"It's the only thing we can do, YN! I've been thinking about it and there's no other way out of this! We have to do it..."
"But Jacob, can't we just stand for our love! Running away is too dangerous and I don't wanna hide 'cause it feels like we're doing something bad which we aren't!"
"I know, love, I know..." Jacob said to you.
"Let's go together to my father and just tell him about us and that we want to get married and that we love each other so much... I'm sure he'll understand and-" he cut you off.
"YN, I've known your father for how long.. ever since I remember myself! Our fathers have been working together for like years and we know him very well, he won't agree!"
"But we can try at least..." you felt your eyes become wet.
"NO, it will only get worse! He might lock you up or something." he put his hands on my cheeks "YN, if this happens, he'll keep a close watch over you and we won't be able to run away! Now, tell me, am I not right?"
"You are.." he was. You knew your father very well and the things he was capable of doing when he had planned something, there was no force that could stop him. He'd rather make the planet spin the opposite way but fulfill his plans and desires.
"Now listen to me... We have to start taking money! We're gonna need it when we escape. No credit cards just cash!" you nodded your head. "Take as much as you can from your family, pack your jewelry too and I'm gonna do the same thing. We're gonna wait for the right moment and then.... we'll only pray the wind will be on your side!" you smiled at him. His eyes were shining.
"It will be! I know it."
"It's gonna be only me and you... no one else. No one will know where we are! Then, we'll get married and have a family on your own!"
"And my dream will come true!"
"Mine too!" you kissed.

Your dream. Your only dream ever since you were 15.

You and Jacob grew up together since your fathers were business partners they would often meet, like a family meeting, where you bring the kids too and they play together.... but in your case you didn't only play, you also fell in love. This love grew and grew and grew bigger every day, every minute and every second of your life. The only thing you wanted in this world was to marry Jacob and start a family with him.

Maybe this would have been possible a month ago before your father met this man who became his new business partner. The only thing he'd talk about is how rich his new friend was, and how they were gonna make a lot of money together and how he needed to make the bond with him stronger.

That's when your life turned upside down. You loved your dad very much but didn't understand him sometimes. He had his company and a stable business he was taking care of really well. And that was the problem... he'd only think about his business, how to make it bigger and how to make more money.

It was the same with Jacob's father. They were good friends who would work hard for the well being of their families until your dad met this man. He cut all his business and personal relationships with Jacob's father and family, and replaced them with his new "friend". The last thing he needed was you telling him that you're in love with his ex business partner's son! He was gonna go crazy! Jacob's dad would do the same!

He wouldn't agree with your relationship with Jacob not only because of the fact that the two fathers were something like enemies now but also because he had another plans for you. He wanted you to get to know his new business partner better and eventually marry him because according to him, he was the best husband! Yes, that was the strong bond your father wanted to create between him and that man. But why did he have to use you? It's not like we're living years ago when all the marriages were arranged like this!

The worst was, there was nothing you could do! Your dad was not someone you could say 'no' to and when he had plans or wanted something, it was the law. Your mother shared his opinion. You didn't know what was with that new business partner but were sure he was the devil! You parents were suffering from some kind of gold rush! And according to them, the best way to keep the wealth was with marriage...

That's why you and Jacob were planning to run away together! It was the only way out of this mess your parents put you in. But your plans would change direction for you accidentally told your dad about Jacob...

