2. Gerald Zeroun

Moments before.

Gerald looked at his assistant with a sharp gaze. "Repeat what you said?" he asked sharply. The middle-aged man who had worked since he was a baby looked at him and said flatly.

"Your fiancee, Miss Karenina Brooks has disappeared, sir." He answered again.

"Disappear?" He repeated the word. Not because Gerald's hearing was impaired, but to make sure that what he heard was wrong. "Disappeared, you say?" The old man nodded again, "The day before the wedding?" Again, the older adult nodded. "How so?" He asked in a cold tone that usually made his opponents falter.

"Our informant said that your fiancé disappeared quietly right before dinner." Said the middle-aged man without feeling the slightest pressure from his employer's arrogant and cold attitude. He was used to seeing changes in the attitude of the billionaire owner of a venture company known for his astuteness in business and investment.

Yes, he is Gerald Zeroround—the owner of a multinational venture company with unimaginable wealth. The young billionaire is predicted to be the successful businessman of the century. A handsome man full of charm who is still single at thirty-two. Or it could have ended his bachelor life in hours if his prospective bride hadn't disappeared like the news they were receiving.

"How dare she." Said Gerald as he sat back down in his oversized chair. His right hand was clenched tightly on the table. His eyes looked sharp and full of threat. "Prepare the car! We're going there right now. I have to confirm this news in person." The order was harsh. The middle-aged man bowed and walked away. "Oliver Brooks. How dare you embarrass me." He hissed sharply.

The car had arrived at the Brooks family residence. The announcement of his arrival caused the hostess to open the door with her own two hands. Her beautiful, well-groomed face looked at Gerald with panic and pale eyes.

"M-Mr Zeroun." Her sentences stammered, seeming to be trying to smile and get rid of his nervousness. The arrogance and elegance that usually appeared had now faded because the woman was aware that the trouble her daughter had caused, she believed, had reached the tycoon, the prospective groom.

"Good evening, Mrs. Brooks." Greet Gerald with extraordinary friendliness. Gerald could see the woman wringing her hands together and swallowing hard because she was nervous.

"N-night." She was still stuttering. The older adult swallowed her saliva again before speaking again. "Mr Zeroun, what are you doing here?"

"Why? Can't I stop by my bride's house? Even if it's just to check what percentage of our wedding preparations have been completed?" Gerald asked casually, which made the woman shake her head nervously.

"N-it's not like that. It's just that it is said that the bride and groom should not meet each other before the wedding." Mrs. Caitlyn answered with an excuse.

Gerald raised the corners of his mouth and shook his head. "This is not an ordinary wedding; we are also not a typical wedding couple. It is not like that?" Gerald reminded. "Or actually, you're trying to hide something from me. Because I heard my prospective bride disappeared a few moments ago." He said in a low voice, but it sounded like lightning striking Mrs Caitlyn's ears.

"T-that's not true." She stuttered her answer with her eyes wide open. "Wh-where did you hear such fake news? That's a terrible rumor." She said while holding her chest like someone who was in shock.

"It's good if the news isn't true," Gerald said with a sweet smile, which made the woman smile back in relief. He entered the room that Mrs. Caitlyn opened, where a middle-aged man greeted him with an equally wide smile. "But even if it is true, I hope this news has not reached my grandmother, Madame. Because I don't know what she will say later if she finds out that her future grandson-in-law just left the day before the wedding," he said in a warning tone that shocked the middle-aged man.

Gerald casually walked towards the empty single sofa. He was sitting on it with arrogance, like the house's owner. His hand reached out for the empty glass on the table and poured ice cubes into it before pouring the golden liquid over it.

Gerald casually shook his glass. The sound of ice cubes clinking against glass fills the silence. Gerald slowly sipped the expensive whiskey that his 'future in-laws' had. He felt a hot sensation spread across his throat.

Gerald seemed very relaxed compared to the couple currently looking at him with anticipation. He didn't want this marriage, so for him, it didn't matter even if it didn't happen because it was an arranged marriage made by his mother and Mr. Brooks' wife.

His grandmother, Mrs. Rosaline Zeroun, like Gerald, never agreed to the idea of this marriage. However, for one or two reasons, this marriage is the solution they consider the best.

Mrs. Brooks stepped hastily towards another sofa near Gerald. The look in her eyes seemed increasingly panicked. Clearly, the woman could no longer hide what was happening at her residence. Both hands gripped the sofa handle tightly. Gerald could even see that her red nail-covered knuckles were turning white from her grip strength.

"N-no. Please don't say anything to Mrs. Rosaline," she asked stammeringly. "Karenina is not missing. Maybe she is relaxing because she has been locked up at home for a week. She will come back. I promise." Again, Mrs. Brooks looked at him with pitying eyes.

Gerald leaned back relaxed, and placed his right hand, which was holding the glass, on the arm of the sofa, before positioning his right leg over his left leg. He shook his whiskey glass before taking another sip.

"Is that true, Mr. Brooks?" Gerald looked at the lady's husband with a flat but intimidating gaze.

The older adult sitting far across from him seemed to straighten up in his seat but could not answer.

"Well well well, how is it Mrs Brooks? Why don't I get a definite answer?" he asked, which made the woman look back at her husband angrily before looking back at Gerald with pitiful eyes.

"No, really. Karenina is not missing and I ensure that tomorrow's event will continue as it should. Karenina will return. Tomorrow she will be your bride at the altar." The answer is sure.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "If not?" he challenged.

"There's no saying no. I guarantee that he will be there." Mrs. Brooks answered firmly.

Gerald raised the corners of his lips. