Chapter 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 up to the bed to meet her daughter. She was still holding the bouquet of red roses that Charles had given her earlier.

"I'm sorry, Nancy. I wish I could speak to your father about this," she said. "But you know your father works under the A.J Political Party group. Even though he doesn't like Charles or approve of him as your husband, he cannot say no. We were hoping for your father's rank to be promoted—that's why he sent your photos to them."

"No, Mom..." Nancy stared at her mother's face in shock, tears filling her eyes. She clearly remembered the day her mother had called her in City X while she was trying to cook.

Her mother had asked for photos, saying she wanted to use them. 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 taken ugly photos instead of beautiful ones and sent those.

Nancy then 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 taken an ugly photo and sent it to you. That way, Charles wouldn't have chosen me."

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

Nancy wondered how she could escape Charles now—she didn't want to marry him. His family ruled the country, which was even named after them, along with the capital.

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

Nancy walked from the window to her bed, sat down, and cried. Her mother approached and sat beside her.

"Please, Mom, I have to escape this marriage," Nancy begged. "Dad cannot call it off, and I don't want to marry Charles Alejandro. Please, Mom—didn't you see the way Charles stared at me? With lust in his eyes. I couldn't even meet his gaze. He looks like a pervert. I cannot marry a man who lusts after every woman. No."

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

"No, Mom," Nancy disagreed, but her mother picked up the bouquet of red roses she had dropped on the bed. She hugged Nancy close, petting her only child to stop crying. "It's okay, my daughter. Stop crying. It's because you're beautiful—that's why Charles stared at you like that. I think he chose to marry you because he likes you. Your father wanted his rank promoted, which is why he submitted your photo. Among all the rejected ones, Charles still chose yours."

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

Her mother petted her. "See, Charles even brought you these beautiful red flowers to show how much he truly loves you and wants to marry you."

"Please stop crying, my angel—I don't like seeing you like this. I really wish I could talk to your father about it. But even after you left us downstairs and ran back here, Charles didn't get angry or reject marrying you. That 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 your return from City X."

"No, Mom! I don't want Charles Alejandro! And who told him I'm back in the country? Did you and Dad rush to call him and say I'm home?" Nancy asked, moving away from her mother's embrace. She stood up from the bed to face her mother, checking if she was lying.

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

"No, Mom..." Nancy disagreed. Her mother stood up from the bed and walked over to her.

"It's okay, my daughter. Stop crying," she said. "Your father is right about love growing with time. You should give Charles a chance—get to know him first. Being the president's son isn't easy; it ruins reputations and makes people judge 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 concluding. Come, let's go downstairs and have dinner—it's getting late."

Mrs. Olivia gently pulled Nancy along to follow her downstairs to the dining room. Nancy sighed; she had no other option at that point and silently followed her mother.

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

Her father stepped out of his private downstairs office and walked to the dining table to join her mother and her for dinner. His face still looked strict—he wasn't ready to beg Nancy yet.

Nancy sighed and resumed eating her dinner with her parents. She was very hungry and thought about how she could escape Charles's clutches.

After dinner ended, Nancy stood up from her chair, 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 her pacing. "I really cannot marry that man. Mom and Dad cannot do this to me. I need to escape him, but how?"

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

"The next flight is tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.," she said. "I need to be ready and find an excuse to get there in time before I miss it."

Nancy smiled as she immediately purchased her return flight ticket to City X. She thought about how she could escape her family.

"No. I really cannot marry that man, so I must leave." Nancy concluded and stood up from her bed, and went to the washroom to relieve herself. Then she stepped out, climbed onto her bed, lay down peacefully, shut her eyes, and slept.

~•~

Meanwhile, Charles Alejandro arrived home late at night—his car had been delayed by holdups 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 out of his car and walked toward the mansion's front entrance. The powerful two-story building was guarded by plenty of bodyguards around the premises.

The mansion was dead silent, the grounds neat and exuding excellence.

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

But just then, his mother stepped out of the kitchen door. She smiled at him, seeing he was about to climb the stairs.

"Charles... Did you meet with your chosen bride today?" she called.

"Mom," Charles swiftly turned back to face her. He smiled and walked over 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 kept an eye on him, monitoring his activities without his knowledge.

Charles smiled and approached her. "Charles... Isn't she the woman in the photo?" she asked. "I can see you're smiling, my son. Isn't she the same person?"