Chapter 1

It was morning and my eyes fluttered open as I smiled warmly; memories of the night replaying in my mind. I and my boyfriend spent almost all night making love, only leaving me with a few hours to sleep, yet I felt well-rested.

A smile lingered on my lips and a warm feeling filled my chest. I was so happy that I had proved to my wealthy parents that they were wrong; that love could truly be found anywhere, even in the heart of a commoner. 

I could not deny that Samuel was the love of my life. 

He was one of a kind, the type of person that you met once in a lifetime. He was my rock, my lifeline, and my everything. I never thought I would even think of settling down until now.

I had never been in a relationship for this long. Everything was falling into place. I was living my fairy tale life; the one that I read about in my favorite novels. 

Who could have thought that the day I bumped into him on the subway would be the start of a beautiful love story? 

He was so nervous and I was a nervous wreck also, but one thing that both of us knew was that we wanted to keep seeing each other. It was his smile and eyes for me. They were the lure that captured my heart; a drug that I could never get tired of.

He was incredibly handsome and sexy, but if there was a competition, his heart would win over his looks. Samuel was the sweetest. He cared and showed compassion so freely.

Dates after dates led to forming a bond so strong that no argument, fight, or misunderstanding could break. We were soulmates, tied to one another for the rest of our lives.

How did I get so lucky? But all that was about to change.

“Sammy?” I called him by his nickname as I searched the other side of the bed for my lover. Sleep was fleeing from my eyes, making me sober. The curtains at the window fluttered as beams of light shone into the room gracefully. 

No answer came, which was weird, because Samuel was always the last to get out of bed. 

“Samuel?” I sat up from my lying position when I noticed that he was not in bed with me. I could still smell his scent and that made me smile. Maybe he was in the bathroom, or in the kitchen making something for them to eat.

He was an excellent cook and knew his way around the kitchen as if he was born for it. I always teased him; saying that he chose the wrong career path and should have been a chef. 

But he would only laugh about it.  

My mouth moved as if it had a mind of its own as I yawned, and then my eyes finally landed on a piece of paper on the bed. It was carelessly folded and right next to Samuel’s pillow. 

Curiosity tugged at my senses and I reached for the paper. What could it be? Maybe a love note.

The thought that it could be a love note made me giddy on the insides, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I unfolded the paper. My heart thumped in my chest and a smile corrupted my lips. 

The writing on the paper was scribbled as if it was done in a rush. It only took me a few seconds to read the words but took me longer to understand. 

“I don’t get it,” I mumbled to myself as I kept reading the words on the weary piece of paper. This could not be right. It must obviously be a prank, a mere joke that Samuel was pulling on me.

He was the type to do extreme pranks. He loved doing things that made us laugh. 

I chuckled without humor and then read the words once more: I Can’t Be With You Anymore, We’re Done.

What did that mean? 

My heart was now beating faster as I removed myself from the bed quickly while calling my boyfriend’s name loudly. He should be here, he was only messing with me, right?

I held onto the paper tightly as I searched the entire house but there was no sign of my lifeline. Today was supposed to be a happy day for me, we were to go out and celebrate our two-year anniversary. 

October 28, which was the day we met on the subway. It was a day I would never forget. 

I kept the paper in my hand as I marched back into the bedroom and reached for my phone on the dresser. It took me two seconds to call Samuel’s number. With bated breath, I waited for him to answer. 

When he answered, my heart skipped a beat and I tried to speak despite my emotions. “Sammy? I just found a note on the bed and you’re not home. Where are you? What’s going on?” I held my breath as I awaited a response. 

Without even a sound from him, the call suddenly dropped. But I was not giving up. Not that easily. I had to know what the hell was happening. 

I called again, but this time it went straight to voicemail, making me frustrated. 

No, no, no. This was not happening!

I called a few more times but got the same result. Feeling even more frustrated and emotional, tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I was not going to cry. Crying meant defeat. Crying meant that I was agreeing with what that stupid note said.

Oh, no, I was definitely not going to cry!

“Answer the phone, dammit!” I yelled at the phone in my hand as I called Samuel once more. It kept going to voicemail, and each time that it did, it chipped at my heart. With each unanswered call, I could feel him fleeing farther and farther away from me.

Maybe I was overreacting. Gosh, I really wish I was.

