It’s a beautiful springtime morning in England, squinting, Moriah looked at the sunlight that was already peering at the half opened curtain.
Every single cell in her body was charged with excitement, she jumped out of the bed, darted to the French window and flung it open.The chirping of the birds and fluttering sounds of their wings waltzed into her ears like a symphony.Countryside fresh air filled her lungs as she took a deep breath.A smile painted on her face, she couldn't contain the joy in her heart and it's overflowing.The entirety of her body was filled with energy like that of a four year old child that could jump and run around for hours without feeling tired.What made her feel that way? Today is the day she had been waiting for. The day of her wedding.Finally, the love of her life, the man of her dreams will be forever hers. She would spend every waking moment of her life with him.Shaun Stanton, one of the heartthrobs in London, her boyfriend since high school.Many women envied her for having caught Shaun’s attention.Waltzing into the room, Anastacia Chen's eyes watered. Her daughter dressed in her wedding dress made her heart swell with pride.“You're so beautiful, dear.” Anastacia said to Moriah, surveying her. Her eyes conveyed how much she adored her daughter.“Thank you, mama. I got yours and baba’s (dad) genes, ” said Moriah shakily while she’s stifling her tears. Expecting her father to make his entrance but didn’t, Moriah opened her mouth, “Where’s baba (dad)?”Moriah’s eyes were on the door waiting for her father to show up. She wanted to see her father who’d always give her courage whenever she’s feeling jittery.Suddenly she felt her heart banging inside her ribcage like it was going to jump out of her chest. Perhaps it is the feeling of all brides she thought.“Oh, that is, he went ahead at the chapel to see if everything was fine. You know your baba (dad), he always wanted the best for his princess,” Anastacia answered, but at the back of her mind she knew that something was amiss.However, she couldn’t tell what it was as Jianyu left at once when the groom's best friend Ethan Miller whispered something to him.Anastacia was about to say something to her, but she got cut off by Moriah's best friend, Cindy.Standing at the threshold, she exclaimed while holding her own face. “Wow! You’re the most gorgeous bride I’ve ever seen”Moriah gave in to an unladylike reaction, snorted and rolled her eyes, saying, “Sweet talk!”“I know you won’t believe me. Let’s wait and see until Shaun sees you. His eyes will pop out of his head,” Cindy was chuckling as she talked.Peals of laughter permeated the room that gave a festive vibe to the rather quiet room.“Let’s go,” said Anastacia once they stopped laughing, then went on, “The limousine is already waiting outside. You wouldn’t want your groom waiting, are you? ” Anastacia chuckled.She walked down the villa towards the waiting limousine, Anastacia and Cindy in tow, carrying the train of her wedding gown.When assured that everything was well for the bride, Anastacia and Cindy board their own car.The chapel wasn’t that far from the villa, after a couple of minutes the car halted in front of the chapel at Miller Estate.Unsuspectingly, the bride waited impatiently in the limousine.She’s eager to walk down the aisle and exchange vows with the man she dreamed to spend the rest of her life with.Finally, her dad fetched her, after half an hour, which seemed like decades of waiting for a bride who was too eager to see her dashing groom.Every fiber of her being was immersed in euphoria which made her oblivious to the presence of the guests.Her joy spilling over that it radiated on her face, making it glow. Moriah looks through her wedding veil, to glance at the man her heart belongs to.But, bewilderment replaced the joy she had, seeing that Shaun wasn’t there and that the man standing down the aisle is not her groom but her enemy.She stopped in the middle of the aisle and looked at her father quizzically.“Shaun, jilted you at the altar” said Jianyu shakily, he’s holding back to break down at the myriads of emotions flooding his heart.The full force of what her father told hit her like a thunderbolt, she stood there dumbfounded, unable to say anything. Slowly, pain etched on her beautiful face.Looking at his daughter’s shock and anguish, he squeezed her hand to console her and continued to speak, “Ethan Miller had proposed that he is going to marry you.”An almost uncontainable fright swept over Moriah, twisting her stomach into sick knots and draining the color from her face.Moriah swallowed the lump forming her throat and voiced her protest, “No, I can’t marry him, baba (dad).”She can’t marry her foe, her marriage would be a living hell. She would rather be humiliated than to marry him.“Moriah, dear child, think about our relatives. They will have the reason to taunt our family again.Ethan Miller is rescuing you from this disgrace and please don’t allow our relatives to trample on us yet again.” Jianyu said, his voice imploring yet authoritative.For Ethan Miller to marry Moriah will be her redemption from the humiliation of being dumped on her wedding day.Ethan Miller is a 31 year old billionaire. At the age of 17 he was already an astute businessman and became the youngest billionaire in the UK at the age of 25.All thanks to his father who had taught him brilliant business principles and skills.Apart from being a young billionaire, he was also endowed with a perfectly handsome and gorgeous face and added to that is his lean chiseled physique.He is the epitome of male beauty and most single women had a fancy for him.Nonetheless, Moriah wasn't part of those who fancied him. She actually loathes him that much.She looked