Chapter Seventeen
Ana
The entire ballroom went completely quiet for a long time. Nobody moved, and nobody breathed.
Desmond stood frozen in the middle of the room, his eyes fixed on the white paperwork resting on the floorboards. He slowly looked down at the paper and bent over, his fingers trembling slightly as he reached out and tried to pick it up.
Before his fingers could even touch the folder, Ema burst into loud, dramatic tears, drawing the attention of the crowd back to her.
"If I had known she would treat me this way upon my return, I could have just stayed in that cell and suffered with my unborn child," Ema sobbed, shaking her head violently as she put on a show for his parents. "I can't take this shame anymore. I just want to kill myself."
I watched in total silence a
