Chapter 4: Mother's advice

"No, Father!" Nancy screamed as her father pulled the door to her room open and exited.

She turned to her mother, pleading, "Please, Mom, talk to Dad. I cannot marry that man, I cannot marry Charles."

Mrs. Olivia Marlon sighed and walked up to the bed to join her daughter. She was still holding the bouquet of rose flowers Charles had given her earlier.

She said, "I'm sorry, Nancy, I wish I could speak to your father about this. But you know your father works under the AJ 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 your father's rank would be promoted, which is why he sent your photos to them."

"Mom..." Nancy stared at her mother in shock, tears filling her eyes. She remembered the day her mother had called her in City X, asking her to send photos, claiming she wanted to use them. Nancy didn't know her mother's true intention was to send those photos to the Alejandro family.

Nancy finally asked, "Why, Mom? Why did you hide it from me? Why didn't you tell me then that you wanted to send my photo to the Alejandro family's son? I could have taken an ugly photo and sent it to you, so Charles wouldn't have chosen me."

Nancy cried harder, standing by the window, hurt that her parents wanted to trade her off to Charles. She thought about how she could escape from him now, as she didn't want to marry the man ruling their city.

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

Nancy walked away from the window to sit on her bed, crying, and her mother joined 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. Didn't you see the way he was staring at me, with lust in his eyes? I couldn't even meet his gaze. He looks like a pervert, and I can't marry that kind of man who lusts after every woman. No."

Mrs. Olivia Marlon laughed, "Haha, 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 and hugged Nancy, petting her child to stop crying.

She said, "It's okay, my angel. Stop crying. It's because you're beautiful that's why Charles was staring at you like that. I think he chose to marry you because he likes you, and your father actually wanted his rank promoted, which is why he submitted your photo for them to see. Among all the rejected photos, Charles still chose yours."

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

"See, Charles even brought you these beautiful flowers to show how much he truly loves you and wants to marry you. Please stop crying, my angel. I wish I could help you talk to your father, but even after you left us and ran back here, Charles didn't get angry or reject marrying you, showing he truly loves you and wants you as his wife."

"No, Mom! I don't want Charles! And who told him I'm back home? Did you and Father rush to call him and tell him I've returned?" Nancy asked, moving away from her mother's embrace and standing to face her.

Mrs. Olivia Marlon frowned and replied, "No, Nancy. We haven't seen Charles before today since the previous month when he chose your photo. I'm still shocked to see him, as I didn't know who informed him of your return."

"No, Mom..." Nancy sighed, and her mother stood up to approach her.

"It's okay, my beautiful angel. Stop crying. Your father is right - love can grow with time. You should just give Charles a chance to get to know him. Being the President's son isn't easy, and the title can 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 first before you decide. Come, let's go downstairs and have dinner, as it's late."

Mrs. Olivia gently pulled Nancy beside her to follow her downstairs to the dining room, and Nancy sighed, knowing she had no choice but to go.

She knew the maids had witnessed her reaction to Charles earlier, and she sat down nervously in her usual chair, shifting closer to the table to have her dinner, as she was famished.

Her father stepped out of his private office and joined them at the table, his face still stern, unwilling to beg Nancy yet.

Nancy sighed and ate her dinner, thinking of how to escape Charles' clutches.

After dinner, Nancy thanked her parents and retired upstairs to her room. She paced about, knowing 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 can't marry that man. Mom and Dad can't do this to me. I need to escape Charles, but how?"

Nancy sat on her bed, picking up her phone and checking for the next available flight back to City X. "The next flight is tomorrow morning at 10 AM. I need to be ready and make an excuse to get there in time before I miss the flight."

Nancy smiled, immediately purchasing her return ticket. She thought about how she would escape her family.

"No, I can't marry him. I must leave," Nancy said, going to the bathroom before returning to her bed to sleep.

***

Charles Alejandro arrived home late at night, his car held up in the city's heavy traffic. He still lived with his parents in the presidential white villa.

Charles stepped out of his car and walked towards the mansion's entrance, the premises guarded by numerous bodyguards.

The mansion was silent and immaculate as Charles made his way to the staircase, intending to retire to his bedroom on the top floor.

But his mother emerged from the kitchen, smiling as she saw him. "Charles... Did you meet with your chosen bride today?"

"Mom," Charles quickly turned to face his mother, wondering who had told her he had visited his bride-to-be. He knew his parents closely monitored his activities.

Charles smiled and walked over to his mother.