Two: We Must Run Away.

The next morning came faster than light and as Sofia made her way down the stairs, she could hear murmurs echo from the living room. She met her mother's eyes at a distance from her but Theresa seemed to be at unease before she disappeared into the kitchen.

Arching her brows, Sof took her last step and just then her father called unto her. "Sofia" He raised his hands in the air and she shot him a glare. Little did he realize that she had not forgotten what a disaster last night was.

She sauntered into the living room, but only because of the last shred of respect she had for him. "I would love you to meet someone" Ferdinand stood and across from him was a middle aged bald man with a protruding stomach like that of two people.

Her eyes went down on him and he twirled his bushy moustache with his hands. "This is Mr Henderson, i'm pretty sure you recognize him as my friend. He used to come around alot often when you were a kid." Of course, she did recognize him. She was scarred to this day by the dirty remarks this old man put her through during her pubertal years.

But she let it suffix with a fake grin and a cutesy.

"Take a seat" Her father cleared his throat, interrupting the silence that soon fell between them. She sat right next to Mr Henderson and the next second, his hands settled on her exposed shoulders.

Sofia shuddered in both fright and disgust before she pulled away.

Downing a sip of his coffee, her father cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about last night but as long as it’s my most desirable wishes to walk you down the aisle, Sofia, i want it to be with the right person. Only a few people get it right the first time” Ferdinand continued and she lifted her gaze to meet her father.

“Mr Henderson is a well-to-do man and you might not be his first but he must be yours” Sofia almost couldn’t believe her eyes and her heart rattled in her chest.

“Excuse me.” She looked back and forth the two of them.

“Listen to me, Sofia” Her father chastened and she threw her head upon her shoulders to see her mother peeking by the doors. Tears swarm in her eyes, realizing what exactly they asked of her.

“Sooner or later, you would understand why i asked you not to marry that boy—“

“Because you were saving me for someone else. You were saving me for your friend” There was a crack in her voice and suddenly she felt a hand trail up her inner thighs. Out of anger, Sofia threw a glass of water in Mr Henderson’s face before she stood up.

“The deal is closed, Sofia?”

“Is that all i am to you, father. A deal?” She asked and was met with his stern gaze. “—some sort of collateral for some business proposal?” She raised her voice at Ferdinand.

“God that was why you didn’t want me to marry Damien, it was not because he was struggling or he wasn’t enough. It was just you all this time and your desire to control my life” Her father grasped her by her hands and Sofia let out a shrill scream. She saw for a second a blaze in Ferdinand’s eyes that she had never seen before and he immediately let her go.

“Henderson is generous enough to let you finish school and child bearing would not be a conversation until after the formal procedure is done. However you would be living with him and he shall know you—“

“This is ridiculous” Sofia scoffed beneath her breath.

“You’re ridiculous” She struck a finger at her father boldly as it weren’t from her eyes that a gallon of tears poured through. “I can’t believe you ask this of me, you say often times i’m your only child but in reality i’m not. You go search for Freya and you tell her this” Sofia gritted through her teeth and she grabbed her coat from the hanger

“Go back to that chair" Her father was outraged but managed a tempestuous whisper. “Go back to that chair, Sofia. You have no other choice, it’s done” With one hand around the door, she threw him one last look and her father added beneath his breath.

“Or what?”

“You walk out those doors Sofia and it is done.” Ferdinand said and Sofia’s heart raced in her chest. “If you don’t marry this man then i’m afraid you shall no longer be my daughter neither would you return to this house or bear the family name. We have given you so much Sofia to this day—i have given you everything but you seem to want to disrespect me at every opportunity” He added.

“And today it ends” Ferdinand echoed.

It took a moment for Sofia to ponder what exactly was at stake here and she was faced with the toughest of decisions yet to make. She looked back at Henderson and realized he was never an option—she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with a man twice her age, a man with an abusive reputation whom she would never love.

She just couldn’t do it, not for money nor her father’s appraisal.

She could however run back to Damien and they could start a new life together, she thought. It would be difficult but like i said, there was nothing they didn’t see through together.

She pushed a hard lump down her throat but her eyes didn’t meet Ferdinand’s, they met her mother’s who she resented for never sticking up for her. Theresa watched from the corner of the room and all of a sudden, it became clear what Sofia needed to do.

“Come inside” He whispered.

“You wouldn’t be able to survive the world on your own” His words were met with her scoff and she wiped across her eyes—“See that’s where you get it wrong. Goodbye father.” She replied and without hesitation, she closed the door behind her and made her way down the front porch.

She had not a car anymore but Sofia was able to walk all the way to Damien’s house. She knocked upon the front door, with her barefeet and a sore throat and immediately he pulled the door open to her, he was met with the shock of his life. Sofia pulled him for a hug, missing the fact that he smelled like another woman and she smiled ear to ear as she withdrew her arms.

