The Devil You Know

The run away bride.. Episode 4

“Turn around,” Mr. Rick said to me, and I glared at him, lost for a second before I hesitantly turned around. I shared an annoyed glance with James, who stood there giving me a reassuring smile.

It was the first time I met Mr. Rick, and he was already very arrogant. How was I supposed to put up with this man?

“Hmm. She has nice hips. Beautiful. I like,” he said with an annoying grin as I turned back to face him.

“She’d make a perfect wife,” James said to him.

I was to marry the most influential man in the country because with his influence and power, my kids and I had a great chance of escaping the Ross family’s wrath.

Brilliant!

I was exchanging my dignity and happiness for safety. I wondered if it was worth it and what would happen if I risked it all.

“Of course. You may go now. I need to take her shopping as our wedding will hold in two days,” he said in his old raspy voice to James, who looked at me, and I looked away in annoyance.

He left.

I was standing there in his house alone with him, feeling uneasy as he immediately went back to reading the newspaper he had in his hands.

“You know…papers are quite old now. You have an unlimited amount of information on the internet,” I muttered, trying to make small talk.

He looked up at me, taking off his glasses. “You’re too beautiful to be this naive,” he said, and I almost choked on my saliva. Wow! And you’re too old to be a jerk! I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

……….

“I need to go make a call, test all the dresses you love. I will join you soon,” Rick said to me and kissed my hands then turned around and left.

We were at a very expensive boutique with different grades of wedding gowns and other outfits, including accessories. I got super excited that I would be shopping with no limit. Ethan never gave me that luxury; instead, he hired me a personal shopper. It didn’t feel the same.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said to the man I bumped into by accident. I was too busy looking around to notice someone was coming right in front of me.

“Watch where you’re going, you i***t!” the lady standing right beside him growled, and I turned to look at her.

“Excuse you?” I said to her, angrily.

“You heard what I said! Now get lost before I lose my temper!” she scorned, and I scoffed.

Smack!

I landed her a dirty slap on her face. “Next time you see your fellow woman, be polite! Not everyone is as soft as you are,” I said, watching her hold her face in pain with so much satisfaction.

“Babe! Do something!” she cried to the man she was with who rolled his eyes.

“I told you to be nicer to people,” he whispered to her, but I still heard it.

“You need to smack her more often. Telling her won’t do the job,” I sneered, walking away.

“And who do you think you are?! I will get you arrested!” He shouted behind me while I turned around with a chuckle.

“And who do you think YOU are?” I said with a smirk while he looked surprised. He seemed to be egoistic and spoiled, and I guessed the lady with him was his wife-to-be.

“I’m Carlos! Carlos Ross! And I’m your worst nightmare. I will make sure you pay for what you have done,” he thundered, and I froze.

I stood there till he stormed out of the boutique angrily with his girlfriend, who made a face at me before she left.

“Did he just say he was Carlos Ross?” I muttered to myself and quickly brought out my cell phone to call James.

“Hey, uh, James. Sorry if I’m bothering you, but I need to ask you something real quick,” I said anxiously while James hummed.

“Go on.”

“You said you had other siblings, right? Did any of them go by the name Carlos?” I asked, impatiently waiting for a reply.

“Yes. Carlos is the eldest and the most brutal, I must say. Why? Have you been googling us?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes.

“Never mind, I’ll call you later,” I said and hung up immediately.

“s**t!” I muttered to myself then took a deep breath and decided to continue my shopping like nothing happened.

While trying on a very beautiful dress that I was already in love with, I saw Rick coming behind me through the mirror and I smiled happily and then turned to him.

“How do I look?” I asked excitedly while he grinned.

“Like my wife. Are you done?” He said plainly and I groaned inwardly.

“Yes. I love this one and those pair of shoes and accessories,” I said, pointing over to where I dropped them on the sofa.

“Alright then, we should leave,” he said plainly.

“Is something wrong?” I asked because I was concerned about his tone. I couldn’t tell if he was just being arrogant or if he was really mad about something.

“Uh no… why?” he asked, and he seemed to be perplexed about the question.

“Then you just love to be arrogant then,” I said, and he stopped in his tracks. I thought he was going to yell at me, but he did the complete opposite.

He was smiling at me, nicely.

“What are you doing?” I asked, a little bit worried.

“Keeping a smiley face just like you want me to do. It would make you happy,” he said, and I could sense the sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes and picked up my stuff. “We can leave now,” I said coldly and started walking away from the dressing room when he held my hand and dragged me back.

“I need to talk to you about something,” he said, and I folded my arms over my chest.

“I won’t be attending our wedding tomorrow. I have business to handle. I will send someone to fill in for me and say the vows, but not to worry. Once I’m done with business, I will come back, and we’ll consummate our marriage,” he said, and I glared at him with my lips slightly open.

“What?!” I said, raising my voice while he placed his index finger on my lips.

“What? You want us to have s*x now before I travel?” he asked, and I shook my head.

“Of course not! If I’m going to marry you, I will marry you properly!” I snapped while he placed his hands on his forehead.

“You seem stubborn. I like it. But I don’t like it when I don’t. You will do as I say unless you want to add an extra enemy to your list,” he threatened and walked away from me.

I stood there for a while, my chest getting heavy, but I tried so hard not to burst into tears in the boutique.

I followed behind him, and we paid for everything at the counter. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars on one shopping.

Maybe getting married to him won’t be too bad at all.

……….

I walked down the aisle, forcing a smile on my face. It was hard because that was literally the worst day of my life!

I left my kids with the nanny I had hired for them because I wasn’t ready to become a proper mom, not with all this chaos.

My lips were too dry! I told the makeup artist that gloss would do just the job, but she insisted I went with a matte look. It felt horrible.

My heart rate increased, and my palms became sweaty as I walked down to meet my fake husband at the altar.

So many people surprisingly attended the wedding, and I couldn’t recognize any of their faces. I didn’t invite my family because I did not want them involved in this mess at all.

“What the f**k?” I muttered under my breath the moment I saw who the groom was.

It was Carlos! Carlos Ross.

“You may kiss the bride,” the priest said, and it was time for him to remove my veil and reveal my face.

My heart felt like it would leap out of my chest any time soon.

“What the f**k are you doing here?!” he thundered, and I opened my mouth to speak, but words failed me.

His groomsman suddenly approached him and whispered to him. “Sir, there is a situation. Your bride is nowhere to be found. It seems she has run away. Please carry on with this bride to protect your reputation,” he said, and Carlos looked horrified.

“I’ve always known you were trouble. Let’s get this over with,” he said and pulled in to kiss me.

It was very dry and sloppy, and I didn’t kiss him back.

“I have no idea what I’m doing here either. I’m supposed to marry someone else, not you!” I whispered back angrily, but he ignored me.

Soon the crowd started clapping and cheering. It was sealed.