April was marveled by how the decorations had turned out.
The wedding hall was beautifully decorated with the finest of ornaments and the whole place screamed luxury.Well, it was meant to be luxurious since it was the wedding of London's youngest billionaire, Mateo Hades.April had just graduated from college and got a job as an intern in L' couture; an event planning firm and one month into working for them, she was lucky enough to be given a big role. She knew she had to do her best to impress her madame.The hall was set and the only thing left to begin the ceremony was the couple. Ever since she began the wedding preparations three weeks ago, she hadn't set her eyes on neither the bride nor the groom, she was just told to use her instincts to plan the wedding and everything she needed was provided for her.Guests had arrived and paparazzi's were all over the place~ talk about a Hollywood wedding. But there was a problem, the couple were still no where to be seen.April rushed to the hotel where the bride was supposed to be getting ready to know what was keeping her but when she got there, she was met with just two maids."Where's the bride?" She asked the two maids who had the role of helping the bride get ready."She was just here but..." One of the maid sobbed and her lips quivered in fear. "But what?" "We left her to take her bath and when we returned, she was no where to be found." The maid cried out."What do you mean she's no where to be found?" April howlered and her head threatened to burst open from the intensity of headache she was experiencing. How could a bride go missing on her big day?She wanted to call someone for help but she didn't know who to call, she didn't have the contact of any member of the family. What was she going to do?Fortunately for her, two men suddenly walked into the room and she could tell it was the groom and his bestman given the way they were dressed.April froze like a rabbit caught in the headlight of a rapidly approaching car, mesmerized. She found herself unable to avert her gaze from the man who just walked in. He was like a modern day Adonis. From his jet black hair that was styled to perfection and not a single strand out of place to his beautiful face. His visuals weren't one that could be described with words.The most striking thing about him was that he was just.... he was simply breathtaking.April snapped back to reality when she heard his deep, velvety voice.She couldn't believe herself. She was simping over someone's groom. Goodness!"Where's the bride?" The man's voice echoed through out the room and a large scowl settled on his face. April notice how he didn't address the bride as his but she didn't think too much about it.The two maids fell on their knees, sweating profusely. "We deserve to die." They cried out loud and April couldn't help but roll her eyes, she found them extremely dramatic."Where is the bride?." Mateo repeated himself, his voice now dangerously low."She's missing." April intervened when she saw how terribly scared the maids were, she doubted they would be able to form words to reply him."And who are you?" Mateo turned, just taking notice of her for the first time."I'm April, the wedding planner." April gave him her usual formal smile and stretched her hands forward for a handshake but when she saw that he wasn't making any attempt on returning the gesture, she coughed awkwardly and withdrew her hand."Your bride is missing" She said, ignoring his earlier behavior.Mateo eyed her from top to bottom before turning to his bestman, Josh.He signaled Josh with his eyes and the man nodded and walked out, only to return almost immediately."She quit" Josh said as he walked back in."Who quit?" Mateo asked."Savannah" "Who's Savannah?"Josh let out a frustrated sigh when he heard Mateo's question. How could the groom not know the name of his bride."Savannah, your bride!" Josh said."She signed a contract. It was a done deal." "We'll have to think about that later. For now, it's either we cancel the wedding or find an alternative." Josh reasoned. There was no way they'd let the family and the public know of his missing bride. It'd be a huge embarrassment.After all, the wedding was a plan for Mateo to get his grandfather to trust him and hand over the company to him so failure to provide a bride would only prove that his grandfather was right.Apparently, Mateo's grandfather told him that he was not responsible enough to handle such a huge company and to prove himself, he had to get married.Mateo found it quite insulting given all that he had achieved. He also wondered how getting married equalled to being responsible but knowing how stubborn his grandfather could be, he complied and arranged for a bride. But now she was missing, leaving him stranded and confused but one thing was for sure, canceling the wedding was out of the picture."What are we going to do?" Mateo asked his assistant and best friend, Josh who was like his voice of reason.Josh came closer to Mateo and whispered something in his ears.April saw that she was no longer needed as she had done her part in planning the wedding so proceeded to leave the room but halted when she heard Mateo's voice."Hey!" He called out.April turned to face him then glanced from side to side to be sure she was the one he was referring to. "Me?" She pointed at herself."Yes, you." Mateo said and without wasting time, he asked. "Are you single?"April was stunned by his sudden question hence leaving her momentarily speechless.Mateo took her silence as yes and immediately, he said the words. The words that April had least expected. "Be mine."April walked down the aisle with her heart thumping loudly. How did her life come to this? She had come to the wedding as the planner but now she was about getting married to the groom.In the past, whenever she thought of getting married, she always pictured it to be a beautiful day; getting married to the love of her life and not some strange billionaire she signed a contract with.April had read numerous stories about contract marriages and she found them ridiculous and amusing. