Misery of Forbidden Love

No Choice

STEVEN

    I wanted to stop Sam, but this is for her own good.

    "You did the right thing, my dear son," mom said with a victorious look on her face.

    No matter how much I wanted to keep Sam in my arms, I had no choice but to let her go. My mom will ruin her life if I can't convince her that I am completely over her. I know this is unfair for her, but hurting her is the best way to make my mom believe.

    I just nodded to acknowledge my mom's comment and shot Elvira an irritated glare. "Why did you kiss me?!"

    Elvira took me by surprise when she crashed her lips on mine. And as a response, I instantly grabbed her waist to push her away, but she was insistent and pressed her lips harder.

    Hearing Sam's voice helped me to snap out of shock brought by Elvira's poisonous kiss. But I guess it was too late and Sam surely misread everything, for she stared at me with betrayed eyes when our gazes weaved.

    Elvira ambled towards me and smiled. "Can’t I kiss my future husband?"

    "I'm not marrying you!" I hissed. This Hollywood wannabe is really annoying me.

    "She's the one I approved of," mom interjected.

    I looked at my mom. Totally shocked. "I hardly know her. And she's not the kind of woman I want to marry!"

    The corner of mom's eyebrow curled upward, forming a perfect arc. "What kind of woman do you want to marry then? A gold digger?" she uttered in a deep voice.

    I opened my mouth to defend Sam that she's not that kind of woman, but I immediately pursed them together.

    "Sam is history. I'll find someone else with whom you can give your approval." I shifted my eyes to Elvira, "except her."

    "I'm sorry, son, but the contract has been made. You have no choice but to accept the terms and conditions." Mom patted my cheek.

    If she isn't my mom, I already strangled her to death. I wish it were her who was gone, not dad, because dad puts me on top of everything. He puts my happiness on top of everything—the exact opposite of mom.

    Anyhow, I have no choice but to accept this and play along. This is the only way I can win Sam back. Let my mom think that I'm one hundred percent on board with her plans while doing something else behind her back.

    "Fine," I said, defeated.

    "Good boy." I cringed inwardly after hearing my mom's comment. She's treating me like a pet!

    "Thanks for inviting me here, Aunt Viola, I wish I could stay longer, but I really have to go. I have a commercial shoot."

    "It's okay, my dear. You may leave. And I'm glad to know that you like my son?" My mom's last sentence came out as a question. She wanted assurance.

    "Your son is heaven-sent, Aunt Viola. I don't mind marrying someone as perfect as him." Elvira closed the gap between us and planted a kiss on my cheek.

    "Catch you later, my love." I narrowed my eyes into a slit as I stared at Elvira, displaying a wicked grin.

    Her irritating aura just fueled my determination to complete my project as soon as possible and elope with Sam.

    Elvira turned to mom and gave each other a cheek-to-cheek kiss.

    "Take care, sweetheart," mom told Elvira warmly.

    "I will," she replied, then she veered her head in my direction and gave me a wink before she carried on walking out of my new office.

    "You planned everything, did you?" I questioned mom when Elvira was entirely out of my sight.

    "I told that woman not to go near my building, so how could I plan everything? I said it pretty loud so you could hear it. Didn't I?" Mom smirked.

    Mom had a point, and that fact also made me more proud of Sam. She faced my mom fearlessly and kept her dignity intact.

    "I'll make it up to you, Sam. I promise." I vowed in my head.

    "A coincidence. I see," I murmured.

    "Definitely. And I'm glad it happened, and that low-life gold digger saw everything. Now she knows that a woman like her has no place in your life. In our world rather." Mom's mean words are really breaking my heart because I couldn't defend Sam. What kind of man am I? 

    Well, I will endure it for now. I have to! But I won't let her, and anyone else criticize the woman I love anymore when the right time comes. I'll make sure she'll take back everything she said and choke on her own words. I'll make her beg for Sam's forgiveness. That's a promise!

    "I'll start the preparation for your inauguration as the new CEO of LDC. We will do it three days from now," mom continued and patted my cheek once again. She loves doing that to me whenever she is doing or has already decided something for me. It was her way of showing how inferior I am compared to her. That I am just her child, and she is my mother.

    "I'll leave everything in your hands then," I accepted, faking a smile.

    "You sure know that mommy knows what's best for you."

    Mom's face brightened up, and she kissed me on the forehead like she used to do when I was a kid. Of course, those days were different. Before, it was a kiss from a loving mother, but now, I see it as a kiss of someone valuing her possession that she will sell for a high price.

    "I have to go and meet Elvira's father. After your inauguration, I'll be very busy taking care of our new business, so I'm leaving everything in your hands. Don't screw up." she added.

    "Don't worry, mom. I'm your son, remember?" Mom searched my face before she nodded to agree.

