The Price of Return
The embrace of home should have felt comforting, but to Selene it felt off. The moment she stepped into the house, her parents enveloped her in a tight hug, their voices unusually tender, their hands lingering on her shoulders as if she might disappear if they let go. She had expected warmth—after all, she had been away for years—but this was different. Too much.
At first she brushed it off as their way of celebrating her return. They cooked her favorite dishes, asked about every detail of her life abroad and showered her with gifts she knew they couldn't afford. Yes, they were rich but not this much. When her mother handed her a brand new watch, an expensive brand she admired in passing but never asked for—Selene hesitated.
“Mom this must've cost a fortune... You shouldn't have”
Her mother waved a hand dismissively, her smile strained. “It's nothing sweetheart. Think of it as our gift for your return”
She wanted to believe that. She really did. But uncease stormed inside her, urging that something wasn't right.
It wasn't until that evening, after dinner, that the final piece fell into place.
She noticed the way her parents exchanged glances, their fingers curling and tugging at each other's sleeves as if urging the other to speak. Her father cleared his throat once. Twice. Her mother inhaled deeply, then exhaled, her hands clenching at the hem of her dress.
“Selene, darling, ” her mother finally said, voice softer than usual. “We... We need to tell you something important.”
Her father rubbed his temples, as if exhausted by a silent battle. “We're in dept, ” he said bluntly. “Half a million dollars in dept. ”
The words rang into her ears heavily, “ What?! ”
Her mother reached out for her hands, squeezing them tightly. “We—we made some bad investments. The money we thought would grow... It disappeared. And the loans... ” Her voice broke. For the first time in Selene's life, she saw real fear in her mother's eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me sonner?! ”
Selene's voice was sharp, laced with anger and disbelief. “I could've—”
“There's nothing you could've done” her father interrupted. “It's too late”
Her mother hesitated before speaking again, as if bracing for an impact. “But there's a way out. The family who we are indebted to are willing to not let us pay”
As Selene stilled, she didn't ask, she already knew.
The Miller family. Who else would want to have her as the wife of their son. Even dismissing a 500,000$ worth of debt as long as she agrees.
“ But they want me to marry their son, Xander? Am I right?”
Silence.
Her father looked away. Her mother's grip tightened.
“They're offering us a way to survive Selene” she pleaded. “Xandsr is well-educated, powerful—”
Selene barely heard her mother. Because all she could think about was Him.
Nicolai.
Suddenly, events from her departure years sgo flooded into her mind. The way he held her, arms strong but trembling, as if letting go would break him. When he cupped his face and shouted with all his might as he vowed, “I'll love you while waiting for the time we can be together – twenty, fifty, a thousand, a million years, or never. I'll love you even after the stars fade, until I become the man your family desires."
And she had believed on him.
She had spent years dreaming of her return, picturing the moment she'd run into his arms, the moment when Nicolai becomes the man her family wanted and needed.
But now...
Now she was going to be someone else's wife.
Her fingers curled into fists.
She thought of Nicolai's alluring eyes, the ones that always softened when they met hers.
And then she thought of her parents.
Their weary faces. Their shaking hands. Their desperate, pleading eyes.
Selene close her eyes, her mind screaming for a different choice. If only a miracle would occur. If only there was another way out.
But there was none.
“Fine” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I'll do it”
Her mother grasped, covering her mouth with trembling fingers. Her father exhaled sharply, relief washing over his face.
Selene looked down at the watch on her wrist— the gift she now understood was meant to soften the blow.
She had returned home, expecting that all of her problems came to an end, but instead she walked directly through a transaction.
And she was the price.
And Nicolai...
Nicolai would never forgive her.
