Chapter 1

"Clang... clang..." Caroline's older sister's screams clashed with the objects she threw. Jane was crying, angry, and rebellious.

"Stop, Jane... stop. Let me talk to your father. You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Her mother's shrill voice was trying to find a way to get her beloved daughter to lower her emotions.

The mother's words were answered with high-pitched screams, but the words were not clear. It was mixed with tears, anger, and overflowing emotions.

Caroline was trying to find out what was happening. She sneaked into the kitchen to askTamini and Linda about what her sister and mother were arguing about.

The two housemaids who were also her carers were equally restless. They could only shake their heads.

The slamming and rage could still be heard from above. In her sister's room on the second floor right next to hers. Caroline didn't dare to go up. She intended to get away from the noise by walking towards the back balcony.

Her steps stopped at her father's office door. It seemed like he was inside. Why wasn't he trying to stop her sister's rage? Why was he staying quiet here? She slowly pushed the slightly open door. Caroline was very hesitant, but unfortunately, she couldn't ignore her family's turmoil.

"Father." Caroline called out to the man still wearing his work suit, long-sleeved shirt, and tie in matching colors. Her father immediately turned his office chair, facing away from Caroline, trying to tidy himself up, and then turned back with a forced smile, seeming tense.

"Are you okay?" Caroline's question made her father feel relieved. The man was digging his mind out, and he was sure he was going to be asked "what happened?". Apparently, his daughter was asking about his condition.

"Just a little messy." Mr Hale, Caroline's father, answered. Once again, he forced himself to smile.

"Can you help calm this chaos?" Caroline asked sincerely. Mr Hale just shook his head.

Caroline understood that as a signal for her father not to be disturbed. She tried to back away. Slowly leaving this heartbreaking room.

"Wait, Caroline." Her father's voice sounded desperate, calling her who was almost disappearing behind the door. Caroline stopped in her tracks. She returned to the room and sat in front of her father's desk.

"Now, how old are you?" Before Caroline could answer, her father continued, "I'm sorry for being too busy with work that I forgot how old my daughter is." Mr Hale continued. Caroline smiled to calm her father.

"20 years old, Dad." Caroline replied. Her father wiped his face with both palms indicating he was very anxious.

"I don't want to burden you, but if your sister doesn't want to. I can only ask for your help." The man took a deep breath.

"Do you want to get married?" Her father asked a question that she never imagined before. Caroline raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I knows that lately, you've been attending several startup seminars. I'm very proud of you. I also knows that it means you don't have any plans to get married soon." Her father gradually explained.

"Is this what makes my sister angry?" Caroline asked for an explanation.

"I'm ashamed to say yes. But that's the truth."

"Why should one of us get married?" Caroline was still confused. Was it because her brother didn't get married, so her sister had to get married as soon as possible, or more extreme, was she going to be married at the age of 20?

"This is my mistake... I made an unreasonable deal, and suddenly they demanded it." Mr Hale looked like a mess. Between regret, shame, and losing authority.

"Promise? What kind of promise, Dad?" Caroline, a second-year college student, was still so innocent in understanding the hustle and bustle of life.

Her father convinced himself to explain the situation that existed. The situation that made Jane angry and was part of the past that led their family to get this far.

…

There was a sudden move to a luxurious house, and a rapidly expanding delivery business. Mr Hale was not the full owner of the business, and only held 30% of the shares as a pioneer and director. The actual owner was Marcos Group, who was also Mr Hale's boss before Caroline was born. At that time, Mr Hale was only Mr. Williams Marcos personal assistant, but his reliability and loyalty made him a person Mr. Marcus trusted greatly.

Mr Hale was just an ordinary university graduate, but he grew rapidly under the shadow of Mr. Marcus, the CEO of Marcus Group. His discipline and honesty when accompanying Mr. Marcus made Mr. Marcus trust him more. Once, when Mr Hale had to replace him in a presentation, the result was promising. Mr. Marcus's personal assessment of him led to him being entrusted with running DM delivery.

Almost all the vice presidents and shareholders opposed Mr. Marcus's policies. But who could oppose him? Mr. Marcus was the sole heir and the largest shareholder of Marcus Group. When the personal handover of power took place between the two of them, Mr Hale and Mr. Marcus, for the first time Mr Hale saw Mr. Marcus as a regular person. A person who could show deep sadness. He had never seen him show any weak or sad expression before. Mr. Marcus regretted not being stricter with his daughter's poor choice of spouse. His only daughter, and the heir of the Djoyodiningrat family, ended up with a cowardly man who left her when she was pregnant. Now, she had returned with her son who was already five years old. For six years, his beloved daughter did not study properly in America. Jennifer Marcus had spent her time in America taking care of her son.

Marcus wished he could be angry, but the man who was infamous for being harsh to his undisciplined subordinates had become soft and broken when it came to his daughter. Mr. Marcus regretted not marrying Jennifer off sooner, not sending her a bodyguard or at least a guard while she was abroad. He wasn't even suspicious of his daughter. Such was his regret that he did not even want to recognize the blue-eyed child, his grandson.

