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 earsMoriah 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 block.After he kissed her, he brushed his thumb on her chin and then he faced the crowd.On the other hand, Moriah was still in a daze staring at her husband. In his peripheral vision, he could see that she hadn't recovered from her shock yet.He leaned sideways and whispered, "Your relatives are looking at us."His words brought her back from her trance and she faced the people right away.He took her hand and tucked it in his arm, and together they walked back down the aisle, toward the future and a fate that seemed anything but magnanimous.As they neared the limousine, Moriah removed her hands that were wrapped on Ethan’s arm. She entered the car while Ethan helped her with the train of her gown.“Is there a way you can remove this?” Ethan asked, pertaining to the train of her gown.Moriah snorted and answered curtly, “None.”Ethan sat beside her, but Moriah moved further to avoid him.A surge of frustration swept over his chest. She avoids him as if he was ill with a contagious disease.From time to time, the chauffeur glances at the newly wedded couple who utterly ignored each other's presence.He couldn’t understand what’s going on with wealthy people's marriages. Do they really marry even without love? How could they endure a loveless marriage?“We're here, sir,” the chauffeur said, announcing their arrival at the wedding reception and quickly alighted from the car and opened the door for his master.Ethan came out first and held out his hand, Moriah held his hand. Her blood is boiling, while holding his hand.She hates to hold his hand, however, she has no choice but to put up with the show so as not to embarrass herself and her parents. Her relatives' sharp eyes are on them and are carefully observing them.Ethan leaned sideways and whispered to her, “Your relatives from China are watching us.” Ethan smiled at her, she smiled back at him sweetly.Only she knows that deep within, she was giving him a scowl and scolding him.During the banquet Ethan and Moriah did many sweet things which made Moriah seethe quietly.The supposedly blissful and enjoyable wedding banquet became a torment for her.Cindy watched her best friend helplessly, the program was arranged by Cindy and couldn’t pull it back.She knew that when she changed it, her relatives from China would begin to doubt Moriah's marriage.“This will be the last game for the newly wed couple,” the emcee said with a mischievous grin.“You answer the question I ask,” he gave each one a small board and a pen and went on, “And there will be a corresponding penalty with answers that did not match.”“First question is, when did you first see each other?” the emcee asked.Ethan and Moriah scribbled their answers on their respective boards.“Alright, the couple wrote without hardship on recalling their first meeting, a sign that they are really in love,” the emcee chuckled.Moriah flinched at what the emcee said. In love? What a joke. They hated each other’s guts.Moriah noticed the twitch on Ethan’s lips. He must be sneering at the ridiculous remark made by the emcee.“Let’s see the answer,” the emcee said and both Ethan and Moriah lifted their board.“Year 10 is Mrs Miller’s answer while Year 12 is the answer of Mr Miller,”Moriah balled her fist when she heard the emcee said Mrs Miller. She felt a pang in her heart, she had imagined many times that she would be called Mrs Stanton.She bowed her head, blinked back her tears and took a deep breath before lifting her head.Her reaction towards the two words ‘Mrs Miller’ didn’t escape Ethan’s sharp eyes. Many women dreamed of having that title and being called ‘Mrs Miller’ - the wife of business tycoon Ethan Miller.However, for Moriah, being called Mrs Miller wasn’t appealing and it disgusted her. Ethan felt suffocated and loosened his tie a bit.“We’re both right, I was in year 10 and he was in year 12 back then,” Moriah defended their answer, afraid of the punishment. She knew that her best friend had mischievous punishment.“Yes, that’s true,” Ethan said in agreement to what Moraih told.“Alright, next question. When was your first kiss?”Moriah blushed profusely at the question and opened her mouth to protest, “It’s a private matter and I don’t want to divulge any information like this.”Ethan nodded his head, he agreed with Moriah, he didn’t like talking about private matters in a casual way. Most of all, in public.“I agree with my wife, we aren’t comfortable about this question,” he said in a rather serious tone which made the emcee rub the back of his head.“I’m sorry for asking such a silly question,” he said, smiling at them apologetically.“When did you officially date?”Moriah stared at her board for a few seconds before writing her answer. She sighed and wished that the banquet would end.“Oh, you have a different answer,” the emcee said upon seeing what they wrote on their board.“Very well, the bride will pick from this bowl their punishment,” the emcee said.Moriah picked a piece of paper from the bowl and gave it to the emcee.“The newly wed will kiss!” the emcee exclaimed while chuckling.Moriah was stupefied but instantly recovered her composure. Ethan smirked and leaned forward to kiss her.Quickly, Moriah took the board from Ethan and covered both sides with the board and scowled at him.“Don’t ever dare kiss me!” she said while glaring at him.Ethan didn’t dare to kiss her. The guests were chuckling as the emcee remarked, “Mrs Miller is too shy to kiss in public.”Moriah couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes and muttered, “Mrs Miller.”Ethan narrowed his eyes, hearing the way she muttered ‘Mrs Miller’ with a tinged of disgust. His face darkened.Moriah didn’t see her husband’s reaction as she was wallowing in her pain and misfortune.After the banquet, the newly wed couple went to the villa, followed by the bride’s family and relatives.“What are you doing?” Ethan roared when he saw Moriah holding a small paring knife.“The sheet must be stained with blood,” Moriah answered and was about to cut her palm; however, Ethan held her wrist and took the knife from her.“Hey, give me that!” Moriah almost yelled at him as she jumped to get the knife from him.She can't get the knife from him, for he was way taller than her and he lifted his hand so she can't take the knife from him.“Are you deceiving your parents now?” Ethan's blue eyes darkened as he stared at Moriah.Tonight is their wedding night and they are going to consummate their marriage.Moriah’s mother is an English woman and her father is of Asian descent - a Chinese.His family values a woman’s purity. A daughter must preserve her virginity and give it to her husband as a present on their wedding night.They have a family tradition that at the wedding night they will spread a white silk sheet over the bed. After they consummated their marriage the white silk sheet will be presented to the elders.She looked at the white sheet spread over the bed and it needed to be stained with blood to show that she was a virgin.She is still a virgin nevertheless, she can give herself to her husband. She doesn’t love the man she married and will only yield herself to a man that she loves.“You're doing this because you aren’t a virgin,” Ethan sneered at Moriah.Moriah fisted her hands into a ball, she wanted to shove her fist in his face.“I’m not a promiscuous woman!” she said between her gritted teeth.She wanted to scream, however, afraid that her parents, grandpa, uncles and aunties were all waiting in the sitting room to hear her, she contained her anger.“What’s the need of this if you’re still a virgin?” Ethan showed the knife.She bowed her head. “I - I don’t want to do it with you,” she stammered, turning her back to him.“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
At that moment the master of ceremonies announced to the guest to dance while the orchestra was playing music. "Would you do me the honor of a dance tonight?" Denver smiled charmingly and lifted his hand. Moriah took his hand, and Denver brought her to the dance floor. Ethan quietly seethed in anger when he saw Moriah's gown was backless. He specifically told the stylist what he wants for Moriah's gown, how dare they disobey his order. "I love to dance Ethan, can we dance?" Hazel fondly stroked Ethan's arm. Ethan steered her towards the dance floor near Moriah. As Moriah was swirled by Denver, she caught sight of Ethan dancing with Hazel. A strange emotion pricked her heart. She frowned as she couldn't tell what she felt seeing her husband dance with another woman. Their bodies were too close to each other like they were stuck together. She looked away and focused on Denver. She could feel the warmth of his hand at her back when he brought her closer to him with his hand over