AERA and her girls had a blast that the time did not even bother them at all. It was almost five in the morning when they parted ways. Thankfully, her parents were still asleep. She was free from her father’s sermon. That was the last thing that she would want to hear when she was dizzy.

She prowled upstairs, her room was just beside the master’s bedroom, so she had to be extra careful not to make a noise. And then, someone called her when she was about to open the door to her room.

“Aera.”

It startled her, causing her to lose her grip on the guitar she was holding. Aera shut her eyes tightly when she heard the sound of her guitar hitting the floor. She turned to the direction where the voice came from. She saw her younger sister standing across her room.

“Goodness gracious, Arie, you startled me,” she whispered.

Arie gave her a once-over.

“It looks like you just got home from your gig.” It was one of Arie’s antics, stating the obvious.

She picked her guitar from the floor and hugged it like a baby. It was her most prized possession. Thank God, there was no damage.

Arie sauntered towards her and smelled her.

“Eww… you stink,” her sister said and then grimaced. “Did you drink?”

“Just a little.” Aera’s fingers demonstrated that ‘little’ she was talking about.

“Tss…” Arie crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyway, dad was looking for you last night. I made an alibi that Granny asked you to come over.”

“Oh, thanks.” She beamed. “I love you for that.”

“Thanks my foot. You have to bribe me.”

“Oh, that…” She scratched the side of her neck. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll just make it up to you next time, mmm?”

“I should have forsaken you.” Arie pouted and marched back to her room.

She laughed shortly and went inside her room to rest.

SHE WAS going down the stairs for dinner when she saw her father coming from the main door. He came home early than usual.

“Oh, you’re home early,” her mother said as she meets him halfway.

Her mom was about to hug him, but it did not happen. She noticed something. Aera stopped mid-way and watched them.

“I-is there a problem, hon?” her mother asked worriedly.

“I already told you about this before that the company was at the edge of bankruptcy.”

“Yes… And you loaned a huge amount of money to the Arcenas to save the company, right?” Her mom held her father’s hand. “Everything will be okay, sooner or later.”

Aera’s father shook his head.

“We did not make it, hon.” Her dad heaved a deep sigh. “Now, I have nothing left to pay my debts to the Arcenas.”

“Let us sell the other assets then,” her mom suggested.

“No! No! We can’t do that. That’s the only thing that is left for our daughters. And even if we can sell those, we still need more…”

“Then what are you going to do with your debt?”

“Rod has an alternative.”

“What was that?”

His father’s eyes roamed. The color drained out of his face when he saw her.

“Rod wants Aera to marry his son Drace,” her dad said, eyes fixed on her.

Aera’s jaw dropped open.

“W-what?” Her mom grabbed his father by the arm. “What did you tell Rod?”

“I said yes,” his father said coldly.

“You will use me to pay your debt?” Aera exclaimed in disbelief. She got down and faced her father.

“Believe me… I don’t like that idea.” He held her arms. “But if you don’t marry him, Rod will send me to jail, Aera.” His eyes were begging her.

“Then face the consequences!” she said through gritted teeth. “That is the right thing to do, isn’t it?”

“Aera, I don’t want to go to jail! I don’t want to be separated from this family! Don’t worry—”

“No!” she screamed. “You can’t force me to marry a man I don’t love. For Pete’s sake, I don’t even know him!”

“Aera, please do this for me… for everyone’s sake. The Arcenas will also take over the company if you are to marry Rod’s son. You can save the employees, too…” his father begged.

Aera wagged her arms and freed herself from him. She took a step backward.

“You were always like that, Dad. How about me?” She knocked on her chest. “Have you ever thought about me? Did it ever cross your mind if I was happy each time you’ll tell me to quit what I love?” Aera could not help it any longer. Tears started to well from her eyes. “I am not an object that you could send to someone to pay your debt! I am your daughter!”

“Aera…” His words trailed off.

“You’re taking my life away from me, Dad…”

“It’s not like that, Hija,” her mother butt in.

She only heard about Drace from the news and only saw him on some business articles online. The Arcenas was one of the biggest names in the business industry. Their company’s stock price was soaring high; no one in the country could surpass them. And if her memory serves her right, Drace Arcenas was labeled as the emperor. He was that great when it comes to business.

If Aera only knew about their company’s problem sooner, she should have stepped in. Maybe that was the reason why his father wanted her to work in their company. He was asking for help.

“You should have loaned to a bank instead of the Arcenas, Dad.”

“Your father did that already,” her mom said. “But the amount of his loan from the bank did not meet the amount of money he needed to save the company, so he had to loan more, and he has no choice but the Arcenas.”

“Then why the hell did he loan such amount? He should have—”

“Your father’s business partner scammed him, Aera! He had to loan such amount of money because he was trying to save what is left. He needed to do that not for our sake but for the sake of those who work in the company.”

“Then, I will find a way. If I have to work for them for the rest of my life, I’ll do it. I’ll do my best to help.”

“But Rod doesn’t want anything. He just wants you for his son,” his father said and then sighed.

“You can’t change my mind. I won’t marry him.” She breathed exasperatedly. “This is ridiculous. I’m about to go crazy.”

Aera could not marry just like that, especially when her heart belongs to someone else. And why in the world Rod Arcenas wanted a girl like her for his son? She was not even an asset to their empire.