Chapter 2: Blane

Three Months Ago.

"It is not as hard as it seems, and that is what I believe Professor Lee showed us," I told Cecil as we walked into the café after our second lecture ended and entered the coffee line.

Cecil Reid was my best friend. Her father was a doctor, and her mother was a lawyer. Her family wasn't wealthy, but they were financially sufficient. We met during our registration at Harvard Business School, having arrived on the same day. I came a few hours earlier and offered to show her around.

Cecil was prettier, with curly red hair and the prettiest amber eyes ever. She was also soft-spoken, which pointed to her upbringing; she was smart, both in books and in real life, but she always insisted I was smarter. Despite our differences, we clicked and have been inseparable.

"I feel there is more to it. I feel Professor Lee is leaving out some important details. It can't be that simple and easy." Cecil said, still not convinced.

"You know what they say: it takes a smart person to take a complex thing and make it simple, and it takes a foolish person to take a simple thing and make it complicated," I answered, and as we got to the front, I ordered my usual, and she did the same.

She thought about it a while in silence before saying, "I guess you are right."

The attendant handed us our cups of coffee, and we accepted. I smiled cockily. "I know I am right," I said.

Whoever stood behind me left no personal space because I turned around, only to collide with a body. The impact caused the coffee to spill on my hand a little, and I cringed at the hotness, letting go of the cup completely. It fell, and the coffee poured on both of our legs the next second. I cringed at the heat and screamed out in pain, startling everyone seated in the cafe. Unlike him, who wore a white pair of Jordans, I wore my brown sandals and suffered greatly.

I ended up at the university's clinic along with the stranger responsible for my accident because the coffee burnt him mildly through his sneakers.

Cecil and the stranger's brother, who were both in the café when the accident happened, followed us to the clinic.

That was how I met Oliver Plane, the blue-eyed boy with the goofy smile.

We went on our first date that evening after he convinced me to give him my number.

Flashback ends.

I got into Harvard Business School on merit. I had smashed my final exams and emerged as the country's best student. Impressed, the minister of education decided to sponsor my studies at any university of my choice.

I chose Harvard because it was prestigious and outstanding in academic performance compared to others, and I chose business administration. I would have never been able to afford to come here alone because I lived with my grandma, and she could only do so much financially.

This was an opportunity I didn't plan to throw away. I knew coming to Harvard meant I would meet people from notable families, but I was here to study and had no reason to bother myself.

Oliver Plane was the son of Ivory and Robert Plane, but I didn't know that when I first met him and his brother. The Planes were among the country's top ten wealthiest families, according to Forbes. They were also said to be a powerful family, and with their reputation in aviation, they stood to get more prosperous in the coming years.

Oliver was very good at keeping a low profile on his life, and who he was, and for a while, I thought he was just like me, a student who got in through merit or sponsorship. I wanted to believe that because it was easier.

I didn't come to the university to fall in love, but fate worked differently. The blue-eyed boy was charming and funny and, most of all, a gentleman, and my heart was not strong enough to stay firm.

The truth about Oliver's family came three weeks after meeting him, and we were on our third date. I had already fallen in love with the man, but realising who he was sent me running the other way.

I avoided him for the following two weeks, and when he asked why I had changed, I told him that his kind didn't mix with mine.

He asked what his kind was, and I told him his kind were the wealthy and powerful, and he needed to stick to them.

Oh, he didn't like that, and he told me he thought I would be different from others.

He asked if I would be like everyone in his life and define him by his family or if I would let him show me who he was.

I grew up thinking all children born into wealthy families were natural assholes who cared nothing about anyone but themselves. I held to that belief system until I got to know Oliver, and that all changed.

He was funny, kind, and caring. Falling in love with him was easy, but I knew what that meant. He told me he didn't grow up in a family where love was shown, and he wanted to love and be loved.

It was expected; his favourite song was I Want You Anyway by Jon McLaughlin.

