"This was a terrible idea. What the heck am I doing here?" Ximena said to herself, since there was nobody else in the private plane with her.

It had been a spur of the moment thing at the time but still, there she was in that private jet about 30 000 feet in the sky.

After Adriano and his father left the private eating area on the roof, nobody spoke. For Ximena it was mainly because she was shocked and very much angry. Also, she feared she'd probably say something very harsh to her father so she allowed a few minutes to digest everything. The tension around the table was so thick, that it could be cut with a knife.

The unidentified younger man who sat adjacent to where Adriano's father began to gather the papers that were scattered across the table. "For a lunch, there really wasn't much eating but a lot of digesting needed to be done," he quipped and chuckled at his own joke.

Salvador finally spoke. "I thought this was all some dream, so all of that actually happened?" he asked awkwardly, but no one replied.

"Ximena, I know that you're-" Emilio began but his wife cut him off.

"Just don't. There is no excuse on this planet that can explain all of this. Of all the greedy stuff you've done, this is by far the most stupid. I can't believe you just sold off your daughter like some object," she spat angrily, her chest beginning to heave.

Emilio frowned at this. "You are not an object; this I know but I had to do it. I had to keep my promise to my father and this seemed like the only tangible way. For heaven's sake, do you not see that this is phenomenal. Now we will always be the biggest and best shipping company in the whole world."

"So, this is why you did this?" Ximena asked incredulously. "Don't bother answering. I'm not even surprised father, now I know for sure that you see me as nothing but just some business transaction. Well news flash," she said coldly and then stood up hastily.

"I am not going to marry anyone."

With that, she grabbed her handbag and stormed off, ignoring all the voices that were trying to stop her from leaving. As she descended the stairs, she heard some voices talking if not shouting from somewhere downstairs. It sounded an awful lot like Adriano and his father.

Letting her curiosity lead, she followed the noise and arrived close to an alcove where the two men stood. She knew that she shouldn't be eavesdropping but she really wanted to know how her betrothed felt about the debacle.

Most of what she heard was rapid Spanish that she could barely catch but what she did shattered her heart to a million pieces.

"If she's so beautiful as you say, why don't you marry her yourself! You don't know what kind of women I like. If you did, you'd know she's not my type. I don't normally go for spoiled girls."

That voice definitely belonged to Adriano, and it was laced with nothing but acid. She didn't bother to listen to the rest of the conversation because that all she needed to hear. In fact, she wished she hadn't heard that at all since it made her feel so undesirable.

Am I a spoiled girl? Will anyone ever be interested in me? A tear involuntarily rolled down her cheek as she hurriedly sauntered out of the building. Much to her advantage, the valet brought her car quickly and she drove away.

The tears kept on rolling out of her eyelids, and they made her vision blurry. If she kept on driving, she'd get into to an accident so she pulled over in a parking lot near South Beach. Her heart beat was accelerating by the second and it was becoming hard for her to breathe.

Not right now, she thought and tried to doing some breathing exercises but to no avail. Her fingers quickly flew to her dashboard and fumbled around until she found the small jar of pills. She wasted no time in opening it and popping two pills into her mouth. Good thing she had water lying around in there with her. It had been a long time since she'd had the palpitations but in her defense, she was righteously upset.

After her pulse had returned to normal several minutes later, her hand was in her phone and she dialed Chelsea's number.

"Hey girl, how are-" Chelsea stopped talking when she heard Ximena sob loudly into the phone. "Are you crying? What happened Mena?" she asked worriedly.

Ximena wiped a tear away and said, "I'm getting married."

The other end remained quiet for a couple of seconds before Chelsea replied, "So those are tears of joy or...?"

"Not even. My father made some stupid contract with a shipping tycoon and now I have to marry his son to merge our companies. That's not even the worst part."

"What is," her friend urged. "What could be worse than that?"

Despite her sadness, Ximena laughed. "It's that mystery hot guy I bumped into a couple of days ago. Before you say this is the universe telling me that we're meant to be together, he said I'm not 'his type' because 'spoiled girls' aren't his type. Chelsea, am I that unattractive? Is there something wrong with me? Is that why my dad did this to me?" she asked, choking back another sob.

"Woah, let me stop you right there. Ximena, you're like the most gorgeous woman I've ever met and I've been acquainted with supermodels. Any man would drop to his knees just to be noticed by you, it's just that they're just too afraid to talk to you," Chelsea affirmed, which made Ximena crack a smile. "That guy is an idiota anyway. As for that marriage, to hell with it. You will not marry anyone if you don’t want to."

"But you don't understand. There are some clauses in that contract that are too risky to break so my father will definitely force me to do it. I have no say in this whatsoever," Ximena exhaled, running her free hand down her face.

"Then just run away."

Ximena rolled her aquamarine eyes at that. Run away? She couldn't just do that, could she? "It's not that simple Chels. Where would I go, and how will I go there anyway. If I use my passport they can easily find me and as soon as I used one of my credit cards, my dad gets a notification."

"It is that simple. Listen, one of the agency's jets is going to Paris tonight to pick up the models that were doing a Versace shoot there. I can talk to someone who can get you on that plane."

"How about my clothes? I can't be seen leaving with suitcases without one of the guards at home snitching on me. It'll never work!" she yelled, exasperated.

Chelsea remained silent for a bit, raking her brain for a solution. "Uh-huh! Just don't go home, go to my apartment instead. You can grab anything you need there, I've got new clothes I've never worn and you can also take one of my cards. Also leave your car there and take an Uber to the hangar."

It sounded completely absurd but it could work. However, there was this feeling that reminded Ximena what was at stake and how furious her father would be with her if she actually did it. Never in her life had she ever rebelled against the formidable Emilio Dos Ramos. Maybe it was finally time for her to grow a spine and do what she wanted to do…just this once.

Ximena wiped the tears away from her face and straightened her back on the seat. “Okay then, let’s do it.”

And that was the reason why she was all alone in that airplane, feeling nothing but raw regret. A part of her felt so alive and free, something she’d never experienced since she was a toddler. Who knows, it could work out for the best…or for the worst.

Obviously for the worst.

____________