"Honey, how are you doing?" your dad came into the kitchen where you were helping your mom cook dinner.
"I'm fine.."
"Great! Now, ladies, I have an important announcement!"
"Tell us honey!" your mom smiled at him.
"This Saturday my business partner, Mr. Jackson, will be joining us for dinner!"
"Oh, honey, this is amazing! We'll finally meet him! You've been talking so much about him I wanna see him in person!"
"That's right! Is it not, YN?" oh Jesus.... it was NOT.
"How am I supposed to know!" you said with an attitude.
"Now, YN, I think we've already talked about that!" you sighed. Here it goes again... "I want you to get to know him and be nice when he comes here! You know what my plans are! I want you to steal his heart!" you looked away "He's the perfect husband for you! All your life me and your mother have been worried about finding you a good man who would be able to take care of you and provide the life you deserve!"
"Honey, your dad is right! We only want the best for you."
"But I wanna find a husband on my own! I know what's best for-" your mom cut you off.
"YN, you're still too young! You know nothing about life! You'll find a husband and what if he turns out to be some idiot and doesn't respect you, beats you and.. and-"
"Mom, you're making movies again!"
"YN, your mom is very right! Don't you trust your father, tell me? I'll never give you to a man who's bad for you! Listen, why don't you wait till Saturday and meet Jackson and THEN we'll talk again 'cause I'm sure you're gonna like him!" ok now this was too much and you couldn't control yourself anymore.
"What if I already have someone I like?"
"What? Is there a boy in your life? Why haven't told your mom, YN?"
"Yes there is, mom!"
"Who?" your father asked.
"Jacob."
"What? Andrew's son?"
"Yes."
"You gotta be kidding me, YN! You know we broke all connections with them!" your dad's jaw was dropped.
"You broke it! I never did. Dad, I love him and he loves me and we want to get married!"
"On GOD..." your mom placed her hands on her forehead.
"Can you even hear yourself?! You know I'll never allow this! Jacob is one little spoiled boy and-" you cut your dad off.
"HE'S NOT! YOU DON'T KNOW HIM AT ALL!"
"Oh I know him..."
"Why don't you give him a chance?"
"Because this boy's nothing compared to the man I've chosen for you!"
"Don't you even see what's wrong with this sentence, dad! Marriages don't work like this anymore!"
"Just meet him and then we'll talk!"
"I don't want to!"
"Why can't you understand I'm doing this for YOU, YN?"
"NO DAD YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR YOU!" and you run off to your room, crying.
"SO THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE! BECAUSE OUR LITTLE GIRL HAS ALREADY GOT PLANS FOR HER FUTURE!" you heard him yell behind you.

Then you realized what you've done. He shouldn't have known about Jacob. But you couldn't keep it any longer and just for a second you thought, they'd understand... how foolish of you!

Next day when you went out to secretly to meet with Jacob, things got even worse.

"YN, I told you not to tell your parents!" he looked concerned.
"What do you mean?"
"Your dad called mine, and my parents know everything now! They're watching me! They know everything..."
"Oh God.... I'm so sorry" you begun crying "it's all my fault! My big mouth won't stay shut... I just lost my control and it slipped out of my mouth.. I thought they'd understand..."
"I told you they wouldn't... Now please don't cry..." he took you in his arms and you wrapped yours around his waist. "We have to come up with a new plan..."

After talking for a while, something came to your mind.

"Jacob!"
"Yes?"
"I think I got a plan!"
"Tell me!"
"My "future husband" will be coming on Saturday for dinner..."
"So?"
"What if I pretend to like him? To just fool my parents so that they'd calm down and stop watching me? And you could do the same, tell yours we broke up or something..."
"OMG, YN, you're genius!"
"Do you think it's gonna work?"
"Definitely! And we gotta be careful this time 'cause this is our last chance!"
"Yes! I have to go because my mom thinks I'm in my room right now..."
"Okay.. now we'll stay in touch, be ready and when I tell you, we meet at our place and then no one will ever see us again!" you smiled at him. This plan was perfect and you were so proud of you!

The next few days you calmed down a little. You had a plan and nothing could go wrong. Now all you needed to do was wait until Saturday and pretend to like this... Jackson whoever he was.

3 weeks earlier, Author's POV

"Excellent job!" Jackson and YFN (= your father's name) shook hands like all business man do.
"Agree! I have a good feeling about this!" Jackson said.
"Me too! We're gonna make this big I just know it! Well, how about we go have a drink to celebrate the signing of the contract? if you have time, of course!"
"Oh yes I do! But can we please go to my house because you know... I don't like going out  in the public.."
"I understand, Mr. Jackson, it's not a problem at all!"

Jackson and YFN went over to his house and poured themselves some of the finest red wine, Jackson had in his house. Sitting in the library, next to the fire

"So, tell me more about your family!" Jackson was always curious about other people's families since he didn't have one... YFN drunk from the glass of wine and begun.
"Well, I have an amazing wife who always supports me and a very beautiful daughter! My family is great, I can't complain about a single thing!"
"How old is your daughter? Is she a kid?" he loved kids!
"Noo" YFN laughed. "She's a young lady! She graduated from school and is now working at my company... a simple job of course, but she's very humble and proud of it!"
"That's great!" he took a big gulp from his wine.
"Yes... Well, to be honest, ever since she graduated from school, I've been trying to convince her to go to college and study business.. I want her to educate herself really well and take over the family company one day!"
"Yeah..."
"But.. I don't know what's gotten into her mind... she won't listen to me!"
"Oh she's just too young and maybe little confused but" little did YFN knew of why YN didn't want to go to college... she had plans to get married soon. "I'm sure she'll figure it out very soon!"
"I hope so! I've been working so hard for my wife and her. All I want is to provide them a nice life and find a good husband for my daughter..." YFN sighed.
"I understand you so well. If I were a father, I'd want the same things for my child."
"Yeah... which reminds me... you're very successful in your career, you have everything, you're also a good person, why haven't you married yet?" Jackson's facial expression changed.
"I haven't found the one... And it's complicated with my.. work."
"Oh I see... it's hard to find a wife who understands your type of life!"
"Yeah! And you know... they don't! They don't want to have anything serious with me because of my career and because it's all too much trouble for them! My biggest wish is to get married but I just can't find a woman to love me and want me for me...." his eyes became wet.
"I'm sorry, Jackson."
"No, it's fine..." after a while of silence, YFN said
"May I please use the restroom?"
"Sure! It's the third door on the left." he pointed.