    "Take care, mom," I added, without prying for further information.

    I didn't know what she was planning until she invited Elvira Hansley today to her office and called me at the exact time to tell me that she was leaving LDC in my hand.

    I thought I was the only one making a move discreetly, but it looks like my mom was moving ahead of me, plotting a future for me secretly that leads to achieving her agenda.

    I gave mom a goodbye kiss on the cheek, making her leave my new office happy and satisfied.

    Frustrated, I flopped on the couch and ran my hands through my hair.

    These changes will eat so much of my time and may delay my plans.

    I know I'm my mother's successor, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon.

    I need to find a way to watch over Sam without her or my mom knowing it. I need someone I can trust to do it for me.

    I pressed my back on the couch and crossed my arms over my chest while thinking of the best candidate. I can't ask any of my friends, that's for sure. They might end up hitting on Sam instead of taking care of her for me. I need a person who I see as a brother and vice versa.

    "That's it!" I sprung up from the sofa and rushed to the desk, where I dropped my phone when Elvira attacked me. 

    I picked up my cell phone and dialed my cousin's number, who I grew up with and was very dear to me.

    His phone rang twice before he picked up. "Hey, Jason! Are you nearby?" I asked anxiously.

    "What kind of question is that, Steve? You know that I'm always nearby. Our buildings are opposite each other. And what's with the rush, man? You didn't even bother to check how I am." Jason laughed on the other line.

    I buried my hand in my pocket. "I always know you're okay. Plus, there's nothing much new about you. It's either you are at work or busy with models." I teased. 

    "Are you trying to say that my life is boring? Ouch, man!" he said playfully.

    Talking to Jason always helps make me feel better, but I would feel much better if he could help me with my problem.

    "Jason, I need to ask you a favor. Please, you have to help me, or else I will lose the woman that I love." I desperately begged him, ignoring his joke. 

    I was expecting Jason to laugh at my hopeless romantic statement, but to my surprise, he didn't.

    "Tell me what to do," he answered instantly in a serious tone.

    "For real?!" I double-checked if I heard him correctly.

    "This is the first time you asked me to help you in protecting your girl. She must be different from the previous women you dated. This must be serious," he emphasized.

    I marched to the window and watched the gloomy sky.

    "You're right, Jason. Sam is totally different. And I've never been this sure about a woman. She's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with—no one else but her." I'm thankful to have a cousin like Jason. Even though I wasn't blessed with a sibling, God blessed me with a cousin to grow up with like a brother. And he's the only person in our family who can understand me and support me with my decisions. But when we finished college, mom forbade me to hang out a lot with him. She said he's a bad influence. We seldom see each other after that, but we never missed a day to check on each other.

    "She just left my office. Use your tech expertise to find her. Once you find her..." I paused, distracted by the sudden fall of heavy rain, "...please take good care of her. Keep her safe from my mom and update me. Then later today, let's meet up to discuss details on how we are going to pull this off." I instructed.

    "Consider it done," Jason said with conviction.

    "Thank you, Jason. I owe you."

    "I haven't done anything yet. And you don't have to thank me. We're family," he replied in a scolding tone.

    "By the way, do I need to tell her that you sent me?" he added.

    "Don't. Not yet. Let me just fix the problem with my mom first before we tell her. I will speak to her personally as soon as I get a chance. On the other hand, I want you to tell her how good I am if the situation permits." For sure, Sam hates me, but if Jason would say something nice and defend me in front of her wisely, it may alleviate the bitterness in her heart. 

    "Alright, man. Well, I need to hang up now to find your girl. I'll update you ASAP once I locate her," he said.

    "Thanks, man. I'll wait for your update," I replied and ended the call. 

    I opened my photo gallery, tapped on Sam's album, and sent Jason Sam's picture in her uniform, displaying the same smile she offered me the first time I met her.

    When I met Sam at Aromi Café, I knew immediately she was the one for me. That's why I hid her from everyone and started building a future for us somewhere else. Somewhere far. Unfortunately, no matter how careful I was, mom still found out. My mother will really do everything to keep me in her palm.

    Since my father died and my mom took over the business, she started treating me as a business investment rather than a son.

    She never approved of any women I dated because they weren't the kind of family she was looking for to help her with her future business plans.

    "Why did you give me a mother like her?" I muttered out loud, staring at the grim weather, with Sam's memory filling my mind.

    I hope it clicked Sam's mind that this situation is hurting both of us, not just her. This is more difficult for me because I'm breaking the heart of the woman I treasured the most—the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.

    "Samantha Bartley, you must be thinking that I have already given up on you, but you're wrong," I told the dreary sky.

    Jason is the key to winning Sam's heart back and making her believe that I haven't forsaken her.

    Trust me again, Sam. Trust me!