Chapter 5

"Mom," Charles approached his mother and hugged her. She smiled and said, "Charles, you haven't answered my question yet. I was waiting for you to return home so we could have dinner together as a family."

"Good evening, Mom," Charles greeted, hugging her shoulder as they walked toward the dining room.

He replied, "She's the one, Mom, and she's very pretty too."

"Hmm," First Lady Kira smiled. She watched Charles pull out a dinner chair for her to sit down first. She sat elegantly, continuing to watch her handsome son as he sat in the chair beside her at the dining table.

Charles replied, "Mom, Nancy is the one and she's very cute. Where did you get her photo from? I do like her."

First Lady Kira smiled as the maids stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the dining table to serve dinner to both her and Charles. They served delicious meals as President Nolan was away in a presidential meeting.

First Lady Kira grinned and told Charles, "Your father made it known to his cabinet members that he was looking for a bride for you. He asked which members had pretty daughters you might like and choose from."

"Hmm, thanks, Mom. I do like Nancy, but..." Charles trailed off, remembering how Nancy had run away from him.

His mother asked, "But what, Charles?"

First Lady Kira frowned, watching her only son act nervously. She waited for the maids to finish serving and leave before asking again, "Charles, do you want us to cancel the wedding? The wedding is in two days, and you cannot embarrass your father and me in public before all our prominent guests."

"I know, Mom, but Nancy ran away from me when I went to welcome her home at her family house," Charles replied, shaking his head in embarrassment and covering his face with his palms. He remembered how her hips moved and swayed seductively.

Charles smiled, unaware that his mother was glaring at him. She wasn't finding his revelation funny.

She exclaimed, "What? Charles, how dare Nancy run away from you? We need to cancel the wedding right now. Didn't her parents inform her that she was marrying you? The wedding is the day after tomorrow!"

"No, Mother. You cannot call off the wedding," Charles refuted. His mother's jaw dropped as she stared at her only son sadly.

"Charles, don't tell me you still want to marry a lady who doesn't love you. I cannot allow that to happen," First Lady Kira added.

"I know, Mother, but you and Father have always wanted me to marry. I cannot change my choice again. I understand Nancy's fears. She's marrying the president's son, so she has to be scared, Mom," Charles replied, smiling sadly.

His mother shook her head and replied, "No, Charles. Nancy should be happy and glad you chose her. Any other lady would be thrilled and excited that you chose her to become your wife. She would shower you with love and warmth. How dare Nancy run away from you, and you took it lightly with her family? Where's my phone? I need to have her arrested and deal with her this minute, before throwing her in jail."

"No, Mother!" Charles exclaimed, startling her. "You cannot do that. If I don't marry Nancy, I won't marry anyone else."

"What?" First Lady Kira gasped. Her jaw dropped again. She turned speechless and stared at her only son in shock.

She shook her head and said, "No, Charles. This cannot happen. I will find another bride for you to marry. There are many other pretty ladies out there, even more beautiful than Nancy."

"No, Mother. I want Nancy Marlon. I want only Nancy. I want to feel her love and warmth, and I believe that with time she will love me too. Just give Nancy some time, and know that I'm truly in love now," Charles smiled, surprising his mother even more.

Her jaw dropped. She gulped as Charles said, "Let's have our dinner, Mom, before it gets cold."

"Okay, my son," First Lady Kira replied. She subtly blamed herself for choosing Nancy's photo first. She had seen many pretty young women's photos, as every family wanted their daughter to marry her only son, despite the ridicule and nonsense written about the family online.

Millions of photos had arrived at her personal assistant's office.

She had selected Nancy's photo the moment her eyes fell on it among the other two women's photos. She knew Charles wouldn't have time to review all the photos to choose a bride.

Now she subtly blamed herself and wished she had never picked Nancy's photo. The silly young lady dared to reject her only son—the most handsome and successful young man in their city.

*If it weren't for Charles's reputation with women and the rumors about him being promiscuous, the young lady would have no right to reject my only son and run away from him,* First Lady Kira sighed heavily, thinking to herself.

Charles asked her, "Mom, is everything alright?"

"Yes, Charles," First Lady Kira replied. She thought to instruct her personal assistant to place a monitoring team on Nancy. Nancy wouldn't escape Charles's attention.

*I need to do a personal background check on Nancy to see if she has a secret lover somewhere, which is why she rejected Charles,* First Lady Kira thought to herself and sighed again. But Charles didn't ask what was wrong. They continued eating their dinner silently in the dining hall.

After dinner, Charles stood from his chair and prepared to retire upstairs to his bedroom. He told his mother, "Good night, Mom."

"Yes. Good night, Charles," First Lady Kira replied.

Charles leaned closer and kissed her right cheek, then walked toward the living room stairs and climbed to his bedroom.

Charles used the stairs to exercise his mind, thinking about Nancy and why she had run away from him.

He entered his sitting room first, then walked to his bedroom. He picked up Nancy's photo from the headboard.

Charles kissed Nancy's photo directly on her pink lips, which he admired most, and said, "So pink and lovely. I cannot wait to have you as my wife and to kiss these beautiful pink lips every day."

Charles smiled and kissed Nancy's photo once more, his whole body craving her.

He asked himself, "But why did she run away from me? Am I ugly now?"

Charles frowned and walked to his bedroom mirror to examine his face. He had a head of short black hair, neatly shaped front hair and short beard. He was a tall, handsome black man.

Charles murmured, "Maybe Nancy doesn't like men with beards. But she's so beautiful, and I cannot reject her. Maybe she has a boyfriend? I'm sure she must have one."

Charles frowned, thinking Nancy had a boyfriend who was the reason she ran away from him. He cursed, "Nonsense! Is her boyfriend more handsome than me? I cannot reject her now, and Mother shouldn't dare hurt her either. Why am I even thinking about this?"

Charles walked back to his bed and picked up his telephone. He called Stevo Brights, his head security man and trusted security manager.

Charles needed Stevo to monitor Nancy's activities—her phone calls, text messages, and to find out if she had a boyfriend.

"Hello, Stevo," Charles spoke coldly.

Stevo, who was in the security house inside the Villa, froze and replied, "Hello, boss. Good evening."

Charles said, "I want you to hire a trained personnel to monitor my chosen bride and give me a twenty-four-hour report. I will forward her details shortly. Find out what she does, who she calls, and who she speaks with daily. Is that understood?"

"Yes, boss."

"Is there anything else you need me to do, boss?" Stevo asked.

"No, that's all," Charles replied, and the call ended.

Charles sighed and stared at Nancy's photo in his right hand. He said, "I cannot wait to have you as my bride. In just two days, you'll be in my bed, moaning sweetly to my touch. God, I hope she doesn't run away from me before then."