Chapter 3

I planned on preparing for the wedding after that day. Much to my surprise, my soon-to-be husband had already settled everything alone.

Our parents officially met the day before our wedding. Because Dad wasn't feeling well, I went with Mom instead.

A man in a long trench coat smiled warmly and strolled toward me inside the massive restaurant lobby. "Hi, I'm Eugene Joubert."

"I'm Emily Claremond," I answered.

The man led us to a private room. Once the doors opened, I froze on the spot.

I knew my future husband was my parents' longtime business partner, who owned a chain of biological research companies. However, I never thought I'd see my graduate tutor, Professor Yara Lowthe, and her husband, Ian Joubert, sitting before me.

I became good friends with Professor Lowthe when I was a graduate student. Despite being several decades apart in age, we could talk about many things.

I once met Eugene when I delivered his lunchbox on Professor Lowthe's behalf. At the time, Eugene wore a face mask and a black backpack. He greeted me once, but I didn't see his full face because Jon phoned me to help him with Julie's move.

Now, I finally got a proper look at Eugene. He and Jon were as different as the sun and moon in terms of looks. He was also much more mature than Jon and didn't say much the entire time.

Eugene's family accepted all the conditions my family raised.

Professor Lowthe had even postponed attending a conference exchange abroad for the wedding. She held my hand, saying, "Let's host this wedding based on what you have in mind. Eugene has told me that he'll respect all your decisions. My husband and I agree, too."

"Thank you…" I instinctively voiced.

A frown marred Professor Lowthe's face. "You don't need to thank us. This arrangement is exactly how things should be."

Then, she told Eugene to take me on a stroll while she and the others chatted alone.

Eugene brought me out for a walk by the river. Surprisingly, my heart raced as we walked in the quiet night.

"Emily?" Eugene called out.

I turned to face him.

That was when he took out a ring box from behind him. "Although our engagement has been hasty, I can't help feeling like something's missing…"

Eugene proposed to me. When he popped the question, fireworks shot into the sky and brightened the once-tranquil river. Drones then appeared in midair, spelling out the question he asked and my name.

I never imagined Eugene would blow so much money on this. After all, when I was with Jon, he had only drunkenly asked me if I wanted to marry him.

The day after I agreed to marry Eugene, all major media companies reported on his unprecedented proposal.

Likewise, I posted the news about my wedding on my social media. Many friends were unaware of my situation and thought I was still dating Jon. After seeing my posts, they congratulated me and asked about what happened.

I pinned pictures from my wedding photoshoot with Eugene to the top of my social media accounts. Our wedding picture also became my Facebook cover photo.

Jon landed back in the country on the day of my wedding. He realized I wasn't there to pick him up and was enraged. He immediately phoned multiple times. Yet, I had long blocked his number, so I didn't know about those calls.

Jon eventually called me with someone else's phone. Once the call connected, he bellowed, "Didn't I ask you to pick me and Julie up from the airport? Where the hell are you?"

"Duh! I'm not free because I'm getting married—"

"Who on earth are you marrying if I'm at the airport? Well? Tell me!"

I hung up on him, which caused him to go insane and call all my relatives and friends for answers.