Billionaire's Runaway Bride

It was late afternoon and the day she would officially become a wife. Looking out of the window, Carissa couldn't help but observe the beauty that graced her eyes.

At the end of each aisle were balloons, ribbons and scented candles which did well in creating a perfect wedding scenery.

From a distance, she caught a glimpse of her mother, who was grinning widely and making gestures to the caterers.

"She must be so happy", Carissa said to herself, with her face becoming downcast.

She took in a deep breath as she shifted her gaze away from the window and strolled to the mirror. A sad smile made its way to her beautiful face.

"A beautiful day for a beautiful bride!" Her mother, Mrs Williams, said in elation as she entered the room.

Carissa responded with a smile, moving closer to her mum and entangling her in a tight hug. "Thank you mum", she replied in a low voice, lowering her eyes to the floor to prevent her mother from catching a glimpse of her misty eyes.

"Your dress is so beautiful!" Mrs Williams gushed out in excitement, while Carissa smiled and nodded in affirmation.

That was the truth. Everything she got adorned with was beautiful and glamorous.

"No doubt, it's the most beautiful dress anyone would ever lay their eyes on", her mother added, grinning from ear to ear.

"Especially when it's worth over twenty thousand dollars!" Carissa noted in a bored tone, raising her brows and sighing calmly. She knew that was the exact utterance her mother was about to make. At that, she decided to lay it out before she did.

Mrs Williams never ceased to remind Carissa of how wealthy Ethan was and how exorbitant he was when it comes to providing their dire needs. "I see that you are beginning to understand", her mother said in relief as her eyes lit up in excitement. Clearly, she was surprised and elated that Carissa was finally accepting the fact that Ethan would do anything to make her happy.

Ever since Ethan made his intentions known, Mrs Williams had always talked to Carissa in that regard. She knew her daughter so well, and it wasn't hidden that Carissa never wanted Ethan for a husband.

At nights, during breakfast and dinner, Mrs Williams always chimed in conversations about Ethan and how he was a very responsible man. Carissa understood her mother's position. Her family needed help, and Ethan seemed to be that help that they've prayed for all these while. With his first appearance in their lives, he had settled Mrs William's debts, gotten them a new apartment, purchased a car for Carissa and also, enrolled her junior ones in one of the best schools in the country.

Truly, he had done a lot and that spurred Carissa to finally accept to marry him.

"I will marry Ethan", she had said to her mother one morning during breakfast.

At first, Mrs Williams thought that she was in a trance, but when she saw the firm gaze of Carissa after some minutes, she became convinced that it was the reality. That seemed to be her greatest joy, and Carissa could bet that she had never seen her mum so happy and excited about something.

***

Carissa turned her gaze back to the mirror and admired the dress she was cladded in.

Despite how hard she tried to feel elated, a part of her still felt empty. Getting cladded in a dress worth over twenty thousand dollars sounded great, but then, wasn't her definition of happiness.

Her definition of happiness was love and feelings, deeper than the display of wealth and power. She wanted much more; a man who was sincere to the core. She wanted a man who she would freely share every detail of her life with, without any restriction or obstacle.

She was certain that Ethan was willing to do that for her, but her heart seemed to be shut. For months and days, she had tried so hard to open up her heart to love again, but it wasn't working.

She had gone to the internet, watched several videos on how to love a man. Even, she tried out most of the tips she had gotten. Yet, there wasn't a bit of progress.

"Perhaps, it's not in my destiny to love more than once", she always told herself whenever she was beginning to get overwhelmed.

As time went on, she decided to move on with Ethan. She knew that it would be selfish to turn him down after all he had done for her family, and so, she resolved to becoming his wife. Carissa knew what love felt like. She had been there before, she had experienced the goodness and life it brought. Love was everything to her, but she was unlucky...

And here she was, on her way to saying "I do" to a man she wasn't in love with. Such an irony! "We have five minutes before the wedding commences. The guests are arriving", a bridesmaid said as she peeked into the door. "Okay! Carissa, you need to take in a deep breath and relax your nerves", her mother said, patting her back slightly. She took in a deep breath and swirled around to peer into her mother's excited, but slightly worried eyes.

"I'm fine mum, I'm very fine", she lied and smiled brightly when she saw the worried look on her mother's face fading away.

A wave of doubt washed through her face as she struggled to cover up. She could feel her feet becoming wobbly and her heart beating out of her chest. She wasn't ready, and she knew it...

Before the wedding, she had been enclosed in her room, denying anyone frequent access and trying to make a decision. Carissa knew that she could turn back that moment and opt out of the whole situation.

However, her mind was so fragile to handle what would come after that.

"You don't want to do this, do you?" Mrs Williams asked, caressing Carissa's hair lovingly and glaring at her through the mirror.