To soothe his broken heart, Marcus ambitiously demanded his trusted assistant to hand over one of his daughters. The DM delivery project was promised to Mr Hale, guaranteeing his life, his children's education, and the growth of his children under Marcus's personal doctor's supervision.

…

Caroline could not say a word as she stepped out of her father's despair. Her mind wandered around the events that her family had gone through. The intense doctor who came to keep our health in check, the luxurious house, complete with competent servants, and the DM delivery company which could even provide individual personality classes for her and her siblings. Everything that her father had said had been proven true.

Caroline stood in front of her sister's door. The sound of anger was replaced by heart-wrenching sobs. Caroline gathered the courage to hug her sister, who sobbed harder. Eventually, Jane fell asleep.

Slowly but surely, Caroline arranged the scattered items in her sister's bedroom, her mind wandering as she searched for a solution to this situation. Eventually, she gave up, not knowing what to do. She could not convince her sister to change her mind, who planned to marry next year after graduating from her Master's degree. Jane already had a boyfriend, Michael, whom she has been with since high school. Their relationship was hidden from their father, who was furious every time he saw one of his daughters getting close to a man. Michael had been introduced to the family before but ended up with their father's anger. Perhaps his reason was related to the planned marriage.

Caroline now realized that Jane must be devastated. Love that was blocked is always painful. Although Caroline had never experienced it before, she could imagine that Jane and Michael's perfect match would end in a sad ending. Their love story was full of struggle and secrecy from their family. They would often use Caroline as a cover, such as when they watched movies together, Jane would tell their parents that she watched it with Caroline to hide their secret.

As the servants came to clean up the room, Caroline continued to tidy up the scattered items, not allowing the servants to do the job. She spent the night unable to sleep. The next day, Caroline returned home from campus quickly, hoping to comfort her sister. Unfortunately, Jane chose to lock herself in her room, while their mother paced outside the room occasionally.

"Where's Dad, Mom?" Caroline asked. She didn't see her father.

"He went to meet the family. Pray that he can cancel this." Oops, Caroline's mother was shocked by her own words. She shouldn't have told Caroline. Caroline took her mother's hand.

"Mom, I already know everything. Dad told me." Caroline's words were met with her mother's teary eyes. And the two women hugged each other in tears.

***

The house became even more dreary when Caroline's father arranged a marriage with the Marcus family. Caroline's older brother, Stanley, knew what was happening. There were constant fights between her father and older brother.

Her father couldn't cancel the arranged marriage. Meanwhile, her sister Jane was now in the hospital. After her bedroom door was successfully opened, Jane still didn't want to eat. The IVs that were connected to her were removed several times. Jane was determined to have her own way with their father.

If her sister continued like this, it would only get worse. Caroline initiated to keep her sister calmer. In the evening, Caroline thought that no one would come to the hospital to take care of Jane except herself.

Caroline asked Michael to come. Michael quickly answered Caroline's request. The partner hugged and cried, and Jane's tears made Caroline emotional too. Caroline's tears flowed when she heard her sister's gratitude. Micheal was very patient and managed to persuade Jane to eat. The scene was heartbreaking.

Caroline wondered if they could ever be separated. They had been together for nine years, trying not to let their family, especially their father, know about their relationship. Caroline stepped out of Jane's hospital room to get some fresh air in the hospital garden.

Did she have enough courage to replace her sister and solve the never-ending tension in her family? Her father seemed helpless. Her mother only cried. Her older brother Stanley was always angry with their father, without any solution.

She pondered for almost two hours when the phone ringing caught her attention. There was chaos on the other end. Caroline ran as fast as she could towards her sister's room. Some hospital staff members tried to stop her father's anger.

"Oh my God, my father must have found Jane and Micheal."

Her mother helped to calm her father down. Her father was still yelling and tried to chase Micheal. The security staff dragged her father away from the hospital. Of course, the staff had to carry out their duties between securing the hospital's peace and dragging their VIP customers.

Jane still held Micheal's hand tightly, asking him not to leave her. Jane threatened to harm herself if their father kept forcing her. Everything was in chaos. Jennifer stood there with the nurses. She didn't know what to do.

A nurse came out. "I'm sorry, Jennifer. I could barely hear your voice. I understand everything. Thank you for asking Micheal to come." The sibling gradually calmed down.

Micheal looked disheveled, but he understood the situation. He was needed, and he should have been there from the beginning. He decided to leave respectfully, even though it meant breaking someone's heart.

"If you back away, I'll commit suicide."

Jane silenced everyone. Even the walls felt like they were closing in on Caroline. She walked away from the couple and went to her parents. In their search, her parents looked out of the large glass window towards the outside, from the 7th floor of the house. Her mother didn't realize that Caroline was getting closer.

"Dad doesn't need to do that. He's not guilty." Her mother's voice was faint.

"What? A promise is a promise. Are you brave enough to challenge our family?" Her father's words sounded bitter.

Caroline's voice was like a code, and her parents looked at her simultaneously. "Let me replace Jane's position. Let me fulfill our father's arranged marriage promise," she said, her voice shaking. She didn't know what would happen. However,

seeing her parents together made Caroline feel like they had promised to protect her without saying a word.