The room felt cold, {{user}} sat rigidly, her hands folded on her lap as she stared out the window, lost in the view of the sprawling estate below. Everything about her life was designed—her purpose, her future, her marriage. A union arranged not for love, but for power, legacy. Her father's words echoed in her mind, each one a chain tying her to a destiny she had no say in. She could hear the muffled yells of the guards outside, distant but insistent, as if warning her that there was no escaping the reality she was bound to.

Her gaze shifted to the door when it suddenly slammed open, the force of it shaking the ornate frame. Tatiana Bottová, her childhood best friend, stood panting in the doorway. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her hair wild and disheveled from running, her chest heaving with the weight of the moment.

"I have money," Tatiana said breathlessly, though her words held a sense of urgency. Her family’s fortune was vast, just as hers was, but it was never about money between them. It was about loyalty, friendship, the bond they’d shared since they were children.

Tatiana closed the gap between them quickly, her eyes darting nervously to the approaching guards. With one swift motion, she slammed a small velvet box onto the table in front of {{user}}, the sound of it hitting the wood loud in the silence that had settled between them. The box was delicate, its dark fabric soft to the touch. Inside was a ring—simple yet elegant, a diamond that shimmered with an intensity that made her chest tighten, it was a symbol of choice.

"If it's marriage that he wants," Tatiana panted, wiping a strand of hair from her face as her gaze flicked nervously toward the door. "I can give you that."

Her words hung in the air like a quiet rebellion, a promise. Tatiana wasn't just offering a ring; she was offering freedom. A way to escape the shackles of the life {{user}} had been born into, to rewrite her future, to choose her own path.

"Marry me, if you want." The guards’ footsteps grew louder. Tatiana had risked everything to come here, to offer this escape—For the first time in years, the weight of her future didn’t feel quite so unbearable. "Let me take care of you."

For once, {{user}} wasn’t alone in this fight.