He told me he loved me soon after, and I believed him. I knew I would fall for him when he smiled at me at the university's clinic, and I feared I might not survive it.

We were both crazy, and we knew it, but we didn't want to live any other way.

He asked me to marry him this morning, which officially made it three months since our first meeting and later date.

The first words that came out of my mouth in response were, "I'm scared," to which he laughed.

Then he told me that wasn't the answer to his question.

I told him I wanted to marry him, and he said, "Then say yes."

I did, and now we are here.

We stepped out of the multimillion-dollar, architecturally refined mansion into the compound of the Planes. The fluorescent lighting illuminated the night to show the path for the exit, and it was a work of art, amongst many others. Finally, outside and alone with Oliver, I drew a long breath.

He still wrapped his arms around me, and if only he knew how much strength he had given me. I didn't expect him to go to the lengths he had gone for me today, but I appreciated that he defended my honour. Still, I didn't want him to be on bad terms with his family because of me.

We came to Oliver's car in silence, and he opened the door to me.

"Again, I am sorry for what happened back there," he began.

"I told you our kinds don't mix from the beginning," I said at the same time.

He paused, taken off guard by the line of my sentence, and released his hand around me. I glanced at him and found a look of confusion and betrayal on his face as he stared at me.

"Are you saying my mother is right with her cruel criticism and treatment, then? You also believe money, class, and fame are everything and should dictate someone's actions."

I shook my head. "No, Olly."

His displeasure showed itself as a frown on his face, causing a wrinkle at the side of his eyes. "Then what? Was I wrong to ask you to marry me?"

"Oliver, no. Your family disapproves. Can't you see that? What happened in there is what happens when someone isn't accepted into a family." I explained it to him because I felt he wasn't grasping the situation. "I don't think we are ever going to get along. I know they will never like or accept me, especially your mother."

His frown disappeared, and finally, he looked to understand the point I was making. "You are not marrying them," he said, pulling me closer and wrapping his arms around me. I felt safer in his embrace.

"You are marrying me," he continued. "Oliver Plane, or I can be Oliver Barau if that is what you want; I haven't thought that far yet."

I smiled and shook my head, which lay against his chest. He knew all the right words, even without thinking about it.

"Blane sounds nice," I said, peeking up at him.

He grinned at me, and his blue eyes flickered at the lightning. "I like it too."

"I need to get us out of here because I don't know about you, but I do not want to be here anymore."

I nodded, and I almost got into the car when we heard, "Oliver, Imela. Hey."

It was Seth.

We turned around to find him standing there with an awkward look.

"Hey," I responded, and Oliver gave me a look of disbelief before staring back at his brother.

"Hey?" he scoffed. "Thanks for having my back in there, Seth."

Seth had stayed silent throughout the throw-down at the table, refusing to take a side.

Seth took a step forward. "I am already a black sheep of the family; my opinion doesn't count in there, and you know that," he said in his defence.

Oliver told me their parents felt disappointed when they discovered their first son had developed a diehard passion for art and not business studies, as they had hoped. They felt disappointed and shifted their love and dedication to Oliver, who was now betraying them.

"It doesn't matter; I have always had your back; it would have been nice if you returned the favour," Oliver answered.

"Then I am sorry," Seth said. "But you didn't tell me you were engaged to Imela; we have never kept anything from each other before, and I was as shocked as everyone." He accused in a disappointed tone.

A smile came onto Oliver's face, and he turned to look at me and rub my shoulders. "I did this morning; we are still getting used to it."

A smile came into his face, but it was soon replaced with regret. "Congratulations to both of you, but I don't think you can continue with this engagement," he said.

Watching Oliver's emotions go from happy to murderous in a second was unbelievable. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dad said they would disown you if you keep pursuing this crazy idea, and I think they mean it." He answered.

From everything that happened at the table, I saw it coming. This engagement was madness to his parents, and this was their way of bringing him to his senses.

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