"I want to do it! I'm ready!" Carissa replied, nodding her head in readiness.

Stan laid on his bed, snoring lightly and ruffling his blanket at intervals.

For the hundredth time, his phone rang aloud, causing him to let out a groan.

"Who the hell is this?" He asked grumpily as he picked up the phone and flung it to the couch that laid opposite his bed.

The shattering noise that emanated from the phone caused him to jolt up, with every bit of sleep making way out of his eyes.

"Oh my God!" He yelped and jumped off his bed, rushing towards the phone and picking it up with regrets written on his face.

He had just gotten the phone two weeks ago after they made the announcement of its release. It hadn't stayed up to a month in his possession and despite how wealthy he was, he felt terrible that he had given the phone a crack. "Thankfully, it's still working ", he said as a massive breath of relief escaped his lips.

He quickly checked through his call log, silently wondering why someone decided to stand as an obstacle to his Saturday sleep time. During weekdays, he worked from the morning hours up to nighttime. At that, he didn't have enough time to sleep and rest during the week. However, on weekends, he made it a point of duty to stay on his bed until noon.

"Why the hell did you disrupt my Saturday...", he was saying when the voice from the other end of the call cut him short.

"Stan, it's today!" The voice said hurriedly, causing him to remain mute for some seconds. "What are you trying to say?" Stan asked, his heart beating out of his chest and his fingers shaking fervently.

Silently, he hoped that it wasn't what his instincts pointed at.

"Her wedding" the voice from the other end informed and unknowingly, the phone dropped from his grip and landed on the floor; shattering into pieces and turning blank immediately.

Stan took slow steps backwards, staggering slightly and trying so hard to keep his knees from collapsing. "No, no, that's not possible", he said to himself as tears welled up his eyes.

The next that followed was a loud scream, which would have been capable of drawing the attention of whosoever that might be in the building.

He walked to his balcony and as the soft wind of the morning blew calmly on his face, his mind wrestled and tried to come up with a decision. His name is Stan, a handsome young billionaire in his early thirties. He stands as the heir to the Devreal empire. A large company that stood among the top in the United States.

With how handsome he looked, together with how rich he was, it was of no surprise that girls flocked around him at every instance. Stan was muscular and adored mainly for his dark, curly hair. It was neat and flowing and in most cases, girls wallowed in wild fantasies that involve digging their hands into them. He closed his eyes as a silent stream of tears trickled off his eyelid and down his cheeks. Despite how hard he tried to withhold the emotions that surged up from the news he heard, he couldn't deny the fact that it struck the most sensitive part of his heart. He took in a deep breath and, suddenly, felt a wave of energy flowing through him. "There's still time! There's time!" He muttered hurriedly as he ran back to his bedroom and glanced at the wall clock that hung opposite where he stood. It was almost 11:am, the time of the day when the bride was probably about to walk her way down the aisle. "Get me my car immediately!" He said hurriedly into his other phone that laid on the bed. Without taking his bath or taking note of how he looked, he rushed out of his apartment in disarray. "Where's the car?" He bellowed angrily for the hundredth time on the call. Almost immediately, a black BMW approached Stan. The door opened up, and he jumped in, panting so hard as though he had just completed a race.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked him, peering piercingly into his eyes. "Where did you get the information from?"Stan asked the one important question he had in his heart.

"I saw on a magazine", Jay replied as Stan's eyes popped out of his socket. "What?" He asked, almost screaming out of his lungs.

The last he checked, there was possibly no way that Carissa would be on the magazine. She was only a simple girl who didn't fancy so much social life. Stan swallowed hard as he looked at Jay, who wore a straight face.

"How is that possible? The News of her wedding can't actually be on a magazine...", he was saying when Jay cut in immediately.

"Of course it can", Jay replied calmly.

"Especially because she is about to get married to a rich and influential person. I'm certain the news would be everywhere very soon", Jay informed Stan, who felt a considerable pang on his heart.

Suddenly, his throat became constricted, and it started looking as though he were running out of air. "Are you okay?" Jay asked in a tone that showcased a glint of sarcasm.

"Of course I'm not! Can you step on it and get me to the wedding location?" Stan cried out in frustration, while Jay scoffed and returned his gaze back to the road. Jay was a young and handsome man around the same age range as Stan. They were best of friends since college, and it wasn't surprising that the both of them resolved to working together later in life. Inasmuch as Stan was the boss and heir to the company, Jay never felt belittled or not good enough.

He was always willing to help Stan through everything he was going through, and that caused their relationship to flourish over the years.

"Jay, increase the speed! We would reach there when the wedding is over if you continue moving this slow."

