“Poor bride. She’s been standing there for hours waiting for the groom,” I heard a woman’s whispering voice.
“It’s truly so sad. I can’t imagine how sad she’s feeling,” Another woman replied in a hushed tone.
“Do you think the groom has ditched her?” A man whispered in a low voice.
“That would be too sad. Please don’t say that…” Another woman replied with what seemed to be genuine sadness in her voice.
I stood silently in front of the altar in a white wedding dress that was far too elegant for my tastes and far too heavy for my comfort. The overly high-heel shoes that I was wearing was starting to hurt my feet and my legs were starting to feel sore from standing still for too long. I clenched and then unclenched my hands together for the hundredth time, or something along those lines since I had already lost count.
The sequined lace fabric of the dress that covered my arms in a long sleeve was itchy, not that anyone cared. I didn’t choose this dress. I have never met my groom. I was in love with another man. Most of all, I didn’t want to get married.
Yes. Me, Malissa Maxford is being forced into a contract marriage with the heir of the largest global mafia syndicate.
It was cold inside the white marble church; however, I was sweating in discomfort. I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here just waiting for my future husband to arrive. It must have been at least a couple of hours and everyone else have gotten restless and anxious.
If this had been a wedding that I wanted, I would have felt so worried that the groom has not shown up. However, the truth is, I didn’t care if he never shows up. Actually, it would be for the better for us all if he never showed up. Then the wedding would be called off and my grandmother and I can return to our normal and peaceful life.
I glanced sideway to see my frail and very sick granny sitting in a wheelchair with a nurse standing close behind her. I wish this wedding or whatever would be over quickly so that she can return to rest at the hospital. My grandmother was very old, and recently, I had discovered that she was very sick. The doctors couldn’t tell me how much longer she had left but even my untrained eye could tell that it wasn’t very long.
“Where’s the groom?” a man asked in a hush voice.
“Good questions. We’ve been waiting for almost three hours already…” another man replied before yawning.
“Shhhh…be quiet. The boss will kill you if he hears,” another man hissed to the other two.
“Has someone found him yet?” another voice asked seriously.
“I sent a bunch of men from my squad already. It shouldn’t take much longer…” someone else replied but I couldn’t sense much conviction from his voice.
“Don’t stare at the boss. He’ll kill you if he sees you staring…” one of the men hissed.
“That’s right. He’s definitely not in a good mood,” another one said with a sigh.
“What is that damn son of his doing?” the other said in a very soft whisper.
“Exactly, it’s his wedding and he’s not even here…” another man replied in agreement.
“That kid is supposed to take over after this father? What a rotten joke…” an old man spoke up.
“Not so loud, the boss will hear you…” the man next to him said in a hurry.
“If only his brother was still alive…” the old man continued without much care.
“Let’s discuss this later. I hope he turns up soon…this church is fucking cold,” one of the men said and I couldn’t agree more. At least they were wearing suits, my arms were covered only with thin and see-through lace.
The old priest standing in front of me looked pale and stressed with what was going on. Poor old man, I wonder what he did to deserve this. He’s been standing still for as long as I have, and his legs must be killing him at his age.
“Umm…perhaps we should postpone…” the old priest suggested hesitantly in a small voice.
“Shut up old man! I’ll shoot you in the face!” the mastermind behind this whole wedding ordeal shouted at the top of his lungs.
Oh My God…is that a gun? It’s a gun, right? It’s real right?
My eyes widened in shock, and I wished that I could just disappear from this place. I must be stuck in a bad dream, I tried to convince myself as I closed my eyes. My body shook in fear. I looked over at my granny. Thankfully she had not died from a heart attack from the shock.
I opened my eyes, and my worst nightmare was confirmed. This was really happening, and I was not in a dream. The reality was that the most influential mafia boss was pointing a gun at the old priest. The mafia boss who had forced me into this contract marriage was red in the face and has resorted to threatening the priest with a gun.
The Torex mafia gang was bad news. When the boss told me Hayden’s first name, I didn’t need to ask for his last name. If he was heir to the Torex gang then his last name is simply: Torex.
The rumor has it that the man who established the Torex family changed in last name to Torex and name the gang the same way. All members of the Torex family and their members are supposed to have a wolf tattoo somewhere on their body. Once again, I didn’t know if this rumor was true or not.
The Torex gang is world-famous and lived their lives above the law. Their business and evil deeds are common knowledge even to a normal person like me who had nothing to do with the mafia. Their business network spanned multiple continents and countries and involved businesses in many industries. Some of their businesses were ran outwardly as a legal and successful conglomerate while others were completely underground.
I didn’t know everything about their business, obviously, but what I, or the average person with eyes and ears, would know was that they had businesses in tourism, healthcare, and entertainment. Plus, all the other shady and illegal things that a mafia gang is supposed to be involved in such as human trafficking, drugs, casinos, arms trade, etc.
To be fair, no proof has ever been found of their illegal activities but that’s probably the way they live above the law: by paying the law keepers.
Regardless of whether rumors were true or not, the Torex and all their members were bad news. As it happens, I’m about to marry one right now and non-other than the next heir to the Torex family. I didn’t know where life would take me but never in my wildest dreams imagine that it would take me here.
