I Do Series: Betrothed

Chapter 3

Andrea heaved a deep sigh for the nth time as she stared at the door of her mother’s office in their house. She remained standing there for almost three minutes while contemplating if she should talk to her or not.

“Mom?” she called out for her mom as she gently knocked on the wooden door. “Can I talk to you for a second?” she continued when she decided to open the door despite her hesitation.

“Mom,” she called once again, but her mother was engrossed working on her laptop.

“What is it?” Therese, her mom, asked indifferently while continuing her work.

Once again, Andrea inhaled and exhaled as she gathered her strength to ask her mother a favor.

“Mom, can you convince Grandma and Grandpa to cancel the engagement?” she pleaded.

Therese's eyes then shifted in her direction and glared at her as if she asked the most stupid question she could ask.

“Do you really think you can change your grandfather’s decision?” Therese asked her; more likely, she was stating a fact that had been long engraved in Andrea’s mind.

“But, Mom-”

“It’s better if you accept what they want rather than trying to go against it,” her mother cut her off.

Andrea’s heart sank deeper into the depth of despair with her mother’s advice. She knew that it wouldn’t be easy for her to ask them a favor, but she never thought that it would be to this extent. She felt the cold air run through her skin as she stared blankly at her mother, who was still busy working.

She tried to open her mouth a few times to try her luck, once again. But, before she could utter a single word, she immediately backed out as she pictured out in her head what her mother would possibly say.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?” her mother asked her when Therese saw her still standing near the door.

“I’m going now. Sorry for disturbing you, Mom,” she immediately apologized as she felt the urgency to step out immediately before her mother got mad.

“You better drop the idea of asking your father or grandmother. You should focus on your obligations and be a good grandchild for them,” her mother started before Andrea could open the door. “There’s nothing for you to lose when you marry Alexander. Instead, it will benefit both families, so be good, and do as you are told to do,” her mother added indifferently.

Andrea gulped down the lump in her throat while she blinked her eyes to stop the waters piling up in her eyes from dropping down.

“Yes, Mom. I understood,” she responded before she stepped out of the room and headed towards her bedroom.

As if on cue, her tears fell like a waterfall as soon as she stepped inside her room. Her mother’s cold treatment is not new to her, and in fact, she’s already used to it. But, the way her mother tells her to accept the future they want for her hurts more than that. It's like bricks kept falling into her rather than the knives stabbing her chest every time her mother spoke coldly to her.

“Maybe you’re right, Alexander,” she mumbled. “I am their doll, who will do what they want just to please them and get their love.”

ONE WEEK later, while Alexander was busy signing and reviewing the pile of documents on his table, the door of his office burst open. He immediately puts down the paper he is holding and turns to see who opened the door. His eyes twitched as soon as he saw his grandparents step inside.

“Grandma, Grandpa,” he mumbled as he stood up to welcome them.

But as soon as she reached near them, he received a smack on his shoulder from his grandfather.

“Didn’t we tell you to clear your schedule today?” his grandfather asked as the old man sat at one of the sofas in his spacious office.

“Didn’t I already tell you too, Grandpa? That I'm afraid, I have to disagree with that engagement. And, I won’t get married, no matter what you say. Besides, my schedule is already full until next month,” Alexander said as he took his seat on the sofa across from his grandfather.

“You brat!” the old man exclaimed as he leaned forward, ready to smack him again. Thanks to his wife, who’s still fast and strong enough to stop him from doing so.

“Can’t you please consider it, darling?” Alexander’s grandmother asked him. “We know that Andrea will be a good wife for you. She has an excellent family background, and she’s the kind of daughter-in-law that every family would want. It’s perfect. Besides, you’re still single, just like her. So what’s wrong with marrying her?”

Alexander exhaled as he leaned forward, leaning his elbow in his thighs. He can already feel his ear bleeding from the ongoing talk about his engagement with the Servante’s heir, Andrea Servante. Both her parents and grandparents keep asking him to accept and cooperate for the wedding planning after that dinner.

“Grandma, no matter how many times you persuade me. I really can’t. I don’t want to get married, okay?” he pleaded to the old lady. “Aren’t our families close enough? We’ve been working with them ever since you and Grandpa established Zamora International Line. And, look at where we are now, we are not only shipping cargo’s, we also have our outliner that ships vehicles. So why do I need to marry Andrea? Can’t you just cancel that agreement?”

“You’ll marry her, or you’ll step down from your current position?” Mr. Alejandro asked him in a warning tone that shook not only his grandson but also his wife.

Alexander immediately rose from his seat and stared at the older man with wide eyes and an open mouth. 

“Grandpa!” Alexander exclaimed. “You can’t do that,” he strongly disagreed. “That’s going low, Grandpa. Is that how much you want me to marry her? You’re ready to take my position away in exchange for marrying her?” he asked, still in shock and a state of in-denial at his grandfather’s statement.

“Yes, I can. And, that’s not only what I can take away from you if you continue declining this marriage,” Mr. Alejandro warned him again.

“You must be joking, right?” Alexander asked as he stared at his grandfather. His eyes are asking for confirmation and begging that it must be a joke.

“Do I look like someone joking to you?” Mr. Alejandro asked him. “I’m warning you. I’m serious about this agreement. And I’m ready to take everything back that you have until you come crawling and accept the engagement.”

“No, you can’t do that, Grandpa,” he disagrees as he stares back at the old man who was sitting comfortably on the sofa. His arms were resting on the soft armrest while his back was leaning perfectly on the soft couch.

They both stare into each other, and no one is backing down and, at the same time, measuring each other's resolve.

Meanwhile, at the Servante’s household, Andrea mastered her resolve to ask her parents again to cancel the engagement. She would rather have Augustine as her groom. Rather than marrying someone without any romantic feelings. And she's willing to be the antagonist between Augustine and his girlfriend as long as she can be with the man she has secretly loved for almost six years now.

She already prepared her heart, mind, and ears for all the words her mother might throw at her once she asked for their favor. Having an earful of hurtful words is more than satisfactory as long as she could stop them from proceeding with their plans for her wedding with Alexander. The wedding where both bride and groom are against each other.

She exhaled deeply and gently slapped her cheeks as she got herself ready to open the door of her father’s study room. She saw her mother following her father in his study room a while ago. And for one last time, she exhaled and mentally cheered herself up before opening the door.

But, the door is not yet wide open when she already felt that she shouldn’t have done that. She shouldn’t open the door that leads her to a dark pathway to another despair that shakes her entire world and shatters her heart into a million pieces. If her mother’s treatment towards her was like knives stabbing her chest, her words are like tons of bricks falling into her and shattering her confidence. What she has heard now is much more than that. As if it was a cargo ship loaded with containers that hit her. She felt her knees trembling, and her tears were about to fall, but she couldn't move a single inch away from the door. It was like she was glued to the door as she heard her parents' voices.