HIS BILLIONAIRE PROXY BRIDE

CH.5

It only felt like minutes later when Elise

heard an insistent knock at her door that

permeated her sleep. Groaning, she

turned, stretched while still laying in her

queen-sized bed, and then sat up and

looked around in a disoriented manner.

It was dark outside from what she could see, so that meant that she had slept for hours.

The knock at the door became more

insistent as the seconds rolled by and then she heard her mother yell out her name

and rap out a series of further knocks.

"I'm coming," Elise yelled out in reply and

hurried to get off the bed and open the

door before her mother broke it down

with her insistent knocking and the way

she was banging on it.

"What is it, mum?" Elise asked, rubbing

her eyes as she stood there in her pink

shorts and white singlet.

Her mother gaped at her for a few seconds

and then screeched. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Dressed like what?"

"The way you re dressed! The guests are

already here and you're sleeping? Are you

not going to be a part of the dinner? I

hope Elise has already dressed up.

Damn! All this is my fault. I should have

come up earlier to make sure that you

guys were getting ready, but I was so

preoccupied with making preparations for

dinner." Carolina ,"said and pushed into the room, turning on the light as she went.

"Oh, right. I totally forgot and overslept.

The dinner at seven. I'll just wash up

quickly and be right down th.." Elise was

saying and then paused when she saw her

mother looking around the room in shock,

her face ashen.

What is it, mum? Are you alright?"

"Whe...where is your sister?

"Sandra? How on earth should I know?

She is probably in her room or

something."

"No. no, she's not anywhere in this house.

The checked literally everywhere but did

not bother to check your room because

your light was off. If she's not here, then

that means she's nowhere in this house."

Carolina wailed, checking behind the

curtains in Elise 's room as though her

missing daughter would magically appear out there.

"Well, maybe she's downstairs," Elise told her Mom, not getting what the fuss was all about.

"Oh, God! I can't believe this is happening

to me. I can't believe Sandra would do

this to me." Carolina said, looking like she

was about to cry. She also looked scared,

but that was ridiculous. Elise had never

seen her mother scared of anyone or

anything ever since she could remember.

"She'll be here. I don't see what you re

worrying so much about. Maybe she just

went out to get something. Meanwhile, I'l

go take a shower and dress up, and then

go look for her."

"What do you know about anything?" Her

mother hissed at her and stormed out the

door, no doubt to continue her search for

her missing daughter.

Elise shrugged and went to take her

shower, taking her sweet time as she did

so. She was not particularly interested in

meeting anybody, not to talk of her

sister's unknown groom and his uncle and

whoever else was at the dinner table, but

it would not speak well of her if she

refused to go. She came out to meet her

mother sitting on her bed and bouncing

her foot in agitation.

"She's still not back yet?" Elise asked,

wondering if there was more to this than

met the eye.

With the way her sister was

self-centered and did not care about

hurting anyone's feelings, she would not

be surprised if she had run away or

something like that.

No, she's not, Carolina said sounding so

small and afraid that Elise felt a little

sorry for her even though this whole mess was her fault, although she did not get

why she should be afraid.

"Well, I don't see what the big deal is. She

obviously doesn't want to get married to

this guy. whoever he is. I don't get why

you are making such a big deal out of it.

Just tell the guy the wedding has been

called off because Elise doesn't want top

get married to him. It'll hurt, that is if he

is in love with her, which I highly doubt,

but at least they will not make the mistake

of getting married to each other without

love.

Just listen to yourself. You expect me to

go and tell someone that his bride-to-be is no longer interested in marrying him. Do you know the sort of shame that this will bring to both families?

I have invited

almost all my friends and even some of my enemies, mind you. After all, my daughter is supposed to be getting married to a

billionaire, but what does the ungrateful

twit do? Runs off, that's what.

Who doesn't want to get married to a

billionaire for Chris sakes?

"Sensible people who know that marriage

is not just about money."

"That's bullshit. I married your father for

his money, and he was not even worth up

to ten million at the time. Love came later

and now, we've been together for over

twenty-seven years, still going strong.

Carolina said without a single shame.

"That it worked for you doesn't mean that

it would work for her."

"Oh, please. Just say the word and I'll look

for a billionaire for you too. You sound so

jealous.

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Of course, I have. What do you take me

for? I'm not a moron. I've called her

several times, but she's not picking up her

calls." Carolina scoffed and checked the

Wristwatch on her hand. "Oh, dear. I've

kept them waiting for over thirty minutes

and that is so rude. I'll just go and make

excuses then. Come, let's go."

Elise followed her mother downstairs to

the dining room where the guests were

seated patiently and waiting for them.

Elise averted her gaze and walked stiffly

to an empty chair where she we're

awkwardly and mumbled greetings to the

table at large.

It was only when she was

alone with her immediate family that her

mouth ran like a tap. She heard her

mother and father whispering inaudibly

and risked raising her gaze to quickly

peek around the table.

There were about

ten people or less present and they were

all looking at her parents who were

arguing fiercely under their voices.

She spotted the groom immediately and

had to stifle a gasp.

The man was looking straight at her in an appraising manner that Elise found somewhat unnerving,

but not exactly unpleasant. From what

Elise could see of him, she could tell that

Sandra was right about him. He was very

good-looking in a brooding kind of way,

and he also looked well-built.

He was

sitting in a relaxed manner in a chair

whose back was smaller than his wide

shoulders and was surveying her with a

cool, lazy interest.

Elise, who hated being stared at with a

passion, felt the blush come straight from inside her and stain her cheeks before spreading to most of her face and hated herself with a passion.

Why she always had to blush was beyond her.

She did not know of any other twenty-eight-year-old.

who blushed as fiercely as she did. To

worsen matters, she could see what could only be amusement in the guy's eyes and

quickly averted her gaze. So he was

amused by her? To hell with him. He was

the one who was getting married to a

stranger whom he had not met before all

because his uncle wanted him to do so, so he was the real clown here. She heard her mother clear her throat after some more seconds of arguing with her father and she gratefully looked toward her, ignoring her sister's fiancée.