“We can be together” She flashed the ring in his face.

“I choose you.”

Sofia made her way inside his house and pulled out her bags to pack. “My father is really protective of me and though he said i can leave, i doubt he’d actually let me” She breathed heavily as she began packing her bags. Damien leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets and an expression of quagmire.

“So—so what now?” He stuttered.

“We have to leave” Sofia turned back to him breathless. “He wants me to marry another man and my father hates being told no. But you have to understand, i cannot marry the man my father wants to me” She inched closer to him to take his hands.

“Not when i love you.”

“That’s not what i asked, i mean where do we go?” Damien said and she turned around to pack the few things that she had in his home. She heaved a deep sigh thereafter.

“We’ll figure it out, Damien. We’d figure it out like we always do. I have some money in my trust fund and that could get us started in a quiet town far from here” She whispered and with remorseful eyes, she turned to Damien.

“And what about me?” He shrugged his shoulders.

“And my art and everything, my whole life in Boston you want me to give it all up to run away with you?” He asked, knocking a bit of sense in Sofia’s head for her to see just how ridiculous this idea was. But she wasn’t entirely fazed, she just shook her head.

“You asked me to marry you.” She whispered.

“But not move across the country, your father made it clear that i’m not the right person for you” He brushed past her shoulders but she held unto his hands. “Since when does my father decide things for us?” She asked and he looked back into her green eyes.

“Since we have to move miles away to run away from him” The sublime truth hit her in her chest as she pushed a lump down her throat. “We had a plan Sofia and this wasn’t in the plan” He said.

“Nothing has to change” She whispered.

“It’s always been us, Damien and we’d figure it out like we always do—“ She paused, holding firmly to his hands. “Just don’t let them take me away” She begged and Damien could screw another woman but if there was anything he couldn’t stand, it was watching Sofia cry.

“You love me?” There was a crack in her voice as he cupped her chin with his hands. “Of course” He replied. “Of course i love you—i could never not love you.”

“Then let’s run away together” Sofia kissed him in his lips and Damien heaved a deep sigh. He grabbed a luggage of his and stuffed all his priceless paintings alongside his brushes. “We are really doing this” He breathed heavily as he zipped up his bags.

“We are.”

Groping her waist, he leaned his head against hers and Sofia heaved in a deep breath. “I love you so much” She whispered and he pulled away. “I love you more” Damien croaked, after a well-thought pause.

“But you need to leave” He said and she arched her brows.

“If your father is looking for you, they would come here first and i don’t want them to find you. Let’s meet at midnight next to the Argon Towers, wait for me there” He held her chin and gazed deep into her eyes.

“Wait for me there. At midnight, we run away.” He nodded and so did she, thankful that were on the same page. Sofia gathered her bags and it was well into the afternoon already. The Argon Towers was just a few kilometers from here and she could make it to the park on foot, she thought.

It was a hasty decision to leave Boston but it was a necessary one if she wanted to live her life—or even live at all.

Sofia made it there when evening had fallen and as she got to the gates, she immediately bumped into someone. Her bags fell from her shoulders and emptied all her clothes to the floor.

"I'm sorry" She whimpered, facing the young man with an expression of displeasure. She reached to grab her things and he did as well, whilst staring consumingly at her. “Watch where you’re going” The man's eyes raised up like the dead just resurrected and for the next breathless moments, they did nothing but stare at each other.

"It's okay" His voice calmed, grasping his own documents in his hand. Sofia had never met a man with a more powerful aura and it was as though his presence seized the tears that wanted to drop. His eyes were dark and hard like the rest of him and he was dressed in a glistening beige suit.

“I’m Oscar” He said and Sofia took in a deep breath, retreating from him and walking in the opposite direction. The two of them threw their heads over their shoulders to take one more glance at each other.

And embarrassed, Sofia made her way to the bench she was to wait for Damien. She sat into it and watched the night fall before her eyes but she could only keep them open for some time. She soon fell asleep at a few minutes past eight pm and didn’t open those eyes until it was close to midnight.

However, Sofia met with the shock of her life when she did—Her father was the first thing she saw, Ferdinand was right in front of her, his face next to hers with Damien right behind him. “Where’s—where are the bags?” She sat up and looked to his hands which was firmly intertwined with Emma’s, her best friend.

“What?” She looked around them with a face of shock and Damien let out a mutter. “I’m sorry Sofia. I couldn’t” And those two last words sunk in the depths of her stomach, ringing through her ears a piercing sound.

“I called your father” She didn’t get to hear the rest of his words as she zoned out for a bit but that was before her bodyguard’s hands clasped firmly around hers.

“Take her back home” Ferdinand commanded. “Take her home.”