at her grandpa, uncles, aunties and cousins who came from China just to grace her wedding.Her family migrated from China to England after the incident where she was almost killed.Her dad belongs to a wealthy and powerful noble family from Shanghai.He fell in love with her mom when he was about to marry. It was an arranged marriage and he didn't love his fiancée.Naturally, he called the wedding off and married her mom.This enraged his grandfather and disinherited her father.And to make things worse, her mother isn't Chinese, but an English woman.They hated her and her mom so they tried to eradicate her and mom by kidnapping them.She didn't understand their sudden appearance and why they came to grace her wedding, when it was clear as day that they still can't accept a mixed -blood child in their family.How could they possibly welcome her into the family when she inherited nothing of her dad's look except his flawless fair skin while inheriting her mom's stunningly beautiful face and body.She depicts nothing of Asian physical attributes. They must be thinking that she's not her father's daughter."Smile, my darling their eyes are on you," Jianyu's voice broke her trance.Moriah looked at her relatives who were already sneering, Moriah closed her eyes and composed herself.She could put up with her relatives' unkind behavior towards her, however, she can’t tolerate it when they attack her father and mother.Taking a deep, long breath, her nerves calmed a little and muttered, "You can do it."She wore her sweetest smile, she wouldn’t allow her relatives to have the last laugh.On Ethan Miller’s side, he waited patiently at his reluctant bride.The most respected business mogul he is, people never make him wait. Only his bride made him wait, nonetheless he overlooked it, given that he has been just a replacement groom.It’s just a natural thing for an excited bride to be shocked when her groom left her at the altar and another man volunteered to marry her.Cindy's heart goes to her best friend and whispers a prayer, "God help her."Her eyes stung because of the unshed tears in her eyes."I hope she'll be fine," Cindy muttered and forced a smile as she didn't want Moriah's family who came from China to know of her being jilted at the altar.She just pitied her friend's predicament of being abandoned at the altar and now marrying a man she hadn’t dreamed of.Particularly, to a man that hates her, and in her friend’s case, the feeling is mutual, they both hate each other.On the other hand, Anastacia smiled sweetly, unwilling to give a pitiful look at her daughter.It’s not the time to show sympathy to her daughter because she doesn’t want the guests to feel pity for the bride.Ethan stood there with an unreadable facial expression. No one could decipher what was going on in his mind. His face was neither sad nor happy.At last, the bride was in front of him. Ethan took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. They walked towards the altar and the priest started.When the time came for the exchanging of vows, Ethan imprisoned Moriah’s green eyes with his blue eyes before he said his vow.“Moriah, my love,” he said,Moriah's eyes widened as she heard him say 'my love' smoothly as if he truly loves her and does not hate her.She would believe him if he said, 'my enemy'.She was impressed with his impeccable acting. He’s qualified to be an actor.“Your presence makes everything else fade to the background. You are the sunshine in my stormy days.” Ethan paused, watching Moriah’s reaction.Moriah looked at him with incredulity, she couldn’t believe her ears. Her enemy called her his sunshine. “I promise to love you as I love myself. I love you forever, my wife,” Ethan continued and kept himself from chuckling at his bride's reaction to his vow. It was apparent that she couldn’t believe her ears Moriah was stupefied, his tender voice and gaze were telling her that what he said is true. But, this is Ethan Miller. This couldn’t be true, it’s just a ploy she thought. Cyndy’s jaw dropped hearing Ethan’s vow, she tried to find a hint of disdain and mockery in his voice, but all she could hear was the tenderness of his voice. After they exchanged vows, they exchanged wedding rings. Moriah’s hands were cold as ice when the officiant said to the groom to kiss the bride. Ethan lifted her veil, snaked his arm around her waist and tilted his head. His lips descended on hers. He kissed her ever so gently. Moriah was mortified and her body could be likened to that of a wooden
“Very well, if you don’t want to do it. I will talk to your father about it,” Ethan said and walked toward the door. Hearing Ethan’s words made her panic and quickly held his arm, “No, don’t talk to my dad.” Ethan turned towards her and told her with a straight face, “If you don’t like to do it, I will not force you. But I can’t deceive your parents, so I’d better talk to them.” “No, no, please. Okay, I will —” she could not finish her sentence because of the discomfort and dread about the thought of consummating their marriage. She didn’t want to do it with the man she doesn’t love. However, it came to her mind what her parents told her after the wedding banquet. She should give her husband his marital privilege. She is his wife and ought to fulfill her husband’s needs. “Are you sure?” Ethan asked, frowning at his wife. Moriah found it hard to answer his question as there was a lump forming in her throat. She held her silk robe tightly and nodded. “It’s getting late and they'r
