Lana sat cross-legged on her bedside table, staring out of the window as the evening sun illuminated deep across her room in colors of orange and gold. The days since her father's ultimatum, had felt like a relentless struggle, pummeling her resolution and consuming her with dread. The pressures of his expectations, the overwhelming and suffocating demands of her family, and the emerging prospect of marrying Gregory. All of it had begun to crush her spirit.
Each moment felt like a trap, her life spiraling further into a void she couldn't escape. And worse, the thought of losing Hyacinth, the one person who truly understood her, only added to the ache biting at her chest.
Meanwhile, Hyacinth wasn't faring much better. Lana's pain was her own, and the distance between them made it much more unbearable. She hated feeling helpless, and unable to shield Lana from the commotion back home. Every call, every word of despair, added to the growing frustration that she couldn't fix this. A painful realization she battled with internally.
***
One night, unable to take it any longer, she texted Lana:
Come over. I need you.
The knock on her apartment door came almost two hours later, tentative but urgent. She swung it open to find Lana standing there, her face was pale and withdrawn, her eyes were framed with exhaustion. Without a word, Hyacinth pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her as if the simple act could guard her from the chaos of her world.
"I can't do this anymore," Lana murmured into her shoulder. "I can't keep pretending. I can't live like this, everyday feels like a new growing torture."
Hyacinth pulled back slightly, cupping her face in her hands.
"You don't have to keep enduring this agony, Lana. You're not alone in this. We'll figure it out… together."
Lana's lips quivered, but before she could respond, Hyacinth leaned in, pressing a soft, desperate kiss to her lips. The kiss deepened, an unspoken word of promise of love and understanding reigned between them.
They went into the bedroom, carefully removing every piece of clothing to feel the warmth of their bodies… seeking solace in each other's arms. As they lay tangled in the sheets, they continued to engage in a heated passion of intimacy that intensified the love they felt for each other.
***
"What if we just… left? Walked away from all of it?" Lana said, as they took a break from an exciting episode of lovemaking.
Hyacinth's fingers traced idle patterns on her bare shoulder.
"Left? You mean… run away?"
"Yes." Lana turned to face her, her eyes wide and filled with hope and desperation. "What's keeping us here? My father's control? His plans for my life? I can't do it anymore, Hyacinth. I can't keep living for everyone else."
Hyacinth sat up slightly, keeping a thoughtful expression.
"Are you really sure about this?"
Lana nodded, her stare unwavering.
"I am. I don't care about the money, the legacy, the family name. None of it matters if I end up losing myself in the end... Or if I lose you."
The sincerity in her tone stirred something indescribable in Hyacinth. She leaned over, planting a kiss across her forehead.
"Then let's do it. Let's run away."
A spark of hope suddenly ignited between them, the first glimmer of light they'd seen in days.
***
The preceding hours were filled with quiet murmurs and frantic planning. They knew they had to be careful. Lana's family had the resources to find her if they realized she was gone too soon. They would need to vanish completely, leaving behind as little trace as possible.
"We'll need fake documents," Hyacinth said, pacing the room as she listed out their needs. "Passports, IDs… something to throw them off our trail."
Lana nodded in agreement.
"And a place far enough that they won't think to look for us."
There was a long pause…
"Brazil!" Hyacinth said, breaking the silence. The word came out of her lips as if it had been waiting there all along.
Lana tilted her head, looking intrigued.
"Why Brazil?"
Hyacinth shrugged, a smile tugging at her lips.
"It's beautiful, it's far, and it's the last place your father would think to look for you. Plus, I've always wanted to see Rio."
Lana chuckled. "Brazil it is, then."
The next step was figuring out how to leave without raising suspicion. They decided that Lana would start pulling away from her family gradually, avoiding any sudden changes that might alert her father. Hyacinth would handle the logistics— securing the fake documents, booking flights, and finding a place for them to stay.
But as they pieced together their plan, the gravity of what they were about to do began to sink in.
"Once we do this, there's no turning back," Hyacinth said, appearing serious. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"
Lana met her eyes,
"I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life."
Hyacinth reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Then we'll make it work. No matter what it takes."
***
As the days turned into weeks, their plan slowly took shape. Lana feigned compliance with her father's demands, attending dinners and meetings with Gregory, keeping it all normal, while secretly distancing herself from her family. Each interaction was a carefully crafted performance, designed to buy them more time.
Meanwhile, Hyacinth worked tirelessly to secure their escape. She reached out to a friend from her past, someone with a questionable history but a talent for making people disappear. It was a risky move, but one she was willing to take for Lana.
One night, as they lay in bed together, Lana turned to Hyacinth,
"Do you think we'll ever truly be free?"
Hyacinth wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.
"We'll make our own freedom, Lana. No one's going to take that from us."
But as the day of their departure approached, the tension between them grew. The closer they got to leaving, the more the reality of what they were doing set in. They were about to leave behind everything they'd ever known, stepping into a world of uncertainty with only each other to rely on.
And then, just when they thought they were ready, a complication arose.
It was the night before their planned escape that Lana received a call from her mother. She asked her to come home for an urgent family meeting.
Her heart sank, with dread filling her devastated heart.
"What's this about?"
Her mother hesitated, and for a moment, she thought she might refuse to answer. But then she spoke in a barely audible voice.
"It's about your father… he's made some decisions."
She hung up, her mind began to wander in different directions. She turned to Hyacinth trembling.
"He knows. He has to. There's no other reason he'd call a meeting like this."
Hyacinth panicked. She started working through the possibilities.
"If he does, it means we're out of time. We leave tonight. We'll go somewhere else to wait for our flight tomorrow. We can't stay here, they'll find us."
"But what if—"
"No," Hyacinth cut her off. "No more delays, no more doubts. If we stay, he'll never let you go."
Lana nodded. She grabbed her bag, as they prepared to leave the apartment. But as they stepped out into the night, they were met with the one person they never thought they'd see again.
Had they waited too long?