Chapter 57 The escape

Chapter 57 The escape
NOVA'S POV

A Month ago....

"Nova please don't do this..your father is going to ruin you." Mom sobs in my bridal dressing room. 

I can't marry a person I don't love and I can't let myself give up on hope. 

Not when the person I truly love is fighting for her life because of me.

Because I walked into her life and altered her everything. 

"I have to." I say firmly. 

I don't even know why it took me looking at the wedding dress hanging by the coset to realise I never really was going to go through with this.

"Are you sure?"

"More than anything."

She sighs.

Then takes out her phone and makes a call, talking in a low voice as she walks to the window.

Then she returns back to where I'm standing.

"My driver will drive you back to the house. I have a bank account I set up when you were little. It has enough to last you a lifetime. But promise me one thing.."

"I won't tell dad."

"That you'll finally stop living in pretence Nova."

"what about you, mom?"

"I'll be fine. I'm proud of you Nova...now go before your dad starts looking for you."

She watches me change back into my sweatpands and hoodie with the bride initial on the back.

I head to her car discreetly settling in the back before he drives off.

At the house a staff member close to my mom pulls my suitcase upfront along with my documents. 

A train station ticket to Rome and a bank card.

My phone rings.

Mom.

"There's twenty million euros on that card. I trust that you won't blow your life away." She says simply before the call ends.

I blink at the card. 

She put all that money aside knowing I would one day have to elope from a forced fate?

I was little.

The staff memeber explains that there's an apartment in Rome my mom bought under my name and an address in the folder of documents.

Somehow I feel more certain about my decision.

This time I get an uber to the train station because dad could easily trace my movement with mom's assigned driver.

My phone rings again. 

This time its my cousin Luca. 

I don't answer. 

Instead I check the time.

It's close to the agreed time to walk down the isle.

At the train station I confirm my booking and I almost missed it. 

Its like all this was by chance not certainty. 

Mom planned for the possibility.

She just never knew which version of me would walk through that door.

The version who stayed...

Or the version who finally chose herself.

Once I'm settled into my seat, I text Luca.

I'm sorry. Don't look for me.

I stare at the message for a moment before sending it.

The less he knows, the better.

God knows how far Dad would go to make sure things went according to plan.

My mind drifts back to Sofia.

If I could just get to Rome.

Find her.

See her.

Then maybe everything would make sense again.

I reach for my phone.

For a moment, I consider texting her.

She might not answer.

She hasn't been awake, from what little I've managed to find out.

Still...

I type her name.

Then stop.

What would I even say?

I ran away from my wedding.

I'm in Rome.

I'm coming for you.

I lock my phone instead.

The train begins to move.

And for the first time in years, no one is telling me where I'm supposed to go. 

When the train stops in Rome I step out feeling the new reality hit my face.

Twenty million euros and no one around me knew how much I was worth in this moment. 

A new apartment.

No wedding.

No husband.

No father standing over my shoulder.

And no one around me knows who I am.

I almost laugh.

People shove past me, irritated that I'm standing in the middle of the station like a lost tourist.

I chuckle under my breath.

Maybe that's exactly what I am.

A lost tourist.

For the first time, I don't mind.

I take a taxi and give the driver the address from Mom's note.

He glances at it and nods knowingly.

We drive for a while before stopping in front of an old building with a bakery tucked beside it.

I stare at it through the window.

I don't know what I expected.

A mansion, maybe.

Something grand.

Something that looked like me.

Instead, I get this.

An old building.

A little bakery.

People walking past without a second glance.

And somehow...

I love it.

I pay the driver and step inside.

An elderly woman looks up from behind the reception desk.

"And where might you be going, young lady?"

I give her the apartment number written on the piece of paper.

She studies it before nodding.

"Come."

She leads me upstairs.

First floor.

Second.

Then the third.

We stop outside a door.

5.

"Grazie," I say softly.

She smiles before disappearing down the stairs.

I unlock the door.

And step inside.

The apartment is already furnished.

Small.

Warm.

Simple.

There is a little kitchen.

A sofa.

A bedroom.

And a balcony overlooking the street.

I walk outside and breathe in.

Cars pass below.

Someone laughs from the bakery next door.

A woman calls out to someone across the street.

Nobody looks up at me.

Nobody recognizes me.

Nobody cares who my father is.

Nobody knows my family name.

I smile.

This...

This is as normal as I ever want my life to be.

Because here, I'm not the daughter of a powerful man.

I'm not someone's future wife.

I'm not the girl who was supposed to walk down an aisle tonight.

I'm just Nova.

And for the first time...

That's enough.

I'd figure out the next chapter once the new comes in.

This one still feels shaky.

Given that 24 hours is all it takes to be sure that my dad hasn't already found me.

The wedding was meant to broadcasted to the world.

His deal meticulously planned to execution.

Only this time I wasn't alone in my truth.

Mom helped me.

In return I wouldn't ruin my life with alcohol like before.

I'd build a life for myself.

Be someone worthy of Sofia.