Chapter 2 Agreement

The very next day, April sat Ellery in her home office to discuss the engagement. They both rarely spent their days at home as April is busy with her work as a doctor and Ellery spent most of her time training and going on tours.

"You asked for me mommy," Ellery said as she opened the door.

"Yes, sit down. I have something to tell you." April said as she kept her glasses down. Ellery sat in silence and kept her eyes on her mother's pen. "I've arranged a marriage proposal for you." Ellery's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? To whom?" She asked frowning her brows.

"To Dylan White and it has been decided already."

"Mommy, no. I-I can't marry him." Ellery stuttered as she protested.

"And why not? Maybe you can do something good for once in your life Ellery. Any girl would be begging to be married to Dylan." She said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not any girl."

"You don't dare answer back. Clear your plans on Friday. The Whites will be here to discuss the wedding preparations."

"Mommy, please." Ellery's eyes were clouded with tears. "I have a boyfriend who I love."

"Love won't lead you anywhere Ellery. I suggest you break things off with that boy to avoid offending your intended." Ellery was starting to sob at this point. But she could never answer back, she wasn't strong enough to stand up against her mother.

"I know you don't want to but it's for your own sake." April sighed looking at her daughter's miserable state, somehow seeing her crying made her heartache a little. "Listen, I'm not the best mother and this is something out of the blue for you. But I need you to do this. I need you to do this FOR ME. And I hope you don't mess things up like you always do. I'm begging you to be perfect and to be a good girl." April said. Ellery looked into her eyes and saw the determination in them.

"But mommy," Ellery protested.

"No buts Ellery, you will do as I say. You will marry Dylan White and it's final." April didn't bid her any attention and urged her to leave.

Not finding the words to say, Ellery stood and left the office. She went straight to her room and cried her heart out. She knows that no matter how much she protest her mother wouldn't listen and not being able to fight for herself made her feel devastated.

Her phone then rang after an hour of crying. Looking at the caller ID she quickly swiped to answer the call.

"Hello! Nikolaj!" It was her boyfriend of 2 years, Nikolaj Nielsen, a senior choreographer at the company she was dancing with.

"Love, what's wrong? You don't sound okay." Concern laced in his mouth.

"Can you meet me up? We need to talk. I need you." She cried out.

"Okay, text me the time and place."

Ellery and Nikolaj agreed to meet at the Rosewood Theater where they usually do rehearsals in an hour. Ellery rose up from her bed to prepare to leave. She wasn't in a good mood so she wore a lazy pair of beige ice silk jeans and shirt and paired it up with her white sneakers. Her long black hair was tied in a messy high ponytail.

She walked out the door to check if her mother was around and quickly left in her Mercedez as soon as the coast was clear for her.

When she got to the theater Nikolaj was already in his office. She opened the door and saw the 43-year-old man sitting on his swivel chair. His hair was black with grey roots and his face chiseled jawline had grey stubbles. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants.

"Hey, love," Ellery called out, walking to him and leaning for a kiss. He cupped her cheeks in his hand and kissed her on the temples.

"What's wrong?" He gently asked.

"Elope with me Nikolaj, we can go to your country and get married." She blurted out. Nikolaj took his hand off her face and straightened her posture. "I'm serious. You need to take me away from here."

"What are you on, love?" He inquired.

"If we don't run away my mother is going to force me to marry a man I don't love. I can't do it, love." She cried.

"What's wrong with that?" Ellery was weirded out by his answer. "What? It means we won't be together anymore."

"Ellery, we talked about this. As much as I love you, I want you to spend the rest of your life with someone your age." He calmly said.

"You never call me by my name, unless we're in rehearsals." She raised her crying eyes to look into his brown ones.

"Ellery"

"You're going to leave me?" She cried out.

"I just think you deserve to be with someone better. If we do elope what would happen to your career?" For some reason, Nikolaj was taking everything lightly. "I have to let you go, Ellery. We know that this is not right."

"But, I love you."

"You're young and you have a lot of things to learn in life. I don't want to be the one to hold you back."

"Please, don't leave me," Ellery begged him.

"I'm sorry baby. But we have to break things. We both know this relationship wasn't supposed to last." Nikolaj said bringing Ellery to his arms. "I haven't told you this before but my ex-fiancee, she came back and asked for us to talk. And to be honest with you I'm ready to be with her. It's about time we are with someone our age." There was nothing but betrayal in Ellery's eyes.

"Last week we were happy. You told me that you love me and that you want to spend the rest of your life with me!"

"You say nice things when you're happy. You say the truth when you're not, that's why it hurts. I'm sorry Ellery but it's her, and it's always been her. My two years with you were one of the best times of my life, but I'd trade everything to have one night of fighting with her if it means I'll be with her."

Ellery then realized that she was toyed for the past two years. Nikolaj was never in love with her but was in love with the idea of being with a young woman. She was a thrill in his life, and it triggered his excitement. Ellery on the other hand, not knowing what love was, fell head over heels for him and gave him everything to make him happy.