Chapter 2 Runaway Bride

The discomfort was so unbearable that Natalie felt as though her blood vessels were about to burst.

How cruel Flora was! Natalie had only taken a sip of the coffee yet the drug was already so potent. She hated to think what would've happened if she had drunk more than a sip.

Natalie felt as though her head was going to explode, yet at the same time, she felt a distinct numbness. Moreover, she felt an extremely unquenchable thirst, as though she had been walking in a dry desert for ages.

"Water... I need some water..."

Natalie managed to squeeze out a few more words. Her throat felt so dry and her body so hot that she wanted to drown herself in an ice bath.

"I'm taking you to the hospital right now."

The man knew what was going on with Natalie at a glance.

"Help me! Please! I'll do anything for you..." Natalie suddenly grabbed the man's hand in desperation. He was her last hope amidst this desolate, remote place.

"Just hold on a little longer."

The man frowned coldly. He had never meddled in other people's business. On any other day, he would've thrown her out of the car. However, for some reason, when he saw the desperation in Natalie's eyes, he felt pity for her.

"Thank you..."

Natalie expressed her gratitude sincerely. In fact, it never crossed her mind that the man in front of her would do anything bad to her.

The only thing that was keeping her awake was the sheer will to survive.

Natalie tightened her grip on the man's hand and sobbed pitifully. "I don't want to die!"

The man's eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth tilted upwards slightly. "You're a lucky woman. You're not dying today."

At this moment, Natalie was like a beautiful stranded mermaid. In a white lace dress, face flushed red, she looked fascinating.

The man stiffened. The helpless woman in the back seat was exceedingly tempting.

His voice suddenly turned hoarse. "My name is Jarvis Braxton. You owe me."

Natalie was swimming in and out of consciousness at that point and the man's words didn't register.

Jarvis slammed his foot on the gas and sped straight to the hospital under Braxton Group. Minutes later, he was handing Natalie over to the doctor.

That night, Natalie had an erotic dream. She dreamt of the fatal night a few years ago.

When she woke up, it was already noon of the next day.

The memories of the previous night flooded into her mind. When she realized where she was, a lump formed in her throat.

While she managed to survive, it was impossible for her to be with her beloved Rowley.

Natalie then noticed that there was a man lying prone on the edge of the bed, asleep. He was a very handsome man, and even she couldn't help but marvel at his dashing appearance.

His features were well-defined like a Greek god's.

Her gaze wandered to his strong arms.

Last night, she was in such a helpless situation, but this man didn't touch her. In fact, he even sent her to the hospital.

Natalie's cheeks flushed immediately.

What on earth was she thinking just now?

Was she hoping something happened?

She must've been out of her mind!

Seeing that the man hadn't woken up yet, Natalie carefully sat up in bed. The slight movement made the man stir.

"Trying to sneak away after I saved you?"

Jarvis stretched his arms lazily and glanced at Natalie with a faint smile.

She had woken him up.

If he had stayed asleep, she would've made a run for it.

"You owe me for last night. Were you going to sneak away just like that?"

"Huh? No, I...I didn't..." Natalie was at a loss for words. It was true that this man had saved her in her darkest hour, and hearing his pointed words, she felt guilty. "Thank you."

"That was my first time. Do you think a simple thank you is enough?" Jarvis looked at Natalie with piteous eyes.

"What first time?"

He made it sound like something had happened between the two of them.

"The first time I meddled in someone else's business."

Hearing this, Natalie secretly sighed in relief. Then, she regained her composure and explained, "My stepmother wanted to marry me to a dying, disabled man. I'd rather die than marry him. Anyway, thank you very much for saving me."

She'd rather die than marry that man?

Seeing the nervous expression on Natalie's face, Jarvis smiled playfully. "Yesterday was supposed to be my wedding day. However, after what happened, I'm afraid I won't be able to marry my bride anymore. You have to compensate me with a new bride."

"What? Oh, God! I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were supposed to get married last night!" Natalie felt terrible. But how could she give him a new bride? Clearly, he was making things difficult for her.

"Forget it. You're so beautiful, and your wedding dress looks really expensive. You wouldn't like a poor man like me." Jarvis's clicked his tongue in disappointment.

When Natalie saw how upset he looked, she suddenly blurted, "It's not what you think."

Jarvis broke into a smile and took her hand. "Then come back with me to meet my parents."

"What? No, not now..." Natalie withdrew her hand awkwardly. "There's something I have to take care of first. I'll leave my phone number with you. We'll get in touch later."

First things first; she had to confront her stepmother now.

"All right." Jarvis nodded and stopped teasing her.

Natalie jotted down her number and left in a hurry. But unbeknownst to her, she had made a mistake and one of the numbers she wrote down was wrong.

Jarvis watched Natalie run off with great interest.

Then he glanced at the necklace she left on the bed and chuckled.

Just then, his rang.

"Jarvis, the bride ran away, and we don't know where she is. As for you, where the hell were you last night? What could be more important than your own wedding?"

"I was with the bride." A rare touch of tenderness softened Jarvis's eyes at the mention of Natalie.

He didn't expect that fate would have his bride run away from the wedding, only to bump into him, the groom.

Jarvis' simple statement shocked Lamont Henderson, the person on the other end of the line.

"Are you joking? I said, your bride ran away. Oh, and let me tell you something: the Rivera family is very bold. The bride you were supposed to marry was Alisha. But they sent over Natalie instead. Alisha has married into the O'Brien family!"

It was easy to figure out what was going on, and Jarvis quickly pieced it together.

Lamont added, "Your grandfather said he'd be waiting for you to deal with this matter."

"Then call off the engagement."

After a slight pause, Jarvis added, "There's no need to make things difficult for the Rivera family."

"What the hell are you talking about? They made a fool of you! Alisha married into the O'Brien family. How can you let this go so easily?"

Lamont was shell-shocked. It wasn't Jarvis' style to let go of those who offended him.

Jarvis should've held a deep grudge against the Rivera family for tricking him and marrying off his original bride.

"Do as I said," Jarvis ordered.

Lamont couldn't help but remind him, "Your three ex-wives are 'dead'. If you call off the engagement this time, those people in the Braxton family will find out something wrong. At that time, all our previous efforts will be wasted."

Jarvis mulled over this for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "I have another plan."

"What?" Confused, Lamont couldn't tell what was going on in Jarvis' head.

Instead of answering his question, Jarvis changed the topic. "Get me a cheap car."

"For what?"

"Chasing my wife."

......

When Natalie arrived at the gate of her home, she found her father, Garrett Rivera, and Flora respectfully sending a middle-aged man off.

This was the man sent by the Braxton family to break off the engagement.

Back then, the Braxton family wanted Garrett's daughter to marry into their family, but now, they suddenly broke off the engagement. The bride had run away, but the Braxton family did not make things difficult for the Rivera family. Garrett was shocked by their leniency.

After the man got in the car and left, Garrett wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. When he saw Natalie, he barked harshly, "Natalie, look what you've done! You still have the audacity to show your face here. If the Braxton family didn't show mercy on us this time, we would've gone bankrupt."

Looking at Garrett, Natalie retorted coldly, "Dad, do you know what happened last night?"