As YFN got up to go the restroom, his wallet slipped from his pocket and fell down on the floor, open, revealing a small picture.

"Is this your family?" Jackson asked as he reached to get the wallet.
"Yes, my wife and daughter!" Jackson was closely examining the picture.
"Wow... your daughter's beautiful! Your wife too!"
"Yes, they are! My daughter looks a lot like her grand mother and she was a very beautiful woman!" YFN explained.
"She also looks very kind and good..."
"She is! She's a good girl that's why the only thing I want, is to find a man who'd appreciate and respect her! Who'd be good to her, keep her out of trouble and protect her..." then Michael said something out of the blue
"Someone unlike me..." he felt pain in his chest for he remembered his other relationships.
"Noo! I would actually be very happy if you were her husband!"
"Really?" Jackson moved his eyes from the picture to YFN.
"Absolutely! Ok, I really need to go to the restroom now..."

When he came back they went on talking about business. As YFN was about to leave, Jackson's instincts made him say something without even thinking about it

"YFN..."
"Yes?"
"I want to meet your daughter.." YFN thought for a second, then replied
"If that's the case, you should come to dinner at my house."
"I will."
"Great. Let me know when you have the time. Now, Goodnight."
"Goodnight."

After taking a shower, Jackson made himself ready for bed - he brushed his teeth and wore his pajamas.

He was lying on the bed when he looked at the empty side next to him. He was over 30. He had achieved a career, anyone could dream of, made so much money, helped so many people... He had everything, including loneliness and that was the problem. Something was missing....

All people around him were already married with children. He would go to work at his company and while walking down the corridor to get to his office, he'd look through the glass walls of his employee's cabinets, to only find pictures of their families on their desks. This would always cause him pain inside, so lately, he's been trying so hard to avoid looking. But not looking didn't help 'cause he'd hear them constantly talk about their children or wives and men. 'My wife this', 'My kid that'... it was way too much pain and disappointment with his own self to bear, for not being able to get what he wanted the most out of life.

Then again, there were his brothers and sisters... They'd all gather at someone's house on family day and all of them would bring their spouses and kids. Jackson would only watch how real family looks like, kids running around, calling their parents 'Mom', 'Dad'... how badly he wanted to be called dad too. And after dinner, when he would head home alone, he'd carry inside all kinds of bitter feelings.

He adored family and so badly wanted to have a family of his own. A wife who would love him for him and give him children, make him happy.

It's not like he hasn't tried billion times before to start a family but blame it on faith or women, the luck won't smile at him. All the women he's had, had an ulterior motive.

Half an year ago, he was engaged to a girl named, Joanna but just few weeks before the wedding he caught her cheating on him. It broke his heart again, if there still was something left to be broken. It seemed to him he was trapped in some kind of curse to stay alone till the rest of his life...

But today when YFN told him he'd be happy to have him as a son in law, something switched inside Jackson's head. Was he planning his marriage with YFN's daughter? He kind of was... This made him feel terrible. He couldn't believe how low he's gone... to plan a marriage! He felt disgusted with himself.. How could he plan a marriage and with a woman who's never even seen him? Well, she has but still... it was different! He was calming himself down, convinced he wasn't actually planning but would only give it a try. If it worked, then great. If not, back to loneliness.

But still he was secretly hoping the girl from the picture would like him because he liked her. She was beautiful and her eyes showed goodness. Of course, he didn't care much about appearances, the character was most important. He only wanted to be loved and accepted by his wife and in return, he would give her his heart and anything she wanted!

The girl on the picture... couldn't stop thinking about her. Questions like 'Will it work', 'Will she like me?', 'What will happen when I meet her?' were eating him inside so he couldn't sleep. Another sleepless night, nothing new.

One thing he couldn't understand... after all failed attempts to start a family, and after all women who only broke his heart in pieces, why did he still have hope left?
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