The taxi pulled up near the entrance of the club, its neon lights pulsing like a heartbeat in the dark. Emily stepped out, thanking the driver, her trainers quiet against the pavement. She wore fitted jeans and a crop top, her style effortless despite her best friends insistence on heels and a dress.
Inside, the music throbbed, swallowing the chatter of the crowd. The air was thick with laughter and the clink of glasses.
“Hey, you made it!” Lucy, the birthday girl, flung her arms around Emily, her grin wide. “Ready for drinks and dancing?”
Lucy thrived in crowds, but Emily preferred quiet cafés or nights in with films. Still, friendship meant sacrificestonight, shed smile and pretend the noise didnt make her ears ache.
“Come meet these lads!” Lucy dragged her toward the bar, where two tall blokes were laughing over pints. The darker-haired one turned, his voice smooth as honey.
“Alright? Im Oliver. This is my brother, Ethan.”
Emilys pulse jumped. His gaze held hers, and for a moment, the room blurredjust the two of them in the haze.
“Pleasure,” he said. “Youre like sunlight in this dungeon.”
She laughed. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“Oi, watch out,” Ethan teased, draining his cocktail. “Hell have you head over heels by midnight.”
The night blurredmusic, dancing, the warmth of Olivers hand on her back as he walked her home. They talked easily, as if theyd known each other for years. At her doorstep, an awkward pause hung between them.
“Tonight was lovely,” she said.
“Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked, uncharacteristically shy.
“Id love that.” She kissed his cheek and slipped inside, her parents long asleep. Lying in bed, she replayed his smile until dawn.
Morning brought a giddy ache in her chest.
“Bloody hell,” she whispered, grinning into her tea. “Im done for.”
Later, at their usual café, Lucy winked. “Saw how he looked at you. Wedding bells soon, eh?”
“I think… Im properly in love.”
“Think? Youre smitten, you daft cow!” Lucy cackled.
Monday passed. Then Tuesday. By Wednesday, Emilys phone stayed silent. Had he forgotten? Lost interest? Met someone else?
After lectures, she bolted down the stepsand froze. Oliver stood there, flowers in hand. Relief and annoyance warred in her chest.
“Sorry! Its madmy mates car broke down in the middle of nowhere. No signal, dead phone…”
She laughed. “I invented a hundred dramas in my head.”
“Let me make it up to you. Dinner tonight?”
The restaurant was all candlelight and soft music. Two months later, they were inseparablecinema trips, midnight walks, lazy mornings tangled in his sheets.
Then Ethan called. “Need your help, Em. Im proposing to Lucy. Ring shopping?”
“Brilliant!”
They chose a delicate band with a heart-shaped diamond. Ethan fidgeted with the roses and a teddy bear clutching a “Love” heart.
“Just look her in the eyes and say it,” Emily urged, hugging him.
But Oliver never showed that evening. A text arrived late: *”Its over. Dont call.”*
Calls went unanswered. Lucy knew nothing. Ethan was away. The days blurred into nausea, a secret growing inside herfour weeks along, and no one knew.
Then, waking in a hospital bed, Lucy squeezed her hand. “You scared us half to death.”
A knock. Oliver entered, roses in hand, Ethan behind him with a black eye.
“Im a jealous idiot,” Oliver muttered. “Saw you kiss Ethan and lost my head.”
“We sorted it,” Ethan said ruefully.
“No more stress,” Oliver whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “Im here. For you. For our baby.”
Love wasnt always smooth. But trustthat was the glue. And jealousy? A poison best left unswallowed.