Well, that is if the groom in question ever turns up which I pray that he never would…
--To be continued…
The priest recoiled in shock as he put both hands up above his head in surrender. I hoped he didn’t piss his pants. Actually, I couldn’t tell if he had, but I could tell that he had started openly crying in fear. I better shut up and wait until this event ends if I want to keep my head in one piece and on my neck and shoulders.“Where is my son? Where’s Hayden?” the boss screamed at the top of his lungs.Great, so his name is Hayden. Not only have I never met my husband-to-be before, I didn’t even know his name. I also haven’t seen a photo of him and so I didn’t know what he looked like. Not that I was interested. If I had no choice but to marry him anyways, what difference does it make whether he’s as handsome as a prince or as ugly as a beast.The boss turned around and started waving his gun at the rows upon rows upon rows of men dressed head to toe in back suits,
“Does it matter?” the boss answered with a booming voice as he stood in front of his son.“Well…the wedding vow…” the priest whispered hesitantly, his nervous pale blue eyes darting off in random directions.You tell him priest! Tell him that we can’t get married if the groom is not conscious and cannot say his wedding vows. I mean, does he even know what is going on? Would it even count if he doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into?“Oh…I see,” The boss said, nodding in understanding.I watched, surprised at the unexpectedly understanding reaction of the mafia boss as he continued to nod his head.“He needs to say his wedding vows…I see…I see,” the boss continued to mutter to himself as if in thought.Hayden was still as unconscious as the dead. I bet if
**Sometime before**I’m late! This can’t be happening to me! The supermarket promotional sale starts in ten minutes, and I am going to be late for it. I looked down at the grocery shopping list that my granny had carefully prepared and sighed. If I miss the sale and they run out of stuff, we’re not going to be able to get everything within our budget.I have to hurry. I ran at full speed along the sidewalk leading to the supermarket. I dodged around people, couples holding hands, children on their tricycles, an uncle walking his dog and so many more. However, I had to come to a sudden halt when I almost ran into a slightly plump old man. He must be in his fifties and was dressed in fine clothes like he was from the big city. I mean, no one at his age dresses this well around here.“I’m so sorry, Sir. Did I run into you? Are you hurt?” I apologized and fired off my questions at him rapidly.&n
Obviously, since I didn’t have any money and had no way to earn any either, I had to quit school. I didn’t have a place to live anymore, so I had to move in with my only surviving relative: my grandmother. With just one small luggage of clothes and necessities, I took a train to a nameless town in the countryside where my grandmother was living.By the time that I left the capital city, I was already prepared for the worst. When I first stood in front of the address that was supposed to be where my grandmother lived, the reality wasn’t too far from my expectation. My grandmother, as I was told, ran a small confectionary and cake shop in a very small town. The description was spot on.‘Sweet Time’ was the name on the faded white and pink sign of the small shop owned by my grandmother. It was clear that the sign had faded from white and red to its current state of pink. The shop was located on the first floor and
That’s impossible. My parents never mentioned taking out any debt from the mafia and definitely not five hundred million dollars. What would they even need that much money for anyways? We lived a normal life. We didn’t have any crazy money to spend like that.I turned to look behind me at my sobbing grandmother who had a look of absolute shock on her face. I knew it, this is probably also my grandmother’s first-time hearing about all this. I was worried about my grandmother. She looked so pale like she could pass out at any moment and her silent sobbing cries had gotten louder as the situation worsened around us.“It’s just as the contract states. Your parents borrowed five hundred million dollars from our boss and we’re here to get it back. Simple,” the man continued in a passionless voice.Simple. My foot.I looked down at the contract that I clutched tight
I heard a low voice call out to me before a hand reached out and shook my right shoulder. I woke up with a small jump. When did I fall asleep? I must have dozed off during the multi-hour ride to the city. I guess I was tired, I didn’t realize when I had fallen asleep at all.Where am I?The car had come to a complete stop and looking out of the window I could see that we have arrived at a gigantic mansion decorated in the baroque European style. This building is massive! Are we at a luxury hotel?I could see the beautifully decorated garden outside with its cupid water fountain and flowers of various types and colors. If the circumstances of my arrival here had been any different, then I’m sure that I would have enjoyed the view and would have felt super excited to be in such a nice place. However, the only thing I felt right now was anxiety, fear, and stress.The men wordlessly unbounded my hands and feet before carefu
“So, you do remember me. Excellent!” the boss said with a warm smile that showed off the wrinkles around the corners of his eyes.I have to say that I did not expect the kind-hearted uncle to be a mafia boss. In other words, I did not expect the mafia boss to be a smiley uncle figure.“Yeah…umm…hello…once again, I guess,” I stammered when I finally found my tongue.“Have a drink, dear. You look a little tired from the trip. It must have been a long one…” the boss said as he gestured to a glass or water that was placed on the coffee table.“Thank you…” I whispered as I reached for the glass.“Did my men treat you roughly? I did order them to be gentle with you…as gentle as handling a feather,” the boss asked, suddenly his gaze was serious.For some reason, I figured that I shouldn’t tell him that they
“So, you see, that family member that I have chosen is my son. Trust me, it’s much better than marrying me, is it not?” the boss said, laughing at his own sick joke.I stared at the document in shock as my hand shook. If I tear this paper apart, will that void the contract? I guess not…As I was deep in thought as to what I should do next, the boss’s mobile phone started to ring loudly, disturbing the tense atmosphere in the room.“What? I see…and? We’ll cover it…give her the best treatment,” the boss spoke through the phone.The conversation came to an end and the boss looked at me with a sad face and I wondered what that whole phone call was about.“The man that took your grandmother to the hospital just called,” the boss said solemnly.“How is she?” I asked with worry.“I think she already knew this but…