HIS DANGEROUS AGENDA

The joyous laughter of Rosa's heart vanished in an instant, her face falling as she read the notification. Just moments before, she had been basking in the warm embrace of her mother's excitement at the news of her engagement, her smile stretching from ear to ear, her eyes twinkling like starlight. But now, in the blink of an eye, it all came crashing down.

Her hands trembled as she tapped on the message, hoping against hope that it was a mistake, a cruel joke of fate.

As Rosa read the cruel words aloud, a chill spread through her body, the coldness of the message piercing her heart like a dagger. Her words echoed through the emptiness of the room, each syllable a painful reminder of the love that once was, now gone.

She felt like she was being swallowed by the ocean, her breath caught in her throat. The dream she had been building in her mind, the life she had pictured with her fiancé, shattered in an instant.

How could she have been so blind? How could she not have seen the truth that had been hiding in plain sight all along? She couldn’t stop the tears falling down her eyes. She tried calling him but it wasn’t possible. She guessed he blocked her, her head was spinning, the room seemed to be getting smaller and breathing was so hard for her.

With a glimmer of hope in her heart, Rosa remembered the tracking device she had secretly placed in their rings. It was a small act of insurance against the day her insecurity might get the better of her, but now, it felt like a lifeline in the midst of the turmoil.

Her fingers hovered over the tracking app, and with a deep breath, she tapped the screen. Her eyes widened as she saw the blinking dot moving on the map—a sign that her fiancé still wore the ring and, hopefully, still held a piece of their love within it. She had tracked the ring down to a restaurant. She quickly got dressed. She wore her favorite red dress and some makeup. She was determined to win him back.

Rosa stood rooted in place, her eyes locked on the scene before her, the blood draining from her face. Her heart, which had once danced to the tune of love, now lay shattered on the cold marble floor.

She could feel the judgmental glances of the patrons around her, their whispers piercing through the din of the restaurant like daggers in her soul. But she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as she watched the man she loved slip a ring onto the finger of another woman.

In that moment, Rosa felt like a plaything of fate, her soul stripped of all dignity and self-worth. The truth was like a poison coursing through her veins, its venom burning away the memories of their love.

In a trance-like state, she turned and fled the restaurant, each step a reminder of the betrayal that had pierced her heart. The world around her seemed to blur, as if her life were flashing before her eyes.

With every breath, she cursed herself for her naivety, for allowing herself to be blinded by the sweet nothings that had lured her back into his arms."With each passing second, the burning hatred in Rosa’s heart grew stronger. She felt like a fool for letting herself fall into his trap once again, despite her better judgment. Her mind replayed all the conversations they'd had, all the promises he’d made, and the feelings of betrayal felt like a noose around her neck, strangling the last shreds of hope she had.

She raced home, her heart racing and her breath labored, as if she were running from the ghosts of her past.

She couldn’t tell anyone about this. She would be laughed at by her friends, and her family all warned her, but she didn’t listen, she just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

When she got home, her phone rang, she checked the screen and saw it was her mom. She didn’t want to pick up, but she couldn’t get her mom's call. Her great resilience, she picked up. She didn’t want her to find out from someone else, so she told her the engagement was called off, and she needed space. Her mom seemed to understand and hung up.