Marcella woke up groggily. She touched the wet corners of . Feeling embarrassed, she lift up her head to face…. an opened book. 

Fixing her hair, she sat up and glanced around the library. There were a few students, quietly sitting beside shelves or leaning against them. She glanced out the window. 

The orange sphere sank down, behind mountains. She thought, how lucky she was, to be able to witness an magnificent ending of a day.

She smiled at the memory, when she watched the sunset, with her siblings. 

Her mind drifted back to the day when she first decided to escape from her family. Looking back, she had a tiny pinch of regret. 

Will I ever get to see them again? She asked herself.

If she did accept the forced marriage, maybe she would be able to enjoy her time as a sister and daughter. If she did accept the forced marriage, maybe she would be spending her time in glamorous balls and parties. If she did accept the forced marriage, maybe she would not be followed by spies. But will she be happy? Will she enjoy the fake blessings and the fake love from the husband she doesn't love? Will she enjoy her time being a exchange product for the company? Will she be happy in a royal cage, acting as a royal doll, to serve and maintain the reputation for her family and her husband’s? 

The answer was pretty obvious. 

She remembered what she asked, after she found out that her parents were forced marriages too. 

“Mother, you were forced to marry father?”

Mrs Son remained silent. 

“Mother! I thought you met him by love? I thought those romantic stories were real!”

Her mother sighed. “Yes, I was forced to marry him. Those romantic stories were real, but it happened after we engaged. We didn't love each other at first, and we were forced together. The first three months was a hard time for both of us, we had to act like we were in love. But after a while of spending time together, I guess the acting made us closer. We had to practice those cheesy lines to each other, and we had did lots of things together. It started out as friendship, and gradually, we fell in love, in reality. However, that whole process, took three years.”

Naeun answered with gaped open. 

Her mother continued. “Those romantic stories were after we were married, when he decided to court me officially. I'm grateful for that to happen, because I know only very few arranged marriage couples can have real feelings for each other. I guess its fate.”

After a couple seconds of silence, when Naeun finally arrange her thoughts, she asked: “Were you happy? At that time— were you happy to be arranged to marry someone you have no feelings for?” 

Mrs Son forced a smile. “At that time of course I would reject against it, but I was proud that I could help my family through my own sacrifice.”

The forced smile slowly turns into a loving one. “But then, thinking back, I am glad that I did listen to my father, otherwise I wouldn't be able to have a happy family!” 

She imagined herself, livi