CHAPTER 4: INVITATION
1132 Words
My mind went completely blank.
I looked from Czarina...to Franco...then back to the hand resting protectively over her stomach.
Suddenly, this wasn't just about an arranged marriage anymore. There was a child.
An innocent life that hadn't even been born yet.
And for the first time...saying no didn't feel as easy as it had yesterday.
I had imagined every possible reason Czarina might have for asking me.
Love.
Fear.
Desperation.
But never this.
A child changed everything. Suddenly I wasn't looking at an heiress trying to escape an arranged marriage.
I was looking at a woman who was about to become a mother.
And mothers didn't just run away for themselves.
They ran for the future they wanted their children to have.
It didn't make what she was asking right. But for the first time... I understood why she was willing to risk everything.
I started silently at Czarina. Nobody speaks.
Franco quietly watches the us two.
Then I finally took the courage and asked the obvious question.
"How far along are you?"
Czarina answered, "Three weeks."
"I told her not to ask you."
I looked at him.
He continues, "This isn't your responsibility."
I looked between the two of them.
"So that's it?" I asked quietly. "You disappear?"
Czarina nodded.
"We've been planning it for months."
Months.
While I had been serving coffee, worrying about rent and overtime, they had already been building an entirely different future.
Franco spoke for the first time since we'd sat down.
"I was offered a teaching position overseas a few months ago."
I looked at him.
"I turned it down at first." He smiled weakly. "I didn't want to leave without her."
Czarina reached for his hand.
"But after my grandfather moved the wedding..." Her voice trailed off.
"We realized staying wasn't an option anymore." Franco continued.
"The school still wants me. They said the offer remains open for another month."
"So we started preparing."
"Preparing?" I echoed.
He nodded.
"We already renewed our passports."
Czarina gave a small, almost guilty smile. "We've been selling some of my things too."
"The jewelry?"
She shook her head.
"The expensive ones would be traced. Just my paintings, the furniture, my car. Anything that wouldn't make my grandfather suspicious."
I stared at her. "You've really thought this through."
"We had to."
Silence settled between us.
"I've saved every paycheck for almost four years," Franco admitted. "It isn't much. But it's enough for us to survive until we can start over."
He looked at Czarina with a softness that made my chest ache.
"I don't need her inheritance. I just need her."
I glanced at Czarina. She was already looking at him.
The kind of look that only happened when someone made you feel safe.
For years, I'd watched businessmen chase Czarina because of her surname.
For a second...none of them looked afraid.
They looked like two people talking about a home they couldn't wait to build.
Then reality returned.
I looked at Czarina. "So why not leave now?"
The smile disappeared from her face.
"Because they'll find me."
She didn't hesitate.
"My passport is monitored. My bank accounts are monitored. My phone. My driver's license. Everything. My grandfather has people watching me."
Franco nodded once. "If she disappears before the wedding...they'll know immediately."
He stopped and held her hand gently. "They'll search every airport. Every hotel, every province. They'll eventually find us."
Czarina lowered her eyes. "But if the wedding happens..."
She swallowed. "Everyone will believe I'm living with my husband."
"They'll stop looking. And by the time they realize I'm gone...we'll already be in another country."
Silence settled over the room.
I finally understood.
This wasn't a reckless plan born overnight. It had taken months.
Every document. Every peso they had saved. Every goodbye they hadn't said yet.
Everything...depended on one impossible decision. Mine.
"Do you know what hurts the most?"
None of them answered.
"You already decided where you'll live. You already decided how you'll raise your child. You already decided what your future looks like." My voice shook.
"And somewhere along the way...you decided mine too." I laughed once.
It sounded empty.
"Did either of you stop and think what happens to me after all this? What if he finds out? What if I fall apart? What if I spend the rest of my life trapped in a marriage I never wanted?"
I looked at Czarina.
"You keep asking me to save your future." I stopped, hurting more that I had to ask her this. "But who saves mine?"
"Somewhere along the way...I became the price you were willing to pay." I smiled bitterly at them.
Truth stings.
I could feel my hands tremble as I tried my best to calm myself.
This is my life. Yet, they somehow managed to outline a plan for me—according to how they wanted to live theirs.
While I was left without almost no choice.
"You know what...forget about all this. Forget about what I said yesterday," Czarina spoke.
I looked away, still in disbelief. Then I stood up and leave, without a word.
There's no strength left. I just needed to be somewhere far from them.
I went home later than usual. Jeremy texted, asking if I was okay. He covered for my shift again.
And as much as I hated how my life has been compromised since yesterday, I can't also force myself to work.
Especially after having that conversation with Czarina and Franco.
I skipped every usual routine that I do and drown my thoughts in the shower.
Failed.
Because the moment water showered my head and body, thoughts of marrying Connor Luciano came rushing back in my mind.
Connor Luciano.
Even his name sounded authority and control.
I knew the name the same way everyone else did.
And his status? Definitely not something I wished to have.
How can I live with that?
All my life, I struggled alone. I strived alone. I anchored my life with my own decisions. Never once I asked for someone's opinion.
Now thinking about following his orders suffocates me.
I can't do that to myself.
His world is different than mine. If he knew I was fooling him, I'd be de*d.
And somehow...Czarina expected me to become his wife.
-
When I finished, I decided to take a walk in my neighbor.
The hallway was unusually quiet.
I reached into my mailbox without thinking. Mostly bills, a grocery flyer then...my fingers brushed against thick black paper.
I frowned.
It wasn't addressed like the others.
Heavy, expensive, deliberate. I pulled it out slowly.
Gold foil caught the hallway light. My heartbeat slowed.
Even before opening it...I already knew this wasn't ordinary mail.
My name had been written in elegant calligraphy.
Jade Summer.
Schuet & Luciano Family
Engagement Dinner
- Writer