She looked at him without guilt in her heart. She wasn’t doing anything. Annoyance rose in her heart as he looked at her accusingly. Moriah felt her blood rushing up to her head, it should be her giving him that look because a woman was clinging to his arm like they were lovers. However, she maintained her composure. Moriah briefly assessed the woman beside her husband and she seemed like a model, the likes of the women Ethan had always seen with. She wasn’t surprised in the least, models and celebrities are his types. It puzzled Moriah why did Ethan marry her, a woman who wear a scrub suit almost every day, wherein she was the exact opposite of his type. Moriah deduced that Ethan must have an ulterior motive in marrying her. And that left her heart to become cold. Moriah’s gaze swept from the woman to Ethan. She gave him an indifferent look that utterly irritated Ethan and looked back at Fang Wei. Ethan was unsettled that Moriah's cold and indifferent gaze instantly changed
Moriah was surprised to see Ethan was having breakfast in the dining room when she came down after getting ready for her duty in the hospital. ‘Didn’t he leave the house last night? When did he come back?’ She asked herself while she sat. They had their breakfast in complete silence, ignoring each other’s presence. Moriah's phone rang when she was just leaving the dining room. She pulled her phone and responded to the call immediately. "Denver, is anything wrong?" she said. “We need you here right now, there was a road accident and many victims needed an urgent surgery and we lack doctors,” Denver was panting when he spoke from the other end of the line. “Alright, I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she put her phone in her bag and walked out of the mansion in such a haste that she didn't notice the servant greeting her. Opening her car door, she felt a hand hold her wrist. She turned with a tinge of annoyance in her face. “What do you want? I’m in a hurry and need to perform a s
Cindy huffed while her eyes followed Ethan and Hazel’s departing figure. After that, she looked at Moriah, her harsh expression softened when her gaze settled upon Moriah. “Are you okay?” she sat beside her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Moriah chuckled, she wouldn't allow herself to be ruffled by what had just transpired. She told herself at the onset not to expect anything good from Ethan since he was her sworn enemy. Denver was puzzled to see that Cindy gave Moriah a sympathetic gaze, thus he couldn’t hold back and asked with worry, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing, let’s eat. I’m starving to death,” Moriah said and began digging in. Denver started digging and asked no further, lest Moriah might think he was sticking his nose in her stuff. While eating Moriah was lost in her thoughts. She was wondering what her father saw in Ethan that he was willing to marry her to him. Her father once told her that he wasn’t a person who would compromise her happiness. Did
A knock on the door took Moriah back to the present time. She sighed before telling the person to come in. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest, seeing Ethan come in. "What are you doing here?" coldness seeped through her voice. She stood up and looked at the files behind her desk so she could turn her back on him. The sight of her husband disgusted her and she can't bear to look at him. "Picking you up," Ethan said casually as if it was their usual routine. Her hands froze momentarily and continued to search. "I have somewhere else to go, you can go back first," she said, still pretending to look for a file. Moriah finds it revolting that after he went with his lover for a check up and the possibility that his lover was pregnant. Disgust churned inside her and felt like throwing up any minute. Does he think that she is a cheap woman and begging him to throw her a little time? There might not be love in their marriage, but she wanted respect. She can't accept the fact tha
Hazel's face was like a beetroot while Ethan gave off a distant and dangerous aura. Considering Cindy to be Moriah's best friend, Ethan swallowed his anger. He couldn't do anything to Moriah's best friend. "Let's go," Ethan turned and walked to the counter. Hazel proceeded in haste. The moment the dress was paid for, they left the shop. "Why did he marry you to begin with, if he wasn't serious with your marriage?" Cindy asked with a huff while they were dining after they were done shopping. "He married me just to torture me. Remember that he loathes me as much as I do," Moriah said and sipped her fruit juice. "Yeah, you're right," Cindy said while nodding her head in agreement. "But I won't give him the satisfaction, that's why I don't get hurt when I see him with his lover," Moriah said while twirling the straw in her fruit juice. "Are you sure you don't mind seeing him with his lover?" Cindy's eyebrows were wiggling, her tone was teasing. "I don't love him, so I don't feel j
Fiona knocked at the door and entered when she heard Moriah give her permission to enter. Hearing the assent, Fiona went in and found Moriah sitting on the couch reading a book. "Moriah, dear," Fiona called out to her. Moriah turned towards the owner of the voice and put down the book on the coffee table. Moriah smiled. "Mom, do you need something?" "I want to go shopping, can you come along?" asked Fiona with puppy eyes. Seeing her imploring eyes, Moriah can't say no to her mother in law. "Mom, give me a bit of time to get ready," she headed to the closet to change. She undressed facing the mirror. She gasped upon seeing numerous hickeys on her chest, the valley between her breasts. Moriah gritted her teeth seeing her reflection, her fury burned all the more. She needed to buy a night gown for tonight's black tie event as the concealer couldn't hide the marks Ethan left on her body. "You don't need to worry about the evening gown, your gown will be delivered in the afternoo