THE BILLIONAIRE'S REDEMPTION

EPISODE ONE

HAZEL

"Mom, the dress is good enough, It's just a simple wedding"I protest, already tired of the tantrums.

"No, You must be in your best dress, You don't know who he is, His taste in women is unbearably high, I hope he's going to be impressed, I just hope"She rambled on and on.

I plopped tiredly on the bed praying to the heavens to let this moment pass me by.

An unexpected marriage. An unbearable mother who believed the first impression lasts longer. And an unwilling bride who is about to get married.

Life is just so amusing.

She dragged me up the bed lecturing me on how to be a good wife and a future 'mother' to my kids.

We are going to Vietnam to start a new life.

I'd quit my school because of the marriage. Everything was at my expense which I believed it's all shades of wrong.

"I promise to be in my best character, I promise, we can stop now!"I fired back at her in a firm tone.

She stopped talking immediately.

After fixing the sixth dress on me, She was finally satisfied and I couldn't be more than grateful.

I walked out of the old room feeling nauseous and nervous.

My younger brother unexpectedly scuttles towards me.

I almost freaked out. "Christ. Josh, I almost died"I scolded before bending to his height.

He handed me a small bracelet, I stared at him in confusion before raising it to the air.

"What's this?"

"I made it for you"He answered cutely.

I chuckled softly.

The beads were old and uneven, you can easily predict that he got them from different trash stores.

"I love it, Thanks," I said softly to him. His small face broke into a smile which later turned into cries.

God. Here we go again.

"I'm not going forever, I just need to do this for us"

"Dad left, You promised not to leave"

"I'm not leaving you, And Dad will be back today to fill the void, You won't lack anything, I paid all the bills already, Everything has been settled, Mom will get your new uniforms tomorrow, You won't have to complain about new toys again, I promise to call you every day on my laptop"I ranted on making promises I don't know if I will keep.

I don't know the man I'm getting married to, I don't know if he will be understanding or not.

I just need him to keep my family safe and return Dad to us.

"Promise?"He raised his small pinky fingers at me. I sighed tiredly before locking mine with him.

The doorbell rang immediately.

We both turned in the direction of the door.

Mom walked past us hurriedly to get to the door.

"Don't keep them waiting"She scolded before turning the knob.

I walked to the old creaky living room nervously to welcome the guest and Dad.

I was eager to see him after months of absence.

Mom opened the door wide and we were welcomed by men dressed in black suits coupled with Dad looking shabby as ever and the man who's presumed to be their boss.

I whispered some prayers before walking closer to Dad.

He wasn't smiling at us, Mom, or to anyone in particular.

"Dad.."I called and pulled him into a hug. His clothes were dirty and shabby but I didn't care.

I'm just happy to see him.

Tears laced in my eyes as I engulfed myself in his arms.

He slowly pushed me away and glared at me.

"Leave the way for me"He snaps.

I moved slowly out of the way and watched him sit down on the crusty chair.

The men lined deeper into the living room waiting for their boss to enter fully.

After the cold welcome I got from Dad, My nervousness heightened to the extreme immediately.

I just hope I won't mess up.

He walked into the room, I was transfixed and shocked.

Christ. He's so beautiful.

He had long hair, was Styled and was all dressed in black, His thin jawline complemented his smooth slim face,He was tall.

His charisma was it,He literally reeked of wealth, superiority,dominance and literally... everything.

More than 6ft if I could say and muscular too. His beautiful blue eyes roamed around the room until it landed on me.

Oh..

He shot me a stare before walking into the room.

"Who stays in this stale house?"He mocked.

I was surprised at the remark,I know our house is old,creaky but it isn't that bad.

Not bad for someone in our class and he's obviously not in our class.

Mom bowed immediately,She whispered to Josh to go into his room,After he scuttled away,She offered him a chair.

Stefano sat down after another round of eyes rolling and crossed his legs.

One of the men,who was similarly dressed like him, handed him a document.

Mom palmed her face nervously hoping he doesn't reject me.

"A medical student?"He questioned, staring at the document without looking up to me.

"Yes,"Mom replied in my stead.

"I'm sure she have a mouth to talk with"He snaps at mom.

She smiled awkwardly and urged me to answer the question even though it has already been 'answered'

He demanded a pen and signed his signature. Mom took a deep breath of relief and went to hug her husband.

My heart fell immediately and I don't know why.

He's not the man I assumed he would be,I thought he would just be a nice guy from the countryside.

But Dad wouldn't have had a deal with a 'nice guy' in the first place.

I should be happy, Relieved that Dad is finally out of his Den at my own expense.

This is the little I could do for him,And I hoped it's worth it.

He passed the paper to me,and I placed it on the table.

My hands started shaking,I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down but it's not working.

"This is not a bad decision,Hazel,"I whispered to myself.

Mom was already impatient now.

"Hazel,"She called.

I nodded immediately before proceeding to sign.

"I don't have all the time to spend here,"He warned.

One additional thing about him,His voice was literally soft,yet deep at the same time.

Everything about him is just attractive yet dangerous.

I signed the papers and took a deep breath finally.

Dad stood up immediately,She pushed mom off his arms and pointed his fingers at me.

"Don't you dare think of coming back to my house,You're no longer my daughter as from now on"He yelled and kicked the table angrily.

I blinked rapidly to hold myself from crying.

It's understandable for him to act that way.

I won't blame him either.

Mom ran after him but unfortunately,He locked the door to his face.

She walked back to the living room,Stefano rose to his feet,They opened the door for him but he wasn't moving.

"I'm sorry for the little mishap"Mom apologized,He scoffed.

"So much hassle for giving me a girl that I can't lift"He huffed before walking out of the room.

The man who handed the paper to me earlier walked closer to where I am.

"We need to start going now," He said politely.

My few belongings have been taken to his car earlier.

Mom tried following me outside but I stopped her.

"Don't follow me, You should go back to Josh"

"Be good" She patted my back before leaving.

I can't believe this is happening.

I'm married to Stefano, The man I knew nothing about.

I'm going to live with him, become his wife.

I hope this won't be the biggest regret I would have.