Stan pleaded as he shifted uncomfortably on his seat. He had beads of sweats on his forehead, and Jay couldn't help but scrunch his brows, totally surprised by his friend's reaction. His friend, who had claimed to be a tough man.

"Mum", Carissa suddenly called out to her mother, a few steps away from the door that led to the main entrance of the wedding location. "Yes my dear", Mrs. Williams replied as she stopped walking to peer into her daughter's beautiful eyes.

"Can we wait a little more? I guess I'm becoming so nervous that my stomach is beginning to ache", Carissa said and chucked nervously, lowering her eyes to the floor to hide the tears that welled up in them.

"Oh my dear!" Mrs. Williams chimed in and placed her hands on Carissa's forehead; in a bid to check her temperature.

"The guests are waiting already. Do you think you would be better in the next ten minutes?" Her mother asked while she nodded her head in affirmation.

"The bride would be out in the next ten minutes", Mrs. Williams informed the man who stood by the door to open it up for the bride. Retracing their steps back, they made their way to the room they had come out from.

Once Carissa was back in the room, she let out a considerable sigh of relief and quickly walked to the window. She felt totally uneasy and nervous, that every bone in her felt frail.

"Take in a deep breath, my dear", Mrs. Williams said to Carissa, who obliged.

"I'm sorry, mum. I'm just trying to get a hold of myself before heading out. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself due to how nervous or anxious I feel", Carissa explained while her mother chuckled and stared at her in admiration.

That was far from the truth and Carissa knew it. Deep down her heart, she hoped that Stan would show up and tell her that he still loves her. She remembered the last time they had seen each other. It was on a rainy day in June. They had gone out to get some coffee. With an umbrella in their hands, they walked quietly on the street.

It was a year already, but the memories of that day could never leave her heart.

"You should go on and explore. I may not be the best for you", Stan had told her as they stood side by side each other under the rain. She had thought that he was only being sarcastic. However, the reality dawned on her when she couldn't get through him on calls and via text. "It's a year already! What are you thinking?" She asked herself as goosebumps made its way to her skin.

She usually felt a tingly and cold sensation whenever she thought of Stan, and this never stopped happening to her.

"Ethan is a good guy. You would grow to love him", Carissa said inwardly as she closed her eyes and took in another deep breath.

She could hear the noise that came from the clock, and it only signified that the ten minutes would soon elapse.

Mrs. Williams studied her daughter closely, wishing that she could have a glimpse of the series of thoughts that clouded her mind.

She was a mother who loved her daughter and as such, it pierced her heart when she sees that something is wrong with her daughter; without an idea of what it is.

"Carissa, you are not okay, you can't hide that from me. Sit down, we still have about five minutes from the ten", Mrs. Williams said to Carissa, who nodded her head calmly and walked over to the chair facing her mother. "How exactly do you feel?" Her mother inquired, peering piercingly into her eyes.

"Nervous", Carissa replied.

"What else?" "Scared", Carissa added. She was trying so hard to avoid spewing out the main word that encapsulated how she felt.

She was exhausted and that was undoubtedly how she felt.

"Is that all?" Her mother asked calmly, while she nodded in affirmation.

"Then it's normal, my dear", she said as she walked towards the table and grabbed a bottled water.

"Have some water, you would feel better", she said and handed the water over to Carissa who gulped down a large quantity from it.

"How do you feel?" Her mother asked as she held her hands and caressed them slightly.

"I feel alive!" Carissa said and broke into a loud fabricated laughter.

Her mother joined in soon and for the next seconds, they laughed so hard.

"You will be fine. I know you will", Mrs. Williams said as she smiled widely at Carissa.

"I felt the exact way you feel now the day I was to get married. Your father was someone I barely knew and so, I was highly nervous on the day I was to tie the knot", she started explaining to Carissa who was trying so hard to hide how bored she felt.

This was probably the hundredth time she got to hear such a story from her mother and this time, she was truly exhausted.

"Focus on building a sweet and admirable world with your husband and children. That's the secret to happiness", she assured Carissa, who nodded her head in affirmation.

"Thank you mum", Carissa said, smiling slightly as though she had listened to her mother's utterances.

Her mind was carried away all through the conversation because all she thought of was how she was about to tie the knot with someone she wasn't in love with.

"I guess that's your reality, Carissa", she said to herself as she braced up to face the reality that stood before her.

"I guess the stomach ache and anxiety is gone already. I feel so alive and ready to take this huge step", she said as she stood to her feet. Mrs. Williams slowly trudged towards her and pulled her into a warm hug. "You will be fine", she said for the hundredth time, after which she held Carissa's wrist and together, they walked towards the door that led to the entrance.

"You look so beautiful", everyone who caught a glimpse of Carissa gushed out in admiration while she smiled and mouthed a "thank you".