23. Nothingless

I spent the rest of the morning talking to Emma. We covered a lot of ground, and I realized that she wasn’t involved in Mara and Tonia’s scandal. In fact, Emma had no idea they had taken the money from Ivan until they confessed later. At that moment, the only thing I could count on was the fact that I had someone to talk to—someone who genuinely cared, unlike my mom and everyone else who had crossed paths with me.

“Vera, you're going to be fine,” Emma said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I think you need to talk to Ivan. Tell him how you feel and what his mother is trying to do to your engagement.”

I sighed, staring at my manicured nails. “I love Ivan, but I wish there was more to our engagement. I wish it wasn’t tainted by this scandal.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Emma said sympathetically. “What matters is that you love each other.”

I rubbed my forehead in frustration. “But what about Isabel? She’s already engaged to Ivan, and Mrs. Carlos won’t stop until I’m out of his life.”