Chapter 4

"No, Father!" Nancy screamed as her father opened her room door 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 Alejandro."

Mrs. Olivia sighed and walked to the bed to meet her daughter. She still held the bouquet of rose flowers Charles had given her earlier.

She said, "I'm sorry, Nancy. I wish I could speak to your father about this. But you know your father works under the AJ Political Party, and even though he doesn't approve of Charles as your husband, he cannot say no. We were hoping his rank would be promoted, which is why your father sent your photos to them."

"Mom," Nancy stared at her mother in shock, tears filling her eyes. She clearly remembered when her mother called her in City X while she was cooking, asking her to send photos.

Her mother had wanted to use them. Since Nancy rarely took photos or posted online, she hadn't known her mother intended to send her photo to the Alejandro family.

Nancy asked her mother, "Why, Mom? Why did you hide this 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. Then Charles wouldn't have chosen me."

Nancy cried harder, standing beside her room window, hurt that her parents wanted to trade her off to Charles.

She wondered how she could escape this marriage. She didn't want to marry him, and his family ruled their country. They even named the country after them.

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

Nancy walked to her bed to cry, and her mother approached and sat beside her.

Nancy begged, "Please, Mom, I have to escape this marriage. Dad won't call it off, and I don't want to marry Charles. Please, Mom, did you see how he stared at me? Lust was clearly written in his eyes. I couldn't even meet his gaze. He looks like a pervert, Mom. I cannot marry a man who lusts after women to become my husband. No."

Mrs. Olivia laughed, "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. Her mother picked up the bouquet of rose flowers she had dropped on the bed and hugged Nancy closely, patting her only child to stop crying. She said, "It's okay, my daughter. Stop crying. Charles was staring at you because you're beautiful. I think he chose to marry you because he likes you. Your father initially wanted his rank promoted, which is why he submitted your photo. Among all the rejected photos, 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.

Her mother patted her and said, "Charles brought you these beautiful flowers to show how much he loves you and wants to marry you. Please stop crying, my dear. I don't like seeing you cry. I wish I could help convince your father. But even after you ran upstairs, Charles didn't get angry or reject the marriage, showing he truly loves you and wants you as his wife. We hadn't seen him before until after your return from City X."

"No, Mom! I don't want Charles! Who told him I was already home? Did you and Father rush to call him and tell him I'd arrived?" Nancy asked, moving away from her mother's embrace and standing up to look at her face.

Mrs. Olivia frowned and replied, "No, Nancy. We haven't seen Charles since last month when he chose your photo. I'm shocked he came today. I don't know who informed him of your return. Perhaps he was eager to see you and meet your beautiful face."

"No, Mom," Nancy said. Her mother stood and walked to her.

She said, "It's okay, my beautiful angel. Stop crying. Your father is right that love grows with time. Give Charles a chance to get to know him first. Being the President's son isn't easy; it's enough to damage his reputation and make people judge him wrongly. He might be a nice man now, and you wouldn't know because he's the president's son. Stop listening to online gossip about him and get to know him first before you conclude. Come, let us go downstairs and have dinner. It's getting late."

Mrs. Olivia gently pulled Nancy to follow her downstairs to the dining room. Nancy sighed, knowing she had no other option. She silently followed her mother downstairs.

Nancy felt nervous, knowing the young maids had seen her reaction to Charles. She sat nervously in her usual dinner chair and shifted closer to the table, famished.

Her father stepped out of his private office and walked to the dinner table to join them, but his face remained strict. He wasn't ready to forgive Nancy yet.

Nancy sighed and resumed eating dinner with her parents. She was very hungry. She wondered how she would escape Charles.

After dinner, Nancy stood from her chair, thanked her parents, and retired upstairs to her bedroom.

She paced in 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?" 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 and picked up her mobile phone, checking for the next available flight to City X.

She said, "The next flight is tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. I need to be ready and take an excuse to get there before I miss the flight."

Nancy smiled and purchased her return flight ticket to City X. She thought of how she would escape her family.

"No. I cannot marry that man, so I must leave," Nancy concluded. She went to her washroom, then returned to bed to sleep.

She climbed into bed, laid peacefully, shut her eyes, and fell asleep.

---

Meanwhile, Charles arrived home late at night. His car had encountered some delays on the city's major roads. He still lived in the city center with his parents, inside the presidential white villa.

Charles stepped down from his car and walked toward the mansion's front entrance. The mansion was a powerful three-story building with plenty of bodyguards guarding the premises.

The mansion was silent, its neat premises exuding excellence.

Charles entered the living room and headed toward the staircase to retire to his top-floor bedroom.

Just then, his mother stepped out of the kitchen door and smiled at him as he moved toward the stairs.

She called him back, "Charles, did you meet with your chosen bride today?"

Charles swiftly turned to face his mother and smiled, walking back to her. He hadn't noticed her when he first entered the living room.

He wondered who had told his mother he visited his bride, as he knew his parents monitored his activities constantly.

Charles smiled and walked back to her. She asked, "Charles, isn't she the one? I can see you're smiling, my son. Isn't she the one from the photo?"