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to be involved in a contract, loveless marriage.At first, when Mateo brought up the idea, she had blatantly refused and scolded him for taking her as a loose woman but it seemed like the man had expected that his bride would suddenly go missing so he had previously conducted a background check on her and found out that she was desperately in need of cash~ lots of it to save her dying comatose mother.Being a businessman, he offered her a billion dollars in excha
Mateo and April walked down the aisle towards the exit of the church when the wedding had ended and somehow he found himself admiring her. He had to admit she was beautiful and graceful and he was secretly thankful to her.Mateo wasn't sure that he would ever make it to this point. After his bride went missing he thought he'd hit rock bottom but she had miraculously showed up and saved him even though he had used emotional blackmail on her. He wasn't proud of it but he was glad he had been smart enough to convince her. Now he was eligible for his inheritance.The usher's by the door opened it then made way for them to pass through. One of the numerous photographers stopped in front of them and yelled out, "let's get a photo before the guests comes out."Mateo frowned but nonetheless he stood for the photo with April by his side. "Close the distance" the photographer said.Mateo wrapped his arms around April's waist and pulled her against him, ignoring the way her body tensed in his g
"Let's go home" Mateo's deep voice brought April back to reality. She looked up at him, confused. "Are we not going to greet the guests?""You can do it yourself. As for me, I'm leaving." Mateo said, already walking towards his car, leaving April with no choice than to run after him.They rode home in silence and April hated it because it made her feel nervous, giving her time to think about what was waiting for her in her new home. The wedding consummation! When she agreed to get married to him, she didn't think about what would happen after. Now she would-- . She shook her head to get the silly thought out of her mind.'I'm just overreacting' she tried to convince herself.The car drove further into the suburbs and to the hill side till there were only a few cars on the road. April began to wonder where they were heading to. Had Mateo kidnapped her? Before she had the chance to voice out her trepidation, the car came to a halt in front of a huge, gold gate.
April knew that Mateo was playing with her emotions, she knew he wanted to have the last laugh but she wouldn't let it happen, at least not for tonight."All a lie you say?" She muttered softly, reached out and casually touched his shoulder, caressing it lightly and without meaning to, Mateo sucked in a breath and leaned into her touch.April's brow rose in amusement at the new discovery that it was quite easy to lead him on and his strong headedness was a facade.Despite how unaffected he claimed to be, she could still tell that her little effort was doing it's job.Mateo's subconsciously eyes drifted to her lips which he noticed were now parted and his throat bobbed. He felt like reaching out and taking those lips in his and kissing her senseless.He didn't understand his body anymore. It was like his body was a traitor, acting only on April's command. He had just met her today but she had somehow managed to h
"Mom, I got married" April said with a sad smile on her face as she sat in hospital room where her unconscious mother laid. "I know you'll scold me endlessly when you wake up but there was nothing else I could do." Her voice cracked, she was becoming emotional. "I couldn't just sit back and watch you die"Though her mother was unconscious, April still spoke about her marriage. She sat back and kept on talking to her mother, knowing that she wasn't listening. Her mother was her only family and she made it a routine to come to the hospital and tell her about the events that had taken place in her absence. Suddenly, April's phone rang. It was Eric."Babe, I have landed. Where are you?" He sounded excited"I am on my way" April said and dropped the call. She bid goodbye to her mother and rushed to the airport. She had forgotten that Eric was to arrive today and he had asked her to pick him up.When she got to the airport,
