1/ NO GOING BACK!

"You can't do this to me...You just can't!" I snapped and ran my hands through my hair.

  My eyes stung with tears and my stomach twisted as I glared at that man I had been willing to walk down the aisle with.

The entire alliance had been fixed to ensure my family's fortune was secured.

After my father passed away two years ago, the only way for me to reclaim his properties from our hungry and desperate relatives was to get married before twenty-five.

My twenty-fifth birthday was just a month away and now, I found out that the man I was supposed to marry was a cheat.

I wrapped my arms around myself and refused to make eye contact with James.

He rested on the wall opposite me and ran his hands through his hair too many times for comfort;

I sighed.

So many thoughts were running through my mind.

The wedding was in two weeks. The engagement had already happened and now I found out that he had a wife and two kids somewhere in Manila — Yet he wanted to marry me as a second wife?

"I'm not that desperate James. No, I am not." I asserted and wiped my tears. I exited the room before he could say anything and bumped into Alicia.

"What's wrong?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows. I blinked at my sister and ran my hands through my hair.

I didn't want her to be involved in my issues. She was already struggling with her final year college exams and the pressure to start working at the company.

So, instead of gracing her with a response, I brushed past her and sprinted down the hall to my room.

I stuffed my face into my bed and let out muffled screams. I did not want this.

I did not want to get married, handle my father's empire, or get enter a lifelong relationship with my childhood friend who felt obligated to marry me because of the promise he made to my father even though he had a family of his own.

I stood up and walked toward my mirror. I would be a despicable person to accept a wedding like this. To accept to marry someone who was not even mine.

The only relationship that existed between James and me was friendship. Mother insisted that as time went by; Love would come. After all, it worked for her relationship with my Father.

But I was not my parents. I was not them. Yet, for some reason, everyone found it hard to accept that.

To accept that all I wanted to do was go back to Los Angeles and continue my career as a Psychologist.

I wanted my own identity and not to become a Mrs or someone's wife.

"Amber..."

"Stefan!" I shrieked. The sound of my dead brother's voice had always haunted me. Ever since he died. Ever since he jumped off that balcony and I was helpless.

My brother had taken his life six years ago. He was a war veteran. He couldn't take it anymore and it was at that point, I promised to never feel helpless and decided to study psychology.

But now, life was snatching my only chance at having something worthwhile and tangible in my life.

"Amber," I flinched but then realized it was just Alicia.

"What are you doing here?" I asked softly.

"The lawyer is here; They need you to sign the consent form to move ahead with the wedding." She informed me and I followed her casually.

As I took slow steps toward the study, where James and my mother were probably waiting. My eyes stung with tears and my skin crawled.

"This isn't what you want Ambie..."

"Stop speaking Stefan! I am trying to think here." I snapped at the voice in my head.

"She's here, let us start." Mother said with a wide smile. Her brown shoulder-length hair complemented her amber-green eyes.

I shifted from one foot to another and entered the room. I could taste the tension from where I stood and James did everything to avoid my gaze.

"These are the papers, sign here;" The lawyer, Mr. Golden, My father's best friend for over thirty years spoke. I remembered adoring the man as a child, but ever since these marriage proceedings started, I dreaded meeting him.

Mother collected the pen hastily from Mr. Gorden and handed it over to me. "Alright, do it honey." She urged with a sweet smile.

I clasped the pen within my grip and made eye contact with James who looked away. My eyes stung with tears. It felt like I was about to give it all away.

My career. My rights. My entire life and Identity.

"Did you know James had another family?" I blurted out and locked eyes with my mother. She sucked in a sharp breath.

"Focus on signing, sweetheart." She urged again.

She knew.

Suddenly, the pressure that had built up in my chest loosened. My fists tightened and the edges of my lips curled downward.

My grip on the pen almost crushed it and I glanced between them both. A familiar feeling pierced every fiber of my being.

It was the same feeling I felt when Stefan jumped off his balcony.

The same one I had felt when my father died in the hospital.

The feeling of betrayal because no one cared to inform me; Yet now, they wanted me to take the mantle and save this family who had never truly loved or cared for me.

Making a quick, impulsive decision — I pushed the papers aside and slammed the pen to the ground.

My mother gasped and James took a step forward.

"Don't —Don't you even dare James."

"Do not make this mistake, or you will lose your entire family." Mother threatened.

"This family was never mine, to begin with, and for the record," I paused and licked my lip. "There won't be a wedding." I finished.

I spared them all a final glance before I stormed out of the study and straight to the exit of my home.

Now that I was out, there was no going back.