'What the hell, another guy in a suit!'
"Excuse me..." Ashley Bowen began slowly.
"His Highness says he will take responsibility. He wants you to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau with him tomorrow to get your marriage license. He's been very busy this month; tomorrow is the only day he has free," the man in the suit said, his expression sour.
"Huh?" Ashley Bowen bit her lip. "Um, is it possible for me to refuse?"
'Didn't the Second Prince already give me three million this morning? What's this about getting married all of a sudden?'
"His Highness says you have no choice. The betrothal gift has already been delivered, and your mother has accepted it," the man in the suit said, his face still expressionless.
"What? That's impossible!" Ashley Bowen cried out, hopping on her bike and speeding past the man in the suit.
'Mom is dead set against marrying into a wealthy family, let alone the royal family! How could she possibly have agreed to this marriage? Besides, what I had with the Second Prince was just a one-night stand!'
The run-down alleyway, the moss-covered walls... Her old bicycle rattled over the stone-paved road, its parts sounding as if they might fall off at any second.
Ashley Bowen locked up her bicycle and rushed into the main house. Her mother was clearing the table, looking as though a guest had just left.
"Mom, did we have a visitor?"
"Shay, what are you doing back?" Shay's mom looked up, a surprised expression on her face, before smiling and nodding. "Yes, we did. Silly girl, why didn't you tell me you were dating such a promising young man? He's a wonderful fellow. I like him a lot."
"You can't be serious. Is he really that great? I don't think so." Ashley Bowen's jaw dropped as she watched her mother praise him so animatedly, deeply skeptical.
"The Sinclair family won't mistreat you." Shay's mom's expression turned sad as she pulled Ashley Bowen into her arms.
For the first time, Ashley Bowen felt like she was about to leave the nest and fly out on her own.
She couldn't bear to leave her mother, and she didn't want to marry the Second Prince.
'The one she liked had always been the First Prince.'
At this thought, Ashley Bowen felt a dull ache in her chest.
That night, Ashley Bowen sat alone in her room, trying to figure out how to run away. To escape the marriage, she would have to drop out of her university and leave the city with her mother.
'But all the land was the king's domain. Where could they possibly escape to?'
Ashley Bowen couldn't help but feel terribly frustrated. She propped her chin in her hands and stared at the path illuminated by the streetlight outside. 'Even if I can't escape for good, I at least have to get past tomorrow!'
She made up her mind. She would sneak out in the middle of the night, after her mother was sound asleep.
It was dead silent outside. Even the dogs in the alley weren't barking. The entire world seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber.
Dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit, a black face mask, and a baseball cap, Ashley Bowen crept to the front door and stealthily pushed it open.
'Mom, I'll come back after I get through tomorrow.' She gave the house a reluctant wave and stepped tentatively into the yard.
But just as she pushed open the wooden yard gate, a black cloth was thrown over her head. Her world went dark; she couldn't see a thing.
Ashley Bowen instinctively tried to scream, but someone struck her hard on the back of the neck. An intense wave of dizziness washed over her, and in the final moment before passing out, she rolled her eyes.
'Damn it! I've been ambushed!'
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! WOOF! WOOF!
A chorus of crowing roosters and barking dogs startled Ashley Bowen awake. She reached up to touch the back of her head and slowly pried open one eye.
'I had such a strange dream last night. I dreamed I was trying to run away and got ambushed…'