"Let's have lunch together""Are you not jetlagged? You should rest, we can have lunch some other time" April tried to convince him otherwise. She feared that Mateo would discover her secret and she didn't want to put Eric in any danger."What's wrong, April?" Eric asked worriedly and his brows creased. "Why are you creating distance between us? Do you not want to be with me anymore?" "No! It's nothing like that" April denied quickly. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. It wasn't my intention""It's fine." Eric smiled. "Let's go have the lunch, then."Eric held April's hand in his as they walked into a restaurant and she only relaxed when she saw the choice of restaurant he picked. It wasn't a fancy one so there was absolutely no reason for Mateo or any of his family to be there."How's work?" She asked, her eyes bright and the initial fear was no longer visible."Forget about work. Let's talk about you, about
"You drive me utterly, entirely insane" Mateo's voice was low and his forehead pressed against hers."Mateo," April whispered with a pleading tone. She didn't know what she was begging for. To hold her or let her be?Mateo groaned and gripped her hair tightly as his lips came crashing down on hers with an urgency she didn't quite expect.April moaned against his lips and opened up for him, needing more.'We shouldn't be doing this' her subconsciousness reminded her.Every thought faded away as Mateo, with one smooth move of his hand, cleared the things on a near by table and lifted her up to sit on it, not caring where the contents previously occupying the table landed. April instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips causing her dress to roll upwards thereby revealing her smooth, porcelain skin to Mateo's eyes."Fuck," He muttered against her skin before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her more c
Mateo sat in his office, unable to get any work done as April's words from the previous night kept running through his mind. When he heard her say those words, he felt helpless.It was obvious she was in love with Eric meaning that he had two options; it was either to get rid of Eric or make her fall out of love with him.Normally, he would have chosen the former but he decided to go with the latter because if April happened to find out that he did something to Eric, she would hate him~ although she didn't like him but he didn't want them to grow further apart.Making her fall out of love was the plan. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he was willing to try. He just needed to find a dirt on Eric or better still, make one up.Mateo picked up his phone and dialed a number. When the person on the other end picked up, he ordered for a detailed background check on Eric.Mateo had long had a spy working for him but he
The moment Mateo heard April's words, he didn't know what came over him and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. He kissed her like he wanted her to know the emotions he buried deep in his heart, one that he dare not speak of.April kissed him back with the same passion. The way her breath hitched as he thrust his tongue into her mouth drove him insane. Mateo found himself addicted to her and the worst part was that they hadn't even done anything.Perhaps it was the wine she drank earlier or the ambience, or maybe a little bit of both but April found herself needing more and craving him. "Mateo," She moaned as she tried to get him out of his suit jacket and Mateo generously moved back a little to help her take it off him. April yanked his tie off in a hurried manner and brushed her fingers over the buttons of his shirt as she tried to undo it. She didn't care where they were or if
Mateo paced around his office as he pondered on what his next step would be. So many emotions were running through his mind.First, he was glad that he had found something to make April leave Eric but he was also angry and wanted to rip Eric's head off his body for cheating on April and lastly, he was concerned about April's feelings. How would she react if she found out that her lover was cheating on her?He didn't wish to hurt her but she deserved to know the truth. Mateo couldn't hold back anymore and dashed out of the office. According to his sources, Eric and April were on a date and he knew just the right place to find them.He got into his car and drove to the restaurant as quickly as possible. To him, it felt like the more time he took to get there, the deeper April would drown in Eric's ocean of lies.Call him crazy, he didn't care. He just wanted to get to his wife as soon as possible.Mateo arrived at the
Mateo sat in his office, unable to get any work done as April's words from the previous night kept running through his mind. When he heard her say those words, he felt helpless.It was obvious she was in love with Eric meaning that he had two options; it was either to get rid of Eric or make her fall out of love with him.Normally, he would have chosen the former but he decided to go with the latter because if April happened to find out that he did something to Eric, she would hate him~ although she didn't like him but he didn't want them to grow further apart.Making her fall out of love was the plan. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he was willing to try. He just needed to find a dirt on Eric or better still, make one up.Mateo picked up his phone and dialed a number. When the person on the other end picked up, he ordered for a detailed background check on Eric.Mateo had long had a spy working for him but he
