He could wait to leave the wooden antique chair he was on. Nathaniel slowly rolled his eyes as he observed how his parents arranged and created his future. He took a look at Cassandra, the woman whom he will share the rest of his miserable life with. He carefully examined her hair, how it was perfectly curled. After that, he looked at her make up. His left eyebrow raised a little.
He was thankful that an elegant center table perfectly adorned with bloody red roses separated him from the woman he did not even choose. He continued staring. She was a sophisticated, well-mannered, and demure woman. They eyes met. She smiled and immediately cut the connection.
Born in the 1990s, both of them were in the marriageable age. Nathaniel was the only son among two offspring. At a young age he was exposed to public service, and of course, how to be extremely charming at all times. Cassandra, on the other hand, was the eldest daughter of the aspiring prime minister of the country.
Nathaniel finished his doctorate at Harvard University. He was already a graduating law student by the time his parents decided to that he needed to get married. On the other hand, Cassandra, a philanthropist, was about to finish her doctorate degree at Yale University. Both of them were very ambitious; living their own lives in the United States not until that day.
"Nathan here is one of the outstanding law students in Harvard," Elena bragged about how excellent his only son in front of the Fuentes family. She needed to uplift his son's image to catch the most beautiful fish that she longed for a long time.
Claire, Cassandra's mother, sophisticatedly sip in the teacup in her hand. "That's why they'll make the world's perfect couple," she uttered and smiled. She slowly put the teacup and the saucer on the stout table beside her. "Where is Katarina?" she asked.
"Oh! My eldest," Elena exclaimed. "She's in Angola right now. She really wanted to join today; however, her team badly needed her guidance. The world needs them, Katarina and your daughter, Cassandra."
Claire and Elena kept the noise going in the living room of the Fuenteses. They were talking about the wedding, the babies they son and daughter would make, and of course, the business. Their business was the most important topic of the visit, not the beautiful and cute babies nor the extravagant wedding. Miguel Chavez, one of the senators of the Philippines, was engaged in supplying woods to the furniture empire of the Fuentes family.
Cassandra was not really comfortable with the moment. She just got home from Mindanao where she was conducting her thesis. Even though she was too exhausted, she needed to follow what her parents wanted or something bad will happen. She can't wait for it to happen.
"Wait a minute, where is Sebastian?" Miguel finally spoke after a long time.
"He's still at school," Claire replied.
"He's graduating from University of the Philippines, right?" Elena snatched the scene from her husband.
"Yes," she answered. She put her arms at Julio's shoulder, her husband.
"Julio and I are always convincing that boy to get educated at the United States; but, he doesn't want."
"Well, that university is a promising one," Miguel uplifted the school where he graduated.
Nathaniel's phone rang. They looked at him. Elena's eyes immediately grew big.
"Excuse me for a moment," he asked for permission.
"Go on, my dear," Claire told him.
He answered the call. "Wait," he said. Nathaniel went to the front door of the mansion and talked with the person on phone. "Hey, babe, I'm on a middle of a situation right now," he explained. "I'll call you later. I love you." After that he went back to the living room.
He was about to sit when one of the maids of the mansion invited them to the dining room. Claire approached her. "Talk to Cassandra, I'm sure you too will get along," she urged Nathaniel to bond with her daughter. He just smiled. Elena, on the other hand, talked with Cassandra on their way to the dining room.
The Fuentes' mansion was so spacious. The wooden adornment exhibited the inclination of the family in the wooden decors and furniture industry. Their company, the Fuentes Fixtures was on top in the country for almost two decades. Likewise, they export their products in the different parts of the globe.
Elena took her arm off from clinging to Cassandra's arm as she was awed with the golden chandelier hanging above the very long and elegant table of the host. "Claire, this chandelier is so amazing," she said with her tantalizing eyes.
"Oh yes!" she agreed. "We have it hanged for almost eight years now. Those are bohemian crystals. I fell in love with it during our trip in Bohemia. It really cost us a fortune," she bragged.
"Please be seated," Julio invited them to occupy the wooden chairs in the dining room.
The maids carefully served the dishes on the table. None of those dishes represented the origin of the Fuenteses. They served mostly Spanish dishes. The food in their table could feed five typical Filipino households.
Both families surely knew what was fine dining. Claire and Elena secretly contested with each other of who was the most well-mannered and elegant woman while eating. While, Julio and Miguel ate their food without observing how they took it.
Julio sipped red wine served by one of their maids. "Nathan how's Harvard?" he asked.
He stopped from eating. "Harvard is fine," he replied. "It' really hard to survive in a place makes you feel an outcast," he added.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, conservative racist people do still exist in the twenty-first century," he answered.
"It's a good thing that you're a candidate on having high honours," he commended Nathaniel and then went back to eating the food on his plate.
Claire who was busy being elegant remembered something. "Elena?" she asked.
"I almost forgot, Julio and I reserved a dinner for two at the Avenue Restaurant in Pasay City. We did not ask your permission anymore. I hope you don't mind if my lovely daughter and your handsome son would go on a date tonight?"
"That would be great! Thank you for your initiative," she said.
Claire smiled at Miguel and Elena. "Great! So, after this, I think it will better for them to take a rest," she suggested. "We will ask the maids to clean two guest rooms for you."
"Don't mind it, we'll go home. So Nathaniel could change his clothes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"If that's what you want, I'll go with it."
One of the maids approached Julio and whispered to his ear. "Sebastian is already here," he told his wife.
Claire called the attention of one of their maids who was on standby. "Kindly prepare one more plate for Sebastian," she ordered.
"He's here," Miguel said in delight.
Sebastian entered the dining room and paid respect to his parents, sister, and the guests.
"Nathaniel, my future brother-in-law," he uttered as he took the chair beside her sister.
"I missed you sister," he said.
After the lunch with the Chavez family, Cassandra finally got what she deserve, to lay her back at her comfortable queen-sized bed. She stared at the ceiling for a while and slowly closed her eyes. She was exhausted because of her thesis and charity work at Mindanao so she really needed the rest. She thought she will be at peace until someone knocked on her door.
She was right, it was Sebastian. He approached the bed and sat. "Is this real? Nathaniel is my boyfriend," Sebastian expressed his dismay and anger to her sister.
"Why do you have to agree to have an arranged marriage with him?"
Cassandra closed the door. "I have nothing to do, you're my twin brother, and I will not do anything to hurt your feeling," she depended herself.
"You just did, sister."
"You know our parents, Sebastian," she said.
"Their decision is solid and irreversible."
"Please, don't let them do this to you again," he begged his sister.
"You know that they have Lucas."
"Then, go to the police or the NBI."
"Sebastian, do you think, it's that easy? They are two of the most influential Filipinos in the country. They don't care about their grandson.
They'll do anything for power."
"My poor nephew, I will never know about him if you never told me about him. That's why you left to study in the United States."
Cassandra approached his twin brother. She sat beside him and embraced him. "We'll find a way to solve this."
Nathaniel stood. "You know what; you marry Nathaniel because we will never get out of our parents' claws. I know, they already have someone for me to wed." After that he left the room.
Tears rolled to Cassandra's cheek as she remembered the night when she decided to release a bullet out of a gun on her hand. She would rather go back in time and decide to obey her parents than to suffer the consequence of the nightmare she had that night. She wiped her tears and finally laid her back to her bed.
She pulled out a wallet-size picture under her pillow. "I'm sorry," she uttered. "I'll find our son," she added.