Chapter 4. Prior to the Wedding

A month before the wedding, Julian received a stranger who had been searching for him for the past six years. She had information concerning his mother who have been missing for years.

His mother, Sophia Jones went to work one day and did not return. Julian's great-grandmother did everything humanly possible to find her grandchild, but all her efforts proved abortive. No one knew where she had been to.

A woman who knew what happened went out in search of Julian, however, Julian adopted his great grandmother's name since his grandfather rejected him. That's was why it took Maria six years to find him.

When Julian met Maria who claimed she knew where his mother was, he quickly took her home. Maria narrated everything that happened to Sophia Jones. She also gave him a clip from the CCTV that was installed in the dining room where the incident happened. Julian watched it with tears in his eyes.

Julian fell on his knees and cried uncontrollably after hearing and watching what his mother went through. He concealed the information from his friends and went after the young girl who was responsible for his mother's disappearance.

Eva was in her office when Julian's invitation letter came in. She read it carefully and tossed it in the trash. She thought the letter came from one of her admirers. She just accepted James's proposal and they would be getting married in a month.

Their parents had started preparing for an elaborate wedding. A gorgeous wedding gown had been ordered and would be arriving in two weeks from Dubai.

She brought the letter out from the waste bin and showed it to James when he walked into her office. James ran his eyes through the letter and grinned.

"Julian Hampton, the famous footballer?" James asked.

"I don't know who the sender is," Eva responded.

"How many Julian Hamptons live in Sydney?" James asked.

"James, I don't care who the sender is. Just drop the letter in the waste bin."

"What does he want from you?" James asked.

"I don't know, probably to take away my gift to you," Eva said and they giggled.

"Please ignore him. I know he is richer and more handsome than me, but what we feel for each other is all that matters."

"Common, James, don't be ridiculous. Who is giving him an audience? As far as I'm concerned, you are the only man in this whole world. Who would propose to a girl and wait for her response for four good years? No man can do it. You have proven to me that you truly love me, and I'm not going to leave you for any man," Eva said.

"Come here, kitten," James drew her closer and kissed her slowly and thoughtfully. Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. "I love you so much, Eva. I can't wait to have you in my arms every night."

"We have just twenty-seven days," Eva said with a grin. "What would you do first after our wedding?" Eva asked.

"I will lick you up first; from your head down to your toe," James responded.

"Hmm….I can't wait."

"I have come to take you home. Shall we?" James said and Eva shrugged and began to walk towards the door. James stared appreciatively at her. He couldn't wait to make her his wife.

James Daniels, twenty-seven, was the second son of Bruce Daniels of Danicom companies. His father owned a telecoms company, which was the number one telecom giant in Australia. He was one of the richest boys in Sydney.

James stands at the height of 5"11. He was very handsome and humble. People often said that his handsome face was a reflection of his heart. Among his siblings, he was the best and his father was very fond of him.

James met Eva in a club when he was twenty-three and Eva was twenty and liked clubbing a lot. He wanted just a night with her but discovered that Eva liked to go clubbing, put on clothes that showed a large amount of cleavage, but sex was not her thing. She claimed she hadn't seen a man who was worthy of taking away her virginity.

She was rough and always ready to fight over a slight provocation. She was also a chain smoker.

Her most weakness was anger. She found it difficult to control her anger when provoked. She wouldn't mind shooting anyone who got her provoked. This was why her parents never kept any guns at home.

Despite all these, James loved her so much. His family liked her because she was quite presentable. Mr. and Mrs. Miles liked James too because his father was one of the richest men in Sydney.

James proposed to her three months after he met her. Eva told him it was too early. James was ready to wait until she made up her mind. All the while she was in school, she had a lot of male friends, but each of them dropped her when she refused to give herself to any of them. Eva was never bothered because she had James who was waiting for her.

When she graduated from college and came back to Sydney, she and James started from where they stopped. She likes James a lot because he doesn't ask her for sex. He already knew she would say no, so James did not bother her, nor ever tried to force himself on her.

Eva and James walked into the elevator and the motor began to move downwards. They stepped off and hopped into Jame's car and they drove off to one of the most expensive restaurants in Sydney for a tasty meal.

James could not take his eyes off her. She was indeed a beauty to behold.

"Where was Julian Hampton all this while I was waiting for your response?" James grinned.

"Probably, one of your friends is also a friend to him; who knows?" Eva responded and they giggled and began to munch the food that was set before them.

James help her up when they were done and drove her straight to the new house he bought for her the day she said yes to him.

James was smiling at her but he was obviously bothered about the invitation letter Julian sent to Eva. There was an air of authority in his letter. He was not begging her to come. The words he used sounded more like a command to him.

James was surprised Eva was unbothered. Apparently, she was not the one that did the waiting. He began to feel insecure. Julian was no match for him. He was the dream of every woman.

"I'll be on my way, sweetheart," James said and planted a kiss on her cheeks. His voice was quite flat and Eva could detect worry in his tone.

"Is anything bothering you?" Eva asked.

"Why do I have the feeling that this wedding would not hold?" James said.

"Why? What would stop it? Do you have another lady in mind? Eva asked.

"No, but Julian. He is so powerful. Sweetheart, did you actually read the letter?" James asked. Eva's face changed.

"No matter how powerful he is, James he can't defeat me. He has a girlfriend he had been flaunting her pictures all over social media. He wants nothing from me. Please don't stress yourself over a harmless letter."

"Eva, give me your word that you would not leave me for him when he pushes too hard," James said, holding her tight.

"I promise you; we would be together forever," Eva said.

She walked James to his car and watched him as he drove slowly out of the compound. Eva nodded her head and repeated the promise she just made to him in her heart.