Chapter 1

"Find her right now!"

Tristan De Clarion roared, his voice echoing in the entire office. This gorgeous man is red from face to neck, as he can't wrap his head around the embarrassment he experienced.

His assistant and childhood friend, Jacob Brown, standing next to his table trembled in fear. He can easily tell that his Boss is fuming mad.

It was supposed to be Tristan's wedding, but his bride decided not to show up. The De Clarion family waited at the venue for almost two hours, but even the shadows of the bride's parents are nowhere to be seen.

It was an arranged marriage. A deal between Frederick De Clarion – Tristan's grandfather and Philip Williams – Vernice's grandfather.

Although Philip already passed away almost 18 years ago, Frederick still wanted to pursue the deal. According to the old De Clarion, 'I owe Philip that much'.

When he was nine years old, Tristan got hospitalized for aplastic anemia. He was confined inside a private room for almost two years in the pediatric ward of Bree's biggest hospital.

With the money they have, they worked with the doctors in finding a bone marrow donor for him. They looked both locally and internationally for the right candidate.

However, after three months of searching, they were still unsuccessful. Out of frustration with the condition of his grandson, Frederick stepped out of the hospital and went to the park in front of it.

As if it was fate's way of helping them out, another man sat on the same bench and they started exchanging stories. "I can try and get tested, maybe we're a match," Philip volunteered.

Frederick's glum face brightened after hearing his newfound friends' words. They then rushed to the hospital and Heaven blessed them with a positive result. That is how Philip became Tristan's bone marrow donor.

A few months before the young De Clarion was released from confinement, a huge fire broke out in the hospital. His parents, who were sleeping in the VIP lounge, got locked up and failed to escape.

Tristan lost his parents at a very young age and it was his grandfather who raised him ever since, with the help of Jacob's father and De Clarion's loyal butler – John Brown.

Frederick De Clarion is a multi-billionaire, owning De Clarion Empire with tons of subsidiaries, in Bree City. The Empire is also an investor in lots of different companies in Bree, in its neighboring cities, and even abroad.

Tristan's father, Triton, was Frederick's only son. As the couple passed away early, Tristan became Frederick's sole heir.

Now that his grandson is the CEO of the company, Frederick can't help but worry. He is worried for the future of the company and his grandson as well.

Frederick has heard of Tristan's escapades. Jacob would often share stories about his friend and boss with his father, and John will then pass the story on to the old De Clarion.

Tristan is a known womanizer among eligible bachelors, not just in Bree but also in neighboring cities and abroad. He makes use of women as bed warmers.

Among all those he was linked with, none of them can even be considered potential wives or can even be labeled as serious girlfriends. It has become his hobby to switch from one woman to another, at least once every two weeks.

"Boss, I received a report of Vernice's departure from Bree City. She left two hours before the wedding," Jacob informed him. He just came back after looking into Vernice's whereabouts.

Tristan turned around to face his assistant and Jacob flinched instantly. "Where was she headed to?" he asked in a flat tone, blowing smoke from the cigarette he just lit.

"According to the report, she's bound to Dale. She arrived there three hours ago."

Tristan clenched and unclenched his fist after hearing this. He pressed on his nose bridge before sitting on his swivel chair.

'How dare she? I accepted her despite looking like she was made of plastic surgery. But she has the guts to shame me?' Tristan thought to himself while looking at the outside view from his office's floor-to-ceiling window.

Although the wedding was not announced and only a few of their relatives were invited, it was still shameful to be ditched. Fortunately, no media was brave enough to make a report on the failed wedding, as all media companies in Bree are well aware of the consequences if they do, so they did not dare.

"Make sure she won't have it easy there," Tristan instructed.

Jacob nod at him in response and bowed to leave. He got work to do and one of them is to deal with Vernice, the only woman who had the nerve to go against his boss.

Tristan took his cigarette case, grab another stick, and lit it up. He was playing with its smoke while eyeing the Newton balls on his table. He still can't figure out why Vernice stood him up on their wedding day.

No matter how he thinks about it, it was a favorable deal for the woman. Even before they got engaged, she was already given fifty million dollars for whatever expenses she has. A few days after that, a 10-carat diamond Cartier ring and documents for a villa under her name were sent to her.

'What more does she want?'

Tristan was distracted by the sudden ringing of his phone. "Tristan! The doctor's on his way here, your grandfather fainted," the voice of a middle-aged man echoes thru the line, it was John.

"I'll be on my way!" Tristan answered before ending the call. He then stood up, pressed the cigarette stub on the ashtray, and strode out of his office.

"To the family villa," he told Jacob as he passed by him. He headed straight to the elevator and down to the basement.

Jacob opened the door of the Maybach. Once his Boss is in, he closed it and slipped into the driver's seat. He quietly started the car and drove to De Clarion's family villa.

"Where is he? " Tristan asked John as soon as he arrived. The butler gestured toward his grandfather's room and he immediately followed.

"Why are you here?" his grandfather asked when he saw him come to his room. "Instead of coming here, you should have tried finding your bride," he coughed.

John helped Frederick sit up, placing a pillow on his back to make it comfortable leaning on the headboard. He then passed to him his cup of favorite tea.

"She already left for Dale. I must have scared her.." Tristan snorted. His grandfather's brows creased as if puzzled as to what he meant by his words. "I called her the other day, I told her this is no dream wedding she's getting herself into. I told her it was all for show and that I'm not as nice as people think."

Frederick shook his head, typical of his grandson. "I doubt she'd be scared by those words alone. According to her grandfather, she's no pushover even at a young age, I doubt you'd freak her out just because you said those dumb things to her," the old De Clarion stated, clicking his tongue and shaking his head at his grandson. "It was her father who came to me and asked about the wedding," Frederick then sipped from his tea while glancing at his grandson. "Lawrence told me of his Father's dying wish, but they just came back to Bree from Dale, that's why he can only visit me two months ago. I met Vernice, and although she seems far from his grandfather's description, she looks like she's a good girl. Someone who can easily control you," he chuckled.

He wants to find someone who can put the reins on his grandson. But unfortunately, just as he thought he found the right girl for him, she ran away.

He was disappointed, to say the least, but Frederick still wants to find her and maybe convince her again to marry Tristan.

'This old, stupid kid needs to get tied, the sooner, the better.'