Chapter 5. She Is the one

"Mom..." Charles finally approached his mother, hugging her while she smiled at him and said, "Charles, you haven't answered my question yet. I was waiting for you to return home first so that we can have our dinner together as a family."

"Good evening, Mom," Charles greeted his mother, hugging her and walking with her towards the dining room.

He replied, "She's the one, Mom. She's very pretty too."

"Hmm," First Lady Kira Alejandro smiled, watching as Charles pulled a dinner chair out for her to sit down first. She sat down elegantly, continuing to watch her handsome son as he took the chair next to her at the dining table.

He replied, "Mom, she's the one and she's very cute. Where did you see her photo? I really do like her."

"Mm," First Lady Kira Alejandro smiled, watching as the maids stepped out of the kitchen and walked up to the dining table to serve dinner. They served the delicious meals while President Nolan Alejandro was away at a presidential meeting.

First Lady Kira smiled and finally replied to Charles, "Your father made it known to some of his cabinet members that he was looking for a bride for you. He wanted to know if any of them had pretty daughters you might like."

"Thanks, Mom. I really do like Nancy, but..." Charles trailed off, remembering how Nancy had run away from him.

His mother asked, "But what, Charles?"

First Lady Kira frowned as she watched her only son acting nervously. She waited for the maids to finish serving dinner and leave before she asked again, "Charles, do you want us to cancel the wedding? It's in two days, and you cannot embarrass your father and me in public, in front of all our prominent guests."

"I know, Mom, but Nancy ran away from me when I went to welcome her home. It's embarrassing," Charles confessed, covering his face with his hands at the memory. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but smile as he recalled the seductive sway of Nancy's hips as she ran.

His mother, however, did not find his revelation amusing. "What? Charles, how dare she run away from you? We need to cancel the wedding right now. Didn't her parents inform her that she was going to marry you? The wedding is tomorrow."

"No, Mother, you cannot call off the wedding," Charles refuted, leaving his mother aghast. "Don't tell me that you still want to go ahead and marry a woman who doesn't love you, Charles. I cannot allow that to happen," First Lady Kira added.

"I know, Mother, but you and father have always wanted me to marry. Now, I cannot change my choice. I understand Nancy's fears. She's marrying the president's son, she has to be scared," Charles reasoned, smiling sadly. His mother shook her head in disagreement, "No, Charles. She's supposed to be happy with you and glad that you've chosen her. Any other woman out there would have been thrilled to be chosen by you. How dare Nancy run away from you? Where's my phone? I need to have her arrested and dealt with immediately."

"No, Mother!" Charles interjected, startling his mother. "You cannot do that. If I don't marry Nancy, then I won't marry anyone else."

"What?" Mrs. Kira Alejandro was speechless, staring at her son in shock.

"No, Charles. This is not happening. I will find another bride for you. There are many other pretty women out there, even more attractive than Nancy."

"No, Mother. I want Nancy. I want to feel her love and warmth. I believe that with time, she will love me too," Charles insisted. "Just give Nancy some time, Mom. I'm truly in love and she will fall for me."

His mother's jaw dropped at his declaration. "Let's have our dinner, Mom, before it gets cold," Charles suggested.

"Okay, son," First Lady Kira agreed, silently blaming herself for choosing Nancy's photo first. She had seen plenty of photos of beautiful young women, all of whom would be thrilled to marry her son. Yet, she had been drawn to Nancy's photo and now regretted her choice. "If it wasn't for Charles' reputation as a womanizer, what would have given that girl the right to reject my son, let alone run away from him?" she wondered.

Charles finally broke her train of thought, "Mom, is everything alright?"

"Yes, Charles," First Lady Kira replied, deciding to have her personal assistant place a surveillance team on Nancy. She wanted a thorough background check on Nancy. There had to be a reason why she had rejected Charles.

After dinner, Charles was the first to leave the table. "Good night, Mom," he said, pecking his mother on the cheek before heading upstairs to his room.

Charles entered his bedroom, picked up Nancy's photo from the headboard, and kissed it. "So pink and lovely. I can't wait to have you as my wife, to be kissing these beautiful pink lips of yours every day," he said to the picture, smiling. However, his smile soon turned into a frown as he wondered why she had run away from him. "Maybe she has a boyfriend?" he thought.

Charles decided to hire a professional to monitor Nancy's activities. He dialed Stevo Bright, his head security man. "Hello Stevo," he said, "I want you to hire someone to monitor my bride-to-be. I need a 24/7 report of her activities."

"Anything else, boss?" Stevo asked.

"No, that's all," Charles replied, ending the call.

Charles sighed, looking at Nancy's photo. "I can't wait to have you as my bride in just two days. You'll be in my bed, moaning sweetly to my deeper thrust. Damn! I just hope she doesn't kill me before then."