Just after the wedding! she tells her fiancé.
Ive just left the gym and I see I have seven missed calls from Mum, says Amanda. Then I read a text: Call me back! Even though its almost eleven, I decide to ring Mum. Shes a bit anxious and can stay up all night over nothing. Mum asks me to come over and, sobbing, tells me something has happened and that the wedding might have to be called off.
Amanda has a sister, Emma, who is only twentythree. Emma is an ambitious fashion designer who is already making a name for herself. About a year ago she finishes her degree and lands a job straight away. She studied design, worked parttime while at university, and when she graduated she is taken on by the company where she had done her internship. Up to now her personal life has been a model of stability.
For a little over a year Emma has been dating George. He is three years older, lives alone, works, and saves for his own house. He seems wellbroughtup and polite.
Emma and George book a date at the local registry office. There are only a few weeks left until the wedding.
Someone has messaged Emma on social media! Amanda writes. I dont know you, but I know you well and I think you should find out something before the wedding. Emma says she looked at the profile; the woman is in her forties, so what could be that important?
The stranger decides to annoy her and starts sending messages from various socialmedia accounts. They arrange to meet in a café near Emmas workplace.
Emma sits at a table waiting for the mystery woman when a pregnant woman walks in. At first Emma doesnt recognise her, but shes startled when the woman heads straight toward her.
Are you Emma? Im Megan. Ive been seeing George for over a year, and in four months well have a baby.
Emma cant believe the story. It sounds absurdGeorge and she have been together for more than a year and are about to marry! Megan doesnt argue; she just says, You have my number, call me if you have any questions, and adds that she can also speak with her boyfriend.
What does George say? Thats when everything changes. Emma decides that she and George will only be intimate after the wedding. They date, kiss, hug, and thats itEmma has no experience.
George, however, is a younger man with some experience. Hes tolerant, gets impatient, and prefers a nostringsattached arrangement to satisfy his needs. He met Megan somewhere and warned her from the start that nothing serious can happen between them and he has no plans for a future together. At first Megan accepts this.
She recently split from her husband, has a child, receives decent child support, and works. The arrangement suited her because she knew there was a big age gap.
George says that when the baby is born hell do a paternity test and, if the child is his, hell help. He tells Emma its her fault, saying hes a healthy young man and her oldfashioned morals have caused the mess.
Now George urges Emma not to leave him because he loves her, while Megan was only a physical outlet for him. If Emma were wiser, there wouldnt be a Megan in his life.
George claims that if the child were his, hed support it, but he wont keep in touch. Megan decides to keep the baby, and he offers to pay for the procedure. She refuses; it becomes her problem.
Do you think George is to blame for this mess, or not? Maybe his masculinity got the better of himafter all, its hard for a young man to go without intimacy. Or perhaps Emma should walk away from a fiancé who offers no intimacy, which isnt an excuse for betrayal.
