Chapter 4 - Mother's Advice
1298 Words
"No, Father!" Nancy screamed as her father pulled her room door open and exited her bedroom.
She turned to face her mother and begged, "Please, Mom, talk to Dad. I cannot marry that man. I cannot marry Charles."
Olivia sighed and walked up to the bed to join her daughter. She was still holding the bouquet of rose flowers that Charles had given her earlier.
She said, "I'm sorry, Nancy. I wish I could speak to your father about this. But you know he works under the AJ Political party group. Even though he might not like Charles or approve of him as your husband, he cannot say no. We were hoping for your father's rank to be promoted, which is why we sent your photos to them."
"Mom..." Nancy stared at her mother's face in shock, tears filling her eyes. She clearly remembered the day her mother had called her while she was in City X, trying to cook. Her mother had asked for photos, saying she wanted to use them, since Nancy rarely took pictures or posted online.
Nancy hadn't known her mother's true intention was to send the photos to the Alejandro family. If she had, she would have sent an ugly photo instead of beautiful ones.
Nancy finally asked, "Why, Mom? Why did you hide it from me? Why didn't you tell me you wanted to send my photo to the Alejandro family's son? I could have sent an ugly photo, and then Charles wouldn't have chosen me."
Nancy cried harder as she stood beside her room window, hurt that her parents wanted to trade her off to be with Charles.
She thought about how to escape from Charles, as she didn't want to marry him. His family ruled the city, and the country was named after it, making escape difficult.
Olivia apologized, "I'm sorry, Nancy. I didn't mean to make you sad."
Nancy walked away from the window to her bed and sat down to cry. Her mother approached and sat beside her.
Nancy begged, "Please, Mom, I have to escape this marriage. Since Dad can't call it off, and I don't want to marry Charles. Please, didn't you see the way he was staring at me? With lust in his eyes? I couldn't even meet his gaze; he looked like a pervert. I can't marry a man who lusts after every woman."
Olivia laughed, "Hahaha, no, Nancy. Don't say that. I believe Charles chose you because he truly loves you and wants to marry you."
"No, Mom," Nancy disagreed, but her mother picked up the bouquet of roses from the bed and hugged Nancy close to her chest, petting her to stop crying. "It's okay, my angel. Stop crying. It's because you're beautiful that Charles was staring at you like that. I think he chose to marry you because he likes you. Your father wanted his rank promoted, so he submitted your photo among others, and Charles still chose yours."
"No, Mom, I don't want Charles. I want to marry a simple man who will love only me, not a powerful man like Charles." Nancy cried harder, and her mother petted her. "See, Charles even brought you these beautiful flowers to show how much he truly loves you and wants to marry you. Please stop crying, my angel. I really wish I could help you talk to your father about it. But even after you ran back to your room, Charles didn't get angry or reject the marriage, which shows he truly loves you and wants you as his wife. That's why he chose you. We haven't seen him here before until after your return from City X."
"No, Mom! I don't want Charles Alejandro! And who told him I'm back home? Did you and Father rush to call him and tell him I'm here?" Nancy asked, moving away from her mother's embrace and standing up to see her mother's face, to check if she was lying.
Olivia frowned and replied, "No, Nancy. We haven't seen Charles here before, since the month he chose your photo. I'm still shocked to see him today; I don't know who informed him of your return. Maybe he was eager to see you and meet you in person."
"No, Mom..." Nancy said, and her mother stood up and walked over to her.
"It's okay, my daughter. Stop crying. Your father is right about love growing with time. Give Charles a chance to get to know him. Being the President's son isn't easy; it might ruin his reputation and make people judge him wrongly. He might be a nice man, and you won't know just because he's the president's son. Stop listening to online gossip about him and get to know him first. Come, let's go downstairs and have dinner; it's getting late."
Olivia gently pulled Nancy to follow her downstairs to the dining room. Nancy sighed, as she had no other option and silently followed her mother.
Nancy knew the young maids had seen her reaction toward Charles earlier, and she sat down nervously on her usual dinner chair, shifting it closer to the table since she was famished.
Her father stepped out of his private office downstairs and walked to the dining table to join them for dinner, his face still stern, not ready to apologize.
Nancy sighed and resumed eating her dinner with her parents, thinking about how to escape Charles's grasp.
After dinner ended, Nancy stood up, thanked her parents, and retired upstairs to her bedroom.
She paced around her bedroom after shutting the door, knowing the wedding was in two days.
"Two days. How do I escape this marriage? How do I escape from Charles Alejandro?" Nancy asked herself, stopping her pacing. "I really cannot marry that man. Mom and Dad cannot do this to me. I need to escape from Charles, but how?"
Nancy walked to her bed, sat on it, picked up her mobile phone, and checked for the next available flight back to City X.
She said, "The next flight is tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. I need to be ready and make an excuse to get there in time before I miss it."
Nancy smiled as she purchased her return flight ticket to City X and thought about how to escape from her family.
"No, I really cannot marry that man, so I must leave." Nancy stood up from her bed, went to the washroom to freshen up, then returned to bed to sleep.
She climbed into bed, lay down peacefully, shut her eyes, and slept.
***
Meanwhile, Charles Alejandro arrived home late at night due to some traffic hold-ups on the city's major roads. He still lived in the heart of the city with his parents in the presidential white villa.
Charles stepped out of his car and walked toward the mansion's frontage. The mansion was a powerful two-story building with plenty of bodyguards standing around, guarding the premises. The area was neat and exuded excellence, with a dead silent atmosphere.
Charles walked into the living room and headed toward the staircase to go upstairs to his bedroom on the top floor.
Just then, his mother stepped out of the kitchen door and smiled at him as she saw him about to climb the stairs.
She called him back, "Charles, did you meet with your chosen bride today?"
"Mom," Charles quickly turned back to face his mother, smiled, and walked over to her. He hadn't seen her when he first entered the living room.
Charles wondered who had told his mother about his visit, knowing his parents monitored his activities closely.
He smiled and approached her. She asked, "Charles, isn't she the one? I can see you're smiling, my son. Isn't she the woman in the photo?"
- Writer
