Chapter 1 A stood-up Bride.

Jessica's pov

I looked around the courthouse, yet there was still no sign of Collins. My heart began to beat faster as I wondered where he might be.

Today was our wedding day and he was running late.

A car drove in and I was rushed to look at who it was thinking it was Collins but to my disappointment, it was another person.

If situations were different, I would have loved to take my time in assessing the demigod standing before me but the situation I was currently in did not give me the luxury for that.

I brought out my phone and decided to call Collins. After the fifth ring, he finally picked up his call.

"Hello babe, where are you?" I asked him eagerly.

"Hello, who is this?" A female voice responded and I choked.

"Hello, I don't know who you are but can you please give the phone to Collins?" I asked the female voice.

"Sorry, but Collins is indisposed at the moment!" The female voice said with a note of finality in her voice.

I heard a male laughter in the background and I could swear that the voice belonged to Collins.

Many thoughts began to run through my head and I tried to hold them in.

I had always known that Collins was a flirt and I had been hearing news about people talking about him in such a way but I was never one to believe such things about the person I was dating.

The one time I decided to ask him about it, it was a disaster.

"Baby, how could you believe what people say about me?" He had asked me sounding hurt.

"I'm not saying that I believed what they were saying, I'm asking you so I could believe you." I tried explaining.

"Well, if you had not believed them, then there would have been no need of you asking me in the first place!" He said flaring up in anger.

"I'm sorry babe, please I'm not doubting you!" I immediately began to apologize.

Collins looked at me that day and walked away without accepting my apologies.

It took an entire week for him to finally start talking to me again and after that encounter, I never brought up the issue of him cheating again.

"Don't think I'm a fool, I could hear Collins in the background so please give him the phone," I said to the lady whose voice was also sounding familiar.

The other end went silent for a while and I thought she had ended the call.

When I was about to hang up the call, I heard Collins's voice in the background as he collected the phone from the female.

"Hello Jessica!" I heard his gruffly voice come up.

"Collins, where are you?" I asked him impatiently.

Something was already telling me that this was a disaster but I chose not to dwell on it.

"I'm at home." He replied nonchalantly.

"I don't get it, you are at home doing what?" I asked him.

"What else would I be doing at him if not to be relaxing? Today is Saturday remember? And I don't work on Saturdays." He answered me still using his nonchalant tone.

"Exactly Collins! Today is Saturday which was why we chose today as our wedding in the courthouse!" I almost yelled.

I was expecting different reactions but the reaction I got from Collins was not among them and it was just embarrassing.

The moment I mentioned that 'today was our wedding in the court,' Collins immediately burst into laughter.

It was not just normal laughter, it was one of immense mockery.

I believed that the call was on loudspeaker because I could hear the female voice laughing too.

It was then I remembered where I had heard the female voice and why it sounded familiar.

It was Jane, the woman he had introduced to me as his cousin.

I caught them together having a nice time at a restaurant and Collins told me she was his cousin.

"Collins, why are you laughing and why is your cousin Jane with you when you are supposed to be with me at the courthouse?" I asked sounding agitated.

"For your information, we are not getting married!" Collins informed me that it was a normal thing.

"But why?" I asked as my heart began to beat erratically.

"Simple! Because I don't love you!" He spat the words out with venom.

"If you don't love me, why ask me to marry you in the first place? Why engage me?" I cried out.

"Look, I just did that for fun, besides, only a woman as foolish as you would take seriously an engagement that you were asked to keep as a secret." He mocked.

My world shattered right before my very eyes and I was beginning to feel dizzy.

"So you mean to tell me that you were never in love with me?" I asked the obvious though I already knew the answer.

"No, okay, maybe at a point I thought I did, but you were too boring for me to keep as a side kick and you appeared too desperate to me," Collins answered.

Every word he said cut through me like a hot knife.

I had given my all to Collins and here he was telling me I was just for fun and being desperate.

If cruelty was to be a person, it would be Collins.

"So do you have someone else?" I asked just to be sure.

"Of course, it's Jane, Jane here is my only true girlfriend." He announced proudly.

I heard kissing sounds in the background but that was not the issue to me at the moment.

"Jane your cousin?" The moment I asked the question, I felt foolish.

Collins burst into laughter again.

"Oh no dearie, Jane is not my cousin." He answered.

"So you fooled me!" I cried out again.

"Like I have always had. You are foolish Jessica and I would love you to never approach me again! Our business together is done." He said.

"Collins!" I yelled.

"Enjoy your wedding day." He taunted and ended the call.

I was beyond distraught, I was devastated.

I was about to call him again when I heard the demigod I had met earlier asking someone on the phone to get him a bride.

Take it as a moment of impulse or whatever you want but at that moment, I was not thinking straight.

I marched right to him and said.

"I will be your bride!"

***