Chapter 4

"No, Father!" Nancy screamed, as her father pulled her room door open and finally 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."

Mrs. Olivia sighed, and walked up to the bed to meet her daughter. As she was still holding the bouquet of rose flowers in her hands that Charles had earlier given to her.

She said, "I'm sorry, Nancy, I wish that I could speak to your father about this. But you know that your father is working under the AJ Political party group, and even though your father didn't like Charles nor approved of him to become your husband, he cannot say no. As we were only hoping for your father's rank to be promoted, the reason your father sent your photos to them."

"Mom," Nancy stared at her mother's face in shock, with tears filling her eyes. She remembered the day that her mother had called her then on the phone when she was at her home in Country X, and trying to cook that day.

Her mother had requested her to send her photos, and that she wanted to use them. Since she hardly took any photos or posted online.

Nancy didn't know that her mother's true intention was to send her photo to the Alejandro family. If she had known, then she couldn't have taken beautiful photos but an ugly one, and sent it to her mother.

Nancy then asked her mother, "Why, Mom? Why did you hide it away from me? Why didn't you tell me then that you wanted to send my photo to the Alejandro family's son to check me out? As I could have taken an ugly photo and sent it to you then. That way, Charles wouldn't have chosen me."

Nancy cried, as she stood beside her room window, and was hurt to think that her parents wanted her to trade herself off to be with Charles.

She thought of how she would escape from Charles now, as she didn't want to marry him. His family were the ones ruling over their city, which made the country to be named after the city.

Mrs. Olivia apologized, "I'm sorry, Nancy, I didn't mean to make you sad."

Nancy walked away from the window to her bed to sit down and cry. Her mother also approached her on the bed and sat down beside her.

Nancy begged, "Please, Mom, I've got to escape from this marriage. Dad cannot call it off, and I don't want to marry Charles. Please, Mom, didn't you see the way Charles was staring at me? With lust clearly written in his eyes, and I couldn't even meet his gaze, as he looks like a pervert. And I cannot marry that kind of man who lusts after every woman to become my husband, no."

Mrs. Olivia laughed aloud, "Haha, no, Nancy, don't say that. I believe that Charles chooses you because he truly loves you, and wants to marry you."

"No, Mom," Nancy disagreed, but her mother picked up the bouquet of rose flowers that she had dropped on the bed, and hugged Nancy closely to her chest by petting her only child to stop crying.

"It's okay, my daughter. Stop crying, okay? It's because you're beautiful, and that was why Charles was looking at you like that. I think that he chose to marry you because he likes you. Among all the rejected photos, Charles still chose your photo."

"No, Mom, I don't want Charles. I want to marry a simple man that will love only me, and not a powerful man like Charles," Nancy cried harder.

Her mother pet her, "See, Charles even brought you these beautiful flowers to show you how much he truly loves you and wants to marry you. Please stop crying, as you know that I don't like to see you crying like this. I really wish that I could help you talk to your father about it. But even after you left us downstairs and ran back here to your room, Charles didn't get angry with us or reject to marry you, to show that he truly loves you and really wants you as his wife. To the reason why he chose you."

"No, Mom! I don't want Charles Alejandro! And who told him that I'm already back home in the country? Did you and Father rush to call him, and tell him that I'm finally at home?" Nancy asked her mother, as she moved away from her mother's embrace and stood up from the bed to see her mother's face. To know if her mother was lying to her or not.

Mrs. Olivia frowned and replied, "No, Nancy. We haven't seen Charles here before, since the previous month that he has chosen your photo. I'm still shocked to see him here today, as I didn't know who informed him of your return to the city. Maybe he was so eager to meet with you, by seeing your pretty face."

"No, Mom," Nancy said, and her mother stood up from the bed and walked up to meet her.

She said, "It's okay, stop crying, okay? As your father is right about love growing with time. You should just give Charles a chance to get to know him first. Being the President's son isn't easy, and enough titled to ruin his reputation, and to make people judge him wrongly. He might be a nice man now, and you wouldn't know just because he's the president's son. Stop listening to any online gossips about him, okay? And you should get to know him first, before you conclude on him. Come, let us go downstairs and have our dinner, as it's getting late."

Mrs. Olivia gently pulled Nancy beside her to follow her downstairs, to the dining room.

Nancy sighed, as she didn't have any other option than to go with her mother. She knew that she couldn't protest at that point, and she silently followed her mother downstairs to the dining room.

Nancy was nervous as she knew that most of the young maids had seen her reaction towards Charles. She sat on her usual dinner chair, and shifted it closer to the dining table to have her dinner, as she was famished.

Her father strides out of his private office downstairs and walked up to the dining table to join Nancy and her mother for dinner, but his face was still looking strict, as he wasn't ready to beg Nancy yet.

Nancy sighed, and resumed eating her dinner with her parents at the dinner table. She was famished, and she thought of how she would escape from Charles' clutches.

After the dinner with her parents ended, Nancy stood up from her chair and thanked her parents, before she retired upstairs to her bedroom.

Nancy entered her room and paced about after closing the door. She knew that the wedding was in two days' time.

"Two days. How do I escape from this marriage? How do I escape from Charles?" Nancy asked herself, as she stopped pacing about in her room. She said, "I really cannot marry that man. Mom and Dad cannot do this to me. I need to escape from Charles, but how?"

Nancy walked up to her bed and sat on it. She picked up her mobile phone, and checked for the next available flight back to Country X.

Nancy said, "The next flight is tomorrow morning by 10 am. I need to be ready for this, and to take an excuse to get there in time, before I miss the flight."

She smiled and purchased her return flight ticket going back to Country X.

Nancy thought of how she would be able to escape from her parents.

"No. I really cannot marry that man, so I must leave." Nancy stood up from her bed, and went to ease herself in her washroom, before she stepped out and went to her bed to sleep.

****

Charles Alejandro arrived home late at night, as his car had some hold-up in the city's major roads. He was still living in the heart of the city with his parents, and inside the presidential white villa too.

Charles stepped down from his car and walked up towards their mansion's frontage, as the mansion is a powerful two-story building. There were plenty of bodyguards standing and guarding the premises.

Charles walked into the living room and made his way towards the staircase to retire back upstairs to his bedroom that was on the top floor.

His mother stepped out of the kitchen door, and she smiled at him, as she saw him wanting to climb the stairs.

"Charles... Did you meet with your chosen bride today?" She called him back.

Charles turned back to face his mother, and he smiled and walked back to meet her. As he didn't see her the first time he had stepped into the living room.

Charles wondered who had told his mother that he went to see his chosen bride? As he knew that his parents had their eyes on him and were also monitoring his activities, even without his knowledge.

First Lady Kira asked, "Charles... Isn't she the one? I can see that you're smiling, my son. Isn't she the woman in the photo?"