and thought about what he had to do.

On the other side of the city, Emma was having her second cup of coffee of the morning at the usual time, only this time from her favorite spot—the window of her room. From there, she had one of the best views of Central Park. She enjoyed that moment of unexpected tranquility, believing she didn't need Jamie, especially not the distrust he had now created in her. She asked herself twice more, "What had happened for him to decide to cheat on me?" She was beautiful, took care of herself physically, was kind, educated, patient, and very open to trying new things in bed. Then she shook her head.

"Unsatisfied men."

She had canceled everything related to the wedding without suffering a significant loss, except for the honeymoon, which wouldn't be refunded. So she decided to move up the trip to Hawaii and leave that very afternoon. She had paid a fee for the date change and had started packing. In the middle of her large bedroom, her big suitcase was open with perfectly folded clothes, matching bags for her underwear, makeup, and more. As she was about to leave the closet to take out the wedding dress and check it before returning it to the store personnel who would come to pick it up, the intercom buzzed. She went to it and answered.

"Tell me, Dock," they called the doorman that.

"Good afternoon, Miss Spencer, the black code has arrived."

"Good, tell him to come up, but be ready in case you need to drag him down."

"Count on it, I'm looking forward to it," then Emma hung up and walked to the living room where she had a couple of suitcases with all of Jamie's things: clothes, trophies, diplomas, shampoo, soaps, brushes. She had removed all traces of him. The doorbell rang and she pressed her lips together.

"Let the drama begin," she opened the door and there he was, Jamie with a face like a wet puppy. "There are your suitcases, you can pay Dock to carry them down for you."

"Can we at least talk and work this out, honey?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You've lost the privilege of calling me that, Jamie. I think seeing you with another woman rolling around in my new sheets should tell you something."

"I made a mistake, I'm human, Emma."

"But I'm not stupid, nor your cover-up, and certainly not the one who forgives infidelity. You know perfectly well what I think about that, and yet you did it. There's no turning back, take the suitcases and goodbye."

"You're going to throw me away that easily?" Jamie asked, surprised to see her so confident.

"You got involved with someone else that easily just days before our wedding?" Emma crossed her arms. "And don't you dare ask me for the engagement ring you paid for with my credit card and said you would pay back. I've returned it, along with the wedding bands, the venue, the food, the music, the waiters, and the dishes."

"What? And the honeymoon?" Emma smiled.

"That..." Emma looked at her watch and then lifted her gaze to him. "...is waiting for me."

"What? You're going to Hawaii without me? I chose that place!" he exclaimed, offended.

"And I'm the one who paid for it. So I'm in a hurry, take your things and goodbye." Emma turned around, but Jamie's hand grabbed her forcefully, turning her towards him, almost crashing her chest against his.

"You can't do this to me, Emma." They looked into each other's eyes, Emma raised an eyebrow and freed herself from his grasp abruptly.

"Just watch me." She picked up the intercom. "Dock, come up." Jamie furrowed his brow, and moments later the tall, muscular, intimidating figure of Dock appeared, with a smile.

"What do you need, Miss Spencer?" Jamie tensed and then understood the black code she had mentioned earlier.

"I'll leave on my own, no need to use force." He couldn't stand against Dock, the mastodon as he called him in his head. Emma waited for Jamie to take the suitcases and for the doorman to escort him out of the building. "You'll break my mother's heart."

"Tell her you broke mine first, and that it will break hers when she hears from your mouth what you did to me."

"Emma, let's talk, please. Don't I deserve a second chance?"

"No. Goodbye, thank you, Dock." And she closed the door in Jamie's face. As she did, she stood there, staring at the door, imagining the face of her now ex-fiancé. She let out a long sigh, thinking that at any moment the pain and tears would come, but...

They still didn't appear.