The next day by 5am, I left the house with some luggage I could take.
I did not text Ryan about my sudden move to another state because I did not want to see how sad he would look when I informed him. Besides, I was just going away for a while until I figured out a way to escape the marriage. My plan was to inform everyone about my whereabouts after my supposed wedding date.
I called a random taxi, and was picked up in a few minutes. On a normal day, I would have called my personal driver to pick me up. But I did not want my Parents, Alexander or anyone else to know where I was going. After all, my plan was to disappear for a while.
The taxi's meter ticked, and I felt very uncomfortable. My stomach churned, a frantic butterfly trapped in a cage of ribs. Had I made a terrible mistake? Leaving like this, in the dead of night, felt reckless, impulsive. But the alternative – staying, suffocating under the weight of my unspoken resentments towards my Parents's suffocating expectations – felt far worse. It was better I left.
The taxi driver must have noticed how uncomfortable I felt because he kept looking at me as though he wanted to ask me if there was any problem, but he said nothing. I was happy about that.
The city blurred past the taxi window, my mind, however, was far from the urban landscape. It was a chaotic thought of "what ifs" and "should haves." What if Ryan hates me for running away? I could not stop the marriage, and that was already hurting him a lot. But I was doing this for us. I was disappearing and ghosting everyone because I wanted to be free from my parents and Alexander. If this plan worked then I and Ryan would work. He would understand that, right?
What if I regretted running away? I was not a stubborn child and had never rebelled against my parents. While I did not agree with everything they said, I would sometimes do things they would not like without them knowing. However, I did not want to be sneaky about Ryan - I loved him and wanted to love him openly. I wanted everyone to know he was mine, and I didn't want Alexander in the picture. What if I couldn't make it work? What if I was making the biggest mistake of my life?
Crazy, half-formed and illogical thoughts rushed through my mind like startled birds. I imagined Ryan frantically searching for me, because I had blocked him on all social media, alongside Alexander and my parents.
I saw myself, a month from now, looking back on this moment with either profound relief or crushing regret. I even pictured myself, absurdly, becoming a fugitive, forever on the run from a life I could not escape. The absurdity of it all only heightened my anxiety, a strange feeling of extreme fear and exhilaration. This was it. This was my escape. And whether it was a flight to freedom or a one-way ticket to disaster, only time would tell.
All my thoughts did not change my mind. Each time I thought about Ryan or my dad getting mad at me,I remember what Vivian said to me.
"Olivia, you're the smartest and most independent woman I know. Don't allow men to deeply affect whatever you choose to do with your life."
I had to live life for me, and not for another person.
When we got to the airport, the taxi driver helped to remove my luggage from his car, and I thanked him.
I opened my phone to check the ticket that I had booked. I had paid for the flight at an insane price because it was a last-minute decision, and I was the second to the last person to book a seat.
I rolled my box to my entry, but I was stopped.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I froze as my heart raced quickly as I heard the voice behind me.
Have you ever wished that thieves stopped you on the road instead of someone that you disliked?
That was how I felt at this very moment. I wished it was anyone but that particular person. Alexander.
"Olivia, you can't escape from me", he said.
I turned slowly to him. It was as though I was in a movie.
"How did you know where I was?", I asked.
"Cancel your flight, Olivia. Let's prepare for the masquerade ball, we'll talk then", Alexander said, ignoring my question as usual.
"Did you follow me?", I asked.
My heart throbbed even harder. I felt like I was going to get a panic attack. My plan of running away and disappearing was about to crumble because of this enigmatic man.
"I did what I had to do. You on the other hand make crazy decisions. Where do you think you're going?", he asked.
His voice was laced with so much concern, and I wondered what exactly he was concerned about. He did not like me. His family was more powerful than mine. Then why couldn't he just call this wedding off? I was not a rebel, but I bet he was. What was stopping him from travelling?
I scoffed. "You're impossible and you're crazy! Leave me alone Alexander. I am not begging you for a compliment. I am leaving you alone, so do me a favour and leave me alone as well."
"I can't leave you alone Olivia. I wish I could, but I can't", he said.
He took a step toward me, but I stepped back. I could not let him get too close. My face flushed with embarrassment as I remembered him pressing me against the wall, his body close to mine, breathing in my ear and turning me on. That memory quickly turned to anger. He had made me cry.
"Alexander, we aren't compatible. Please we can't be together. I know if you rebel–"
"Who said we aren't compatible?"he asked, interrupting me.
He took two quick steps toward me, and I did not realize it in time. When I tried to step back, I almost tripped, but he caught me by the wrist.
"Let go of my hand", I shouted, pulling free.
Alexander let go immediately probably because he did not want to alert people that were around at the airport.
"Let's go back and talk this out", he said.
I laughed maniacally.
"Didn't you hear what I said Alexander? We aren't compatible. I don't want to be with you. You kill and you destroy things. Everything about you screams dangerous. You involve yourself in lots of illegal activities, yet you manage to make yourself look righteous to the public eye. You even killed Mia's parents and made her your personal assistant. What sane person does that?", I said.
Alexander's face darkened, and I noticed his bodyguards somewhere behind him. I had not noticed them before.
"I will advise you to stop saying all that", Alexander said, darkly.
I wanted to tell him that I would say whatever I wanted, but I had said enough. I had even said what I was not supposed to say, and I was afraid that he would hurt Mia. So, I said nothing.
"What else did Mia say to you?", he asked.
His voice sent chills down my spine negatively. This was definitely the voice of a man who could take the lift of a person.
"Why do you ask? You want to kill–"
"Keep quiet Olivia. There are people around", Alexander said, his voice strained.
I got kind of scared. It was as though he was restraining himself from doing something bad.
I had to admit that I was overreacting. We were in a public place and were somewhat popular, so if someone saw us discussing something illegal and took a picture or video, it would lead to false speculation. I could not let anyone speculate about me doing or saying anything negative with Alexander. If possible, I did not want him in my life at all - no association, positive or negative.
"Please Alexander, pretend like you never knew I ran away. On the bright side, you get to be with all your other women", I pleaded.
If I could not win over Alexander by arguing, then maybe I could beg, right?
I added that he could have other women, but not me, though saying that did not feel good. I had no idea why I felt something weird in my stomach.
"Look, if this was about me taunting you, I didn't realise that I took things too far. Of course you don't need to beg or ask for a compliment. You're beautiful", Alexander said calmly.
I froze at his little speech. He had just said that I was beautiful without a stutter. I was not even looking my best, but he called me beautiful. I knew better than to romanticise his little speech, but it did feel good.
"Just come with me to the masquerade ball, let's talk. If you still feel that you want to leave for another state after the masquerade ball, I will let you go, and I will not tell anyone about your whereabouts. I promise", he said.
It was going to be foolish of me to blindly believe that Alexander was going to keep to his word. He did not seem like a man to play fairly at a game.
His offer was tempting despite his arrogance. I was curious about what he had planned for me at the masquerade ball. Initially, I had planned to disappear after the ball, but I decided to run away because I could not tolerate his disrespect. Now, I had the option to still leave after the ball, as there was no reason to go through with the wedding after something as trivial as a masquerade ball.
Maybe this was my chance to finally be with Ryan with Alexander's help. If he decided to be a man of his word, I could easily leave the State for a month or two, and after my parents are done with their angry stage, they would probably leave me alone, and when it is safe enough I would tell Ryan to join me where I was. But if Alexander decided to not be a man of his word, I would look for a different way to sneak out of the house. The bottom line was that I was not going to stay over my Parents roof anymore. Never again. And I was definitely not going to marry Alexander.