4. Mother's advice

"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 Alejandro."

Mrs. Olivia sighed and walked to the bed to meet her daughter, still holding the bouquet of roses Charles had given her.

She said, "I'm sorry, Nancy. I wish I could speak to your father about this, but you know he's working under the A.J Political party group. Even though he doesn't like Charles or approve of him as your husband, he can't say no. We were only hoping for your father's promotion, which is why he sent your photos to them…"

"Mom…" Nancy stared at her mother in shock, tears filling her eyes. She clearly remembered the day her mother had called her when she was at her home in City X, trying to cook.

Her mother had asked her to send her photos, saying she wanted to use them, since Nancy rarely took photos or posted online.

She didn't know her mother's true intention was to send her photo to the Alejandro family. If she had known, she would have sent an ugly photo instead.

Nancy finally asked her mother, "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 to check me out? I could have sent an ugly photo, and Charles wouldn't have chosen me."

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

She wondered how she could escape from Charles, as she didn't want to marry him, and his family ruled their city, which the country was named after.

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

Nancy walked from the window to her bed to sit and cry, and her mother approached her and sat beside her.

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

Mrs. 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 she had dropped on the bed and hugged Nancy closely, petting her to stop crying. She said, "It's okay, my daughter. 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, and your father wanted his rank to be 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, and her mother petted 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, my daughter. You know I don't like to see you crying like this. I wish I could help you talk to your father about it, but even after you ran back here, Charles didn't get angry or reject marrying you, showing that he truly loves you and wants you as his wife. That's why he chose you."

"No, Mom! I don't want Charles! And who told him I was back home? Did you and Dad rush to call him and tell him I was finally home?" Nancy asked, moving away from her mother's embrace and standing up to see her face, to know if she was lying.

Mrs. Olivia frowned and replied, "No, Nancy. We haven't seen Charles here since the previous month when he chose your photo. I'm still shocked to see him here today. I don't know who informed him of your return. Maybe he was eager to meet you, by seeing your pretty face."

"No, Mom…" Nancy said, and her mother stood up and walked to meet her.

She said, "It's okay, my dear. Stop crying. Your father is right about love growing with time. You should give Charles a chance to get to know him. Being the president's son isn't easy, and that title is enough to ruin his reputation and make people judge him wrongly. He might be a nice man, and you wouldn't know just because he's the president's son. Stop listening to online gossip about him and get to know him before you conclude. Come, let's go downstairs and have dinner. It's getting late."

Mrs. Olivia gently pulled Nancy to follow her downstairs to the dining room, while Nancy sighed, having no other option.

She knew she couldn't protest and silently followed her mother downstairs.

Nancy was nervous, knowing most of the maids had seen her reaction to Charles earlier. She sat nervously on her usual dinner chair and shifted it closer to the dining table to eat, as she was famished.

Her father stepped out of his private home office and walked to the dining table to join her mother and her for dinner, but his face was still strict, not ready to beg Nancy yet.

Nancy sighed and resumed eating dinner with her parents, as she was very hungry, and she thought of how she would escape from Charles's clutches.

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

She paced about in her bedroom after shutting the door. She knew the wedding was in two days.

"Two days. How do I escape this marriage? How do I escape Charles?" Nancy asked herself, stopping 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 sat down, picking up her mobile phone and checking for the next available flight back to City X.

She said, "The next flight is tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM. I need to be ready and find an excuse to get there in time before I miss the flight."

Nancy smiled, immediately purchasing her return flight ticket to City X. She thought of how she would escape from her family.

"No. I really cannot marry that man, so I must leave." Nancy stood up, went to the washroom, and then went to bed.

She climbed on her bed, laid peacefully, shut her eyes, and slept.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, Charles Alejandro arrived home late at night, as his car had been held up on the city's major roads. He still lived in the heart of the city with his parents, inside the presidential white villa.

Charles stepped from his car and walked toward the mansion's frontage, a powerful two-story building. Plenty of bodyguards stood around, guarding the premises.

The mansion was silent, the premises neat and exuding excellence.

Charles walked into the living room and made his way to the staircase to retire to his bedroom on the top floor.

But then, his mother stepped from the kitchen door and smiled at him as she saw him wanting to climb the stairs.

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

"Mom," Charles swiftly turned to face his mother, smiling and walking back to meet her. He hadn't seen her when he first entered the living room.

Charles wondered who had told his mother he went to see his chosen bride. He knew his parents had their eyes on him, monitoring his activities, even without his knowledge.

He smiled and walked back to meet his mother, and she asked him, "Charles… Isn't she the one? I can see you're smiling, my son. Isn't she the woman in the photo?"