Chapter 2 STRANGER'S BRIDE

It was a long ride as the car approached the far end of the city. Gina had initially thought that the driver was going to take her directly to the magistrate but after driving past the city's center almost half an hour ago, she had let the thought slide.

Her palms were clammy as she gripped tightly to the bouquet, her thoughts wandering to whatever awaited her.

Apart from his name, Gina was as ignorant as her best friend, who kept pestering her about what her groom looked like. Being the only friend she has had since high school, Gina had confided in Dina who had thought that this idea was not a bad one, as it might help her forget her asshole ex-boyfriend.

"Rich men are the trend nowadays, who knew if you might fall for him at first sight?... Hehe, just go for it my dear friend, but don't forget to send me a lot of red packets"

She shook her head at her best friend's words, knowing that the girl who wouldn't mind blurting out whatever comes to her mind, only have her best interests at heart.

Her attention turned to the window, and she noticed that the car was now in a silent neighborhood, and no house could be sighted.

Tall trees lined up at each side of the road, and various colorful flowers which had fallen from them, carpeted the ground, dancing now and then with the autumn wind.

There was a long row of flower trees and Gina couldn't help the air of anxiety that escaped her lips. Was this like some kind of horror movie where a young girl gets sold and had to live together with some beast in the heart of a forest?

Her grip tightened once more on the bouquet, and her widened eyes darted rapidly across each window. 'Calm down Gina, your father would never have that kind of shady deal'

Her heartbeats turned to normal, as a reassuring voice rang in her head. She couldn't help but reprimand her thoughts which kept running wildly at the smallest things. Even though she had tried so many times to suppress that habit, she would sometimes find herself jumping at the slightest of things.

The driver who was at the front kept stealing glances at her through the rearview mirror. And when he noticed her eyes widened and darted around then shut tightly, his brows drew together. He drew the partition and quickly gained his stance, his expression stoic as ever as the car drove out of the forest and up the mountains.

When the partition was drawn, Gina couldn't see where they were going from the front mirror, and she shut her eyes once more, and a few moments later, she opened them and realized they were out of the forest, which brightened her facial expressions a little.

The huge villa was located at the peak of the mountain, and the big city could be sighted from afar.

The enormous metal gate was wide opened and the long car made its way inside before coming to a stop.

A middle-aged man stood in front of the big door, and when the limousine came to a stop, he rushed toward it and opened the back door.

Gina came out of the car, her eyes wandering around the vast place and what first caught her attention was the huge water fountain which had the sculpture of a mermaid. Her eyes narrowed on it, and the middle-aged man broke her out of her fantasy.

"This way please madam, the lawyers are already here and awaiting your arrival, we wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?" He said with a chuckle and Gina smiled back softly.

She followed him toward the huge door, but couldn't wait but glance back at the water fountain again.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Donald, I am the butler of this home. I took care of the young master and his little sister since they were little. You can call me butler Donald, as everyone does."

Gina was lost again, and she couldn't register the words of the middle-aged man, and the only thing that caught her ears was that he was the butler.

Her gaze did not stop wandering until they got inside the door for she has never seen this kind of sight, even in movies. Even though she was an heiress herself and had lived in a mansion, it couldn't be the least bit compared to this magnanimous site. And she wondered why such treasure was hidden away from the city.

After passing so many hallways, they reached a spacious living room, and among the many couches, three old men were sitting separately each on a couch. They were dressed in black suits and from the looks of it, Gina had made out that they were the lawyers.

But where was her groom?

Anxiety rose in her stomach and she gulped. Hoping he wasn't one of them.

The old men, on sighting the beautiful young bride, sprang up from the chairs and gave her friendly smiles, deepening the fine lines of wrinkles on their faces.

The butler moved forward and so did Gina, her heart beating rapidly.

The men greeted her and she sat across them, after finding her voice and managing a reply.

"Now, let's get to work," said one of the men as they also sat down, while the butler stood quietly behind the nervous bride.