"You drive me utterly, entirely insane" Mateo's voice was low and his forehead pressed against hers."Mateo," April whispered with a pleading tone. She didn't know what she was begging for. To hold her or let her be?Mateo groaned and gripped her hair tightly as his lips came crashing down on hers with an urgency she didn't quite expect.April moaned against his lips and opened up for him, needing more.'We shouldn't be doing this' her subconsciousness reminded her.Every thought faded away as Mateo, with one smooth move of his hand, cleared the things on a near by table and lifted her up to sit on it, not caring where the contents previously occupying the table landed. April instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips causing her dress to roll upwards thereby revealing her smooth, porcelain skin to Mateo's eyes."Fuck," He muttered against her skin before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her more c
"Let's have lunch together""Are you not jetlagged? You should rest, we can have lunch some other time" April tried to convince him otherwise. She feared that Mateo would discover her secret and she didn't want to put Eric in any danger."What's wrong, April?" Eric asked worriedly and his brows creased. "Why are you creating distance between us? Do you not want to be with me anymore?" "No! It's nothing like that" April denied quickly. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. It wasn't my intention""It's fine." Eric smiled. "Let's go have the lunch, then."Eric held April's hand in his as they walked into a restaurant and she only relaxed when she saw the choice of restaurant he picked. It wasn't a fancy one so there was absolutely no reason for Mateo or any of his family to be there."How's work?" She asked, her eyes bright and the initial fear was no longer visible."Forget about work. Let's talk about you, about
"Mom, I got married" April said with a sad smile on her face as she sat in hospital room where her unconscious mother laid. "I know you'll scold me endlessly when you wake up but there was nothing else I could do." Her voice cracked, she was becoming emotional. "I couldn't just sit back and watch you die"Though her mother was unconscious, April still spoke about her marriage. She sat back and kept on talking to her mother, knowing that she wasn't listening. Her mother was her only family and she made it a routine to come to the hospital and tell her about the events that had taken place in her absence. Suddenly, April's phone rang. It was Eric."Babe, I have landed. Where are you?" He sounded excited"I am on my way" April said and dropped the call. She bid goodbye to her mother and rushed to the airport. She had forgotten that Eric was to arrive today and he had asked her to pick him up.When she got to the airport,
April knew that Mateo was playing with her emotions, she knew he wanted to have the last laugh but she wouldn't let it happen, at least not for tonight."All a lie you say?" She muttered softly, reached out and casually touched his shoulder, caressing it lightly and without meaning to, Mateo sucked in a breath and leaned into her touch.April's brow rose in amusement at the new discovery that it was quite easy to lead him on and his strong headedness was a facade.Despite how unaffected he claimed to be, she could still tell that her little effort was doing it's job.Mateo's subconsciously eyes drifted to her lips which he noticed were now parted and his throat bobbed. He felt like reaching out and taking those lips in his and kissing her senseless.He didn't understand his body anymore. It was like his body was a traitor, acting only on April's command. He had just met her today but she had somehow managed to h
"Let's go home" Mateo's deep voice brought April back to reality. She looked up at him, confused. "Are we not going to greet the guests?""You can do it yourself. As for me, I'm leaving." Mateo said, already walking towards his car, leaving April with no choice than to run after him.They rode home in silence and April hated it because it made her feel nervous, giving her time to think about what was waiting for her in her new home. The wedding consummation! When she agreed to get married to him, she didn't think about what would happen after. Now she would-- . She shook her head to get the silly thought out of her mind.'I'm just overreacting' she tried to convince herself.The car drove further into the suburbs and to the hill side till there were only a few cars on the road. April began to wonder where they were heading to. Had Mateo kidnapped her? Before she had the chance to voice out her trepidation, the car came to a halt in front of a huge, gold gate.
Mateo and April walked down the aisle towards the exit of the church when the wedding had ended and somehow he found himself admiring her. He had to admit she was beautiful and graceful and he was secretly thankful to her.Mateo wasn't sure that he would ever make it to this point. After his bride went missing he thought he'd hit rock bottom but she had miraculously showed up and saved him even though he had used emotional blackmail on her. He wasn't proud of it but he was glad he had been smart enough to convince her. Now he was eligible for his inheritance.The usher's by the door opened it then made way for them to pass through. One of the numerous photographers stopped in front of them and yelled out, "let's get a photo before the guests comes out."Mateo frowned but nonetheless he stood for the photo with April by his side. "Close the distance" the photographer said.Mateo wrapped his arms around April's waist and pulled her against him, ignoring the way her body tensed in his g