After almost a hundred calls, two dozen voicemails, and an insane amount of texts, I finally gave up. I knew that I had called him too many times, but I was not ashamed of that. 

How was I supposed to just give up on the one I thought I was going to grow old with? 

An hour later, I slumped my body to the cold marble floor and broke. I could pretend to be strong anymore. 

I threw my phone across the room in anger as I finally decided that it was time to cry. It was time to accept what was now my reality: my boyfriend had broken up with me with a damn note.

It hurt me more that I did not have any explanation for why he left. Did I do something wrong? Did something happen last night? Was I not enough for him? 

The only word that came to my mind when I thought about last night was: Perfection. So why would Samuel just leave so abruptly? Why wasn’t he answering my calls? 

I was left with so many questions, and I tried to come up with an answer for each one as I lay in my bedroom robe on the floor but found no luck. 

After sobbing and overthinking, I felt like I had tortured myself enough and that I didn’t want to be in the house. The house screamed Samuel’s name; everywhere I looked, I was reminded of him.

This was the first time that I had moved in with someone and now look at me. 

With a heavy heart and questioning mind, I took a cold shower, got dressed, and headed over to my parents. It was not like I wanted to go there but it was the only place I could think of. 

It took almost a day for me to reach them because they lived in another state, but when I did, I was met with the same tense atmosphere that my family had always had to loom over us since I was a toddler.

I was the only child of my wealthy parents. I came from money and they never failed to remind me of that. I was their precious jewel; their shining star. But that came with a very heavy crown. 

I was not allowed to date commoners, and all my partners were to be vetted, going as far as doing background checks on them.

This was one of the reasons I did not tell my parents about Samuel. 

They would have never approved of him. He was a commoner, a low-class, and didn’t even make enough to cover our bills so I had to pitch in financially every time.

I did not mind, it meant nothing to her. But it was of utmost importance to my parents.

Having CEOs as parents who wanted to groom me into their heir was hard enough, now whoever I dated had to go through what I went through. 

Samuel would have looked like trash in their eyes, they would have gone above and beyond to get him out of my life, and I could not risk losing him. Although sadly, it looked like I had already.

“Tell me why you look like you have been run over by a train or bus,” My mother said to me distastefully when I walked into the huge mansion. The way she looked at me showed how deeply upset she was by my appearance.

“Hi, mom,” I replied wearily, ignoring the disapproval in her tone and eyes. I was in no mood for such an attitude from her.

“And you should have called, you know we don’t like people coming to the house unannounced,” She reminded me as I was helped with my suitcases. “But you never learn. You want to do things your own way,” She nagged. 

Yeah, but she should have known that I was not just anyone, I was her daughter. 

I walked past her and towards the beautifully designed stairs. My heart was heavy and I just wanted to be alone, even though ironically I came there so I could be with family. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” My mother stopped me from going upstairs. “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?” Concern laced her voice. 

At the mention of ‘crying’, my mind tortured me with memories of the magical night I shared with Samuel. His movements were as graceful as a ballet dancer's, and his kisses were as deep as the Mariana Trench.

“Honey?” She touched me gently and I broke from my trance.

Could I trust my mother enough to tell her that I fell in love with a commoner and he broke my heart? Maybe not just yet. 

“I--” I started to speak but hesitation won. “It’s nothing, I’m just upset over a low grade that I got in my Ethics class,” I lied smoothly and forced a smile. 

“Hmmm,” She mumbled in response. “Well, sorry about that. But I do have to talk to you about something.” She clicked her tongue. Her perfume filled the space and my nose was filled with it. 

“Can’t it wait? I’m a bit tired from the drive here.” I gently tried to remove my hand from her grasp but failed.

“No, it can not,” She said to me firmly. She then released my hand and walked over to the living room. After half a minute, she returned with a formal envelope and handed it to me. 

A look of confusion covered my face and I exhaled deeply. “What’s this?” I tried to keep my attention on her but it was hard. 

I kept wondering where Samuel could be. Was he kidnapped? Was he forced to write that note? Was he trying to prank me and would later call me to inform me about a reservation at one of the most expensive restaurants?

Hope was fleeing my heart. I wanted answers so badly that it physically pained my chest.  

“It’s an air ticket to London. Your father and I have set up an arranged marriage for you.”