Chapter 2. I want to cancel the wedding!

Adelia arrived at the hotel staff's break room. With her breath roaring, Adelia tried to control herself and her still trembling body.

“I have to buy contraceptive pills,” muttered Adelia as she changed into the change of clothes she had brought with her.

After cleaning herself up, Adelia immediately ran out without filling in the finger attendance on the attendance machine next to the door.

In a hurry, Adelia made a small run to the clinic not far from the hotel.

“I can't get pregnant! I'm going to marry my future husband who has been set up by my father or I have to return the dowry,” Adelia muttered as she moved hurriedly.

Arriving at the clinic, Adelia gritted her molars in disappointment because she still had to queue.

“I'm going to be late for the wedding,” Adelia grumbled as she stood in line counting the number of people waiting in line.

The clock hanging on the wall of the clinic was already seven o'clock.

...

Afgan Al Futtaim, the sole heir of the Futtaim group-the largest retail business in Dubai, is 35 years old. The handsome and muscular tall man, woke up with a heavy head from the messy hotel bed.

In the dim darkness of the room and the sunlight peeking through the curtains of the hotel window, Afgan felt his heart beating hard.

“Arrgh!” he screeched as he tried to sit up in bed.

His head felt heavy, and pain spread throughout his stiff body. He opened his eyes slowly, stuttering as he tried to piece together the blurry memories of last night.

The alcohol he had been drinking drove him into a state of unconsciousness, presenting blurry images of his encounters and actions last night.

“I was with a woman!” Afgan was startled and turned to the bed beside him, a red spot left on the sheet that was a silent witness to his actions.

“W-what did I do!” he squealed as he grabbed his own hair, trying to remember everything.

But today, in fact, was a day that could not be avoided - the day of his wedding to the woman his parents had arranged for him.

“I have to attend the wedding today! Argh! My head hurts so much!”

Afgan immediately picked up the wedding suit that someone had delivered last night while muttering, “that girl... delivered my wedding suit!”

"Who is she?"

Despite the disapproval and rejection, Afgan knew he had to submit to the destiny that had been arranged for him.

Exiting the bed with staggering steps, he put on his meticulously prepared clothes, though his heartbeat was still thumping in his shattered head.

It was at that moment, in desperation and uncertainty, that Afgan reached for the bottle of headache medicine lying on his bedside table. “It's empty!”

“Argh! Nothing's working today!”

With every step towards the exit, he felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. But even under these circumstances, the determination to fulfill his filial duty was inevitable.

He locked the room door with trembling steps and stepped into the deserted hotel corridor, directing his steps to the nearby clinic to buy headache relief medicine.

When he reached the clinic door, the scent of antiseptic greeted him making his stomach feel queasy. However, suddenly a girl walking in a hurry bumped into him.

“Hey! Watch where you're going!” Afgan held his chest, which was hit by Adelia's head.

The medicine Adelia was holding fell to the floor. “I'm so sorry,” Adelia said as she bowed her head and picked up the medicine that had fallen on her.

Afgan squatted down and picked up the medicine bottle that had fallen beside his foot and skimmed it, “Contraceptive pills.” Afgan handed the medicine bottle to the girl with a little surprise and watched her face in more detail.

“Sorry... thank you,” Adelia said while snatching the medicine bottle with a red and embarrassed face and then hurriedly left Afgan without saying anything.

Afgan immediately headed to the clinic desk by breaking through the queue. “Give me a headache reliever!” he ordered the pharmacist on duty.

“Hey, follow the queue, don't cut! This clinic is not yours!” scolded a man in the queue.

Afgan turned his head and shot a glare at the man and said, “I'm getting married in an hour to the woman my family arranged for me without ever seeing her face and now my head hurts like hell!”

After saying that, Afgan turned around and handed money to the pharmacist.

“Headache medicine and mineral water!” he said in a high tone.

The pharmacist immediately gave the medicine and a bottle of mineral water. Afgan swallowed the medicine and gulped down the mineral water in a hurry and stepped out of the clinic.

The man who shouted at him just patted Afgan's shoulder who passed beside him gently and said, “Be patient. Everything will be beautiful in its time.”

Afgan raised the corners of his lips then headed to his favorite sports car parked in front of the hotel. He drove at high speed to the party location not far from the hotel.

...

Behind the glittering lights and dazzling wedding decorations, Adelia stood on the aisle in a dazzling white dress. She felt a mixture of nervousness and anxiety. Today was the day she would be matched with a man she had never met before. Although she tried to hide her fear, her eyes revealed deep uncertainty and doubt.

“I should be able to forget that fateful night. No one knows.” Adelia tried to be strong and encouraged herself because she had already taken the anti-pregnancy pills.

As the large doors of the wedding hall opened, the sound of quiet, steady footsteps echoed down the aisle. Adelia's gaze fell on a young man in a white wedding suit, entering the room with an alluring presence. In an instant, she felt her heart rate slow down and almost fainted when she realized that he was the man who had bumped into her at the clinic where she had bought her contraceptive pills.

Afgan, as the man's name was recorded on the wedding invitation and he was the man who had witnessed the deepest secret of her life because of buying contraceptive pills.

“Y-you... “ Adelia's lips trembled.

Meanwhile, Afgan was also surprised to see Adelia, the girl he had just seen buying contraceptive pills at the clinic this morning.

A flash of recognition flashed in his eyes. Adelia's presence as his bride-to-be shook him to his core, opening up memories of that accidental meeting at the clinic.

In a few seconds, their worlds collided in the midst of a meticulously organized wedding, creating an overlooked tension among the boisterous guests.

Adelia's eyes met Afgan's, creating an unexpected silent bond between them.

Within that gaze is confusion, curiosity, and also doubt with an irregular heartbeat.

Both of them felt dragged into the flow of time that took them back to the moments of their first meeting, in the crowded clinic.

“This woman... she bought contraceptive pills earlier!” cursed Afgan to himself and then shot a glare at his parents who looked at him in surprise.

“I... I want to cancel the wedding!” Afgan exclaimed amidst the din of the guests.

Achmed Al Futtaim - Afgan's father immediately stood up from the chair next to the aisle and spread his hands, facing the guests who were still watching the incident.

“Wait a minute. There is a slight misunderstanding here,” he said in a loud voice.

Achmed then approached his son Afgan and whispered something in his ear.