Chapter 1 The wedding

The Catholic Church, Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

27th of January, 2022. 10:30am

The church is filled with people, both men and women, all dressed beautifully. The interior is well decorated with balloons and beautiful chandelier lights, hanging on the ceiling. Everyone has smiles on their faces, expressing how they feel about whichever event is going on.

The priest stands on the podium behind the altar, awaiting the arrival of the bride and the groom who are about to get married. The door suddenly opened, and the early morning sun penetrated the church. A beautiful young lady stands at the doorway. She is wearing a beautiful white wedding gown which has the back sweeping the floor, a white veil covering her face, and a bunch of flowers held tightly in her hands.

Standing along the aisle, is a young man dressed in a black suit. He has an exciting smile on his face. He looks like he is the groom.

The crowd cheers and applauds as he strides down to the doorway, holding out his hand to the bride, not letting that sweet smile off his face. It takes a few minutes before the bride finally lifts her hand and places it carefully on his palm.

"You look beautiful, as always," He smiles at her, leading her down the aisle and straight to the altar, where the priest has been waiting for them. The crowds keep clapping and cheering for them.

The marriage rites kick off afterward.

"Do you, Mr. Jeffrey Ramos, take miss Helen Perez as your lovely and legally wedded wife? To love and to hold, to cherish and to care for, in sickness and in health, till death do you apart?" The priest asks with a smile dancing on his lips.

"Yes, priest," The groom replies boldly with a satisfactory smile on his face. Then the priest turns to the bride.

"Do you, Miss Helen Perez, take Mr. Jeffrey Ramos as your lovely and legally wedded husband? To love and to cherish, to hold and to care for, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, till death do you apart?" The priest asks the bride and her grip tightens around the flower she's holding. She looks extremely nervous and it's obvious on her body, even if her face is covered with the veil.

For minutes, silence assumed the air as everyone awaits her reply.

"Helen, why aren't you answering?" Jeffrey leans in on her and whispers in her ear, bringing her back to reality.

"Ye...yes, I do," She replies with a trace of nervousness resounding in her voice.

"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," The priest says.

Jeffrey holds the tip of the veil and unveils her face, but he freezes on the spot at the sight he beholds. Standing in front of him is the most beautiful young lady anyone would not get tired of staring at. Her pair of brown round eyes, her soft cheeks, her light skin, and her pink small heart-shaped lips makes her the most perfect woman, but still, Jeffrey looks like he just saw a ghost.

"Who are you?" He asks both in anger and confusion, glaring at her while the congregation wonders what's going on.

"Uhm... I can explain..." She stutters in a low tone. She looks extremely nervous even if she wants to hide how she feels.

"Explain what?" He yells this time around, taking a step from her and shaking his head furiously.

"What's going on here? This...this..." He shakes his head continuously, not knowing what to say. He was supposed to get married to his fiance whom he's been dating for a couple of months now, he was supposed to get married to the only woman he loves, and how everything turns around in a blink of an eye and someone else ended up walking down the aisle with him, is a puzzle he doesn't know how to solve.

"What is the meaning of this?" A middle-aged man asks furiously, marching to the alter with anger written all over him. Anyone would know with just a glance that he has a relationship with Jeffrey, if not his dad. They look very much alike.

"I'm sorry," She quickly bows, and with that, she rushes to the exit door and exits the church immediately, while Jeffrey just watches her leave.

The church lits up in an uproar as everyone exits the church one after the other, still having looks of disappointment, confusion, and anger on their faces.

Jeffrey Ramos is the son of a famous billionaire in Beverly Hills. He's one of the two sons of Mr. Sean Ramos and the heir of the Sean group of company, the most successful skincare company in Los Angeles.

Down the road, the bride keeps running even if she looks exhausted already. She stops to catch her breath. Her phone rings, and she brings it out from her inner pocket and answers the call.

"Hey, Chloe," The feminine voice says from the other end.

"Helen...how're you doing? Are you OK? Where are you now?" She asks, having a worried look on her face.

"Thank you so much, Chloe. I really appreciate what you did for me. This is a lifetime favor you've done for me, and I'll forever be grateful to you. I'm at the airport now, and my flight will take off in ten minutes. I'll call you when I get to Seoul. I love you, best friend," Helen says from the other end.

"I love you too. Take care of yourself, and don't forget to let me know when you get to Seoul. I'll miss you so much, and hoping to see you again," Chloe says as tears well up in her eyes.

"I'll miss you more. Alright, I got to go now. We'll talk later," Helen says and the call ends afterward.

Her name is Chloe Orlando, the only child of her deceased parents. Her parents died a few years ago, leaving her to fend for herself all these years. The cause of their death has always remained a mystery she's yet to know the secret behind it. Her parents were poor before they died, so they left nothing for her. Her friend, Helen has been the only family she has, who has always been there for her.

She sighs deeply, rubbing her forehead. She flags down a cab and hops in, but a handkerchief suddenly covers her nose, and that's all she remember. She passed out immediately...