"No!"

When I heard what my father said, I dropped the cutlery I was holding.

"Elijah! Mind your manners! We eat and-"

"Is that so? After you tell me that my future husband, whom I have never seen before, will come tomorrow, you will find me with good manners! " I said as I stood up in my seat.

"You-" My father stood up as well.

"No, Dad! You can't do this to me! I have my own life to live, and that includes choosing a man to be my husband. You're not the one who chose! " After I said that, I ran to leave my daddy at the dinner table.

"Elijah, come back here!"

But I kept going up the stairs and locked myself in my room.

"Mathilde, talk to that girl." I even heard my daddy say to my nanny,

"But Leandro, you know Elijah. She's a nice girl, but when she knows that she's right, she's not-"

"Shut up, Mathilde. This is a different conversation. I've given her wishes many times, but this one, I'll be the one to follow! Talk to her and explain that Zandro Blake and I have a word of honor! "

My daddy was still talking, so I covered my ears with a pillow.

Suddenly, the whole house fell silent. I knew my nanny wouldn't win in an argument with my dad. He knew my father's character. What can be said has already been said; it cannot be broken anymore.

Soon I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I know Nanny Mathilde came in. The bed sagged, so I knew she was sitting next to me.

"Daughter, your father's wishes are for your own good."

"But, Nanny Mathilde. My father wants something to be wrong. He's going to force me to marry a man I've never seen before. God! What am I, a robot with no feelings? And what if he's ugly or that person is sadistic or crazy? "

"Hija, it goes without saying that your father will not settle for a bad match for you. He is said, that the man is attractive, intelligent, and responsible. Your father is acquainted with the father of the man you intend to marry."

"Even if his father was kind, how could he be sure his son was the same? And how can I get along with a man I've never met?"

Nanny Mathilde simply sighed.

What my nanny didn't know was that I had already developed my own plan in my mind. I'm leaving. If that man comes here tomorrow, I'll see to it that we don't meet. I quickly put clothes and other belongings in my big bag. Carrying my ATM card, with which I had paid the remaining allowance from my father, I slowly left my room. I will continue with my friend Hanna first. I knew she wouldn't let me down. Hanna has been my best friend since high school. But even though we didn't become classmates in college, we still didn't lose communication. Every now and then we meet and take a walk or we take a stroll on the beaches.

"Oh, Ma'am Elijah, it's you; Ma'am Hanna isn't here," the maid said as she opened the door for me.

"Huh? Where is she?"

"She left, accompanied by her cousin from abroad."

Oh my goodness! I was secretly withering.

"When will she return?"

"Oh, I don't know, ma'am, they just left yesterday; she told me that if you come, just text her."

"Is that so?"

When I remembered that my friend had a cell phone, I felt a little better.

I did not text her, but I did call her.

"What? You ran away? Why?" Hanna asked curiously from the other line.

"Long story short, We can't talk on the phone. I have to get out of here before my father catches up with me. "

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'm going there. Meet me at the Paris airport, okay? "

"Wait, when?"

"Right now, I'll get a ticket and I just text you my flight, okay? "

Oh, all right. Be careful. I'll tell my cousin. "

"Okay, bye!"

I looked for a taxi to take me to the plane ticket office. "I'm sorry, ma'am, all flights to Paris have been canceled."

"What? Why? " I asked, annoyed.

A typhoon is coming, The plane can't take off. It will be about three days before the planes resume flying.

"Is that so?"

"True. If you want, just get a ticket for-"

"Ah, maybe later."

That's all I said and turned my back on the person I was talking to. I went to the pier to check the departure of the ship.

"At midnight, there's one ship leaving."

"How long is the trip to the sea?"

"Twenty-four hours, ma'am."

I calculated mentally. If I board the ship this morning, I will arrive in Paris the next day. I would still be waiting for the flight on the third day before leaving. And I have to get out of here. I may even be overtaken by my father's orders to look for me. I can't take the chances. After getting a ticket, I first spent time at a five-star hotel near the pier. It was three o'clock in the morning when I took a taxi to the pier. The crate was just right because the passengers were already on board the departing ship. It will sail at exactly four o'clock in the morning. I got my own cabin. I want privacy for this voyage of mine. This is the first time I have ever boarded a ship. When we go abroad, we always fly because my father is afraid of the sea. As long as the ship does not leave the pier, I do not leave the deck. I make sure I can get away from this place.

Surely, in these moments, my father was bewildered at finding me. I have been away from home for twenty-four hours. Somehow, I feel a sense of concern for my father. I was anxious to lie on the soft mattress. I suddenly remembered that my father had a heart condition.