Chasing His Runaway Wife

“Marry me. That’s the only way to make your parents back off.”

Carlo stood right in front of me, his voice low and desperate, his dark eyes pleading as if his whole world hung on my answer. I could see the fear etched on his face the fear that I might say no, that I might be forced into a fate neither of us could bear.

But my heart ached, heavy and broken, as I shook my head slowly.

“Carlo… I love you, truly. But only the way a little sister loves her big brother. I care for you deeply, but that doesn’t mean I can make you happy. What if I can never give you the kind of love you deserve?” My voice was flat, hollow, drained of all warmth just like how I’d felt for as long as I could remember.

There was no light in my eyes, no spark left in my soul years of being invisible had stripped every bit of color from my life.

He took a step closer, closing the small gap between us until his face was only inches from mine.

I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin, steady and familiar, the only thing that had ever felt like home.

“As long as I get to be with you, that is more than enough for me,” he said, his voice raw with emotion.

“And I cannot bear the thought of watching you marry him. That man, Mr. Kaya… he is twice your age. He could be your father. You’d be miserable, trapped in a life you never chose. I won’t let that happen to you.”

Maybe… maybe Carlo was the only choice I had left.

My parents had been pushing this marriage for months, selling me off like a piece of property just to seal a business deal. They never asked what I wanted, never cared how I felt.

To them, I was nothing more than a tool to get what they wanted. And it had always been this way.

I’d spent my whole life trying so hard to earn even a crumb of their love. I studied until my eyes burned, stayed up late, fought for every high grade, every award, every achievement—hoping that if I was good enough, smart enough, perfect enough, they would finally look at me.

But no matter what I did, it was never enough. I’d lay my report card on the table, proud and trembling, and they’d barely glance at it before turning away.

All their love, all their praise, all their attention… it went to my younger sister, Janelle. She was the one they called beautiful, the one they called brilliant, the one everyone adored.

And I grew up believing, day after day, night after endless night, that I was nothing. That I was Eylul the daughter nobody wanted, the girl nobody loved.

Nobody… except Carlo.

I met him three years ago, on the day I almost ended it all.

I’d walked to the cliff edge, broken and empty, feeling like my life had no meaning, no joy, no love. It felt like begging for even a scrap of affection was the cruelest joke the world had ever played on me. So I stepped off, letting the cold sea swallow me whole, hoping the darkness would finally take the pain away.

But then I saw him.

He didn’t hesitate for a second. He dove straight into the deep, rough waters, risking his own life just to reach mine. Likewise, he dragged me back to the shore, held me while I coughed and cried, and stayed by my side every single moment after that.

When I woke up days later, my body aching, my skin stinging with cuts and bruises… my parents weren’t there. No one came to check on me. No one cared that I was alive, or that I had almost died.

Waking up to an empty room, knowing your own family would rather you be gone… it hurts more than any wound ever could.

It’s a pain that never heals, a ache that stays with you forever like you’re dying slowly, over and over again, but never quite enough to rest.

But then there he was.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with arms strong enough to hold the whole world, and a face so perfect it felt like an ancient god had stepped down from the heavens just to stand at my door.

That was the first time I learned his name Carlo Cassian. He came from one of the wealthiest families in the country, had everything anyone could ever want… and yet, he was there, sitting by my bed, watching over me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

I remembered curling my fingers tight into the blanket, my jaw clenched so hard it hurt. I was angry. angry at the world, angry at my family, angry that he had saved me.

“Why did you do it?” I had asked, my voice sharp and broken.

“Why save me? I didn’t want to be here.”

He took my hand in his warm, firm, gentle and looked straight into my eyes, his voice deep and steady, so full of feeling it made my chest ache.

“Because I couldn’t bear to watch someone like you die. Not when you deserve so much more than what you’ve been given.”

From that day on, he never left my side. We became best friends, inseparable. He confessed his love to me in a hundred small ways through every time he saved me, every time he listened, every time he held me when I cried.

But I always turned him down. I told myself I only saw him as a brother, that I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

But maybe… maybe I was just scared. Scared that even he would leave, scared that I wasn’t worth loving, scared that I would break the only good thing I had.

But now, as he stood here, holding my hands the same way he did that first day only this time, his touch was different. It wasn’t just comfort anymore it was a plea, a desperate chance to be loved, to be safe, to finally belong.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and fast, as I looked up at him. I reached up slowly, my fingers trembling, and touched his face, tracing the line of his jaw, the warmth of his skin, the love I’d always known was there.

“Okay,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

“I will marry you, Carlo.” I paused, my heart pounding, terrified to hope, terrified to believe.

“But promise me one thing. Promise me… you will never hurt me. You will never leave me, or treat me like I’m nothing. Because I don’t think I could survive that.”

He pressed his hand firmly over his heart, right where I could feel it beating strong and true, and swore it with every bit of himself.

“If I, Carlo Cassian, ever hurt you, or betray you, or make you feel unloved… then you can take everything I have. Every penny, every name, every part of my life. You can leave me with nothing at all. I swear it, Eylul. You will never be invisible again. Not while I’m here.”

And for the first time in my whole life… I believed him. And take the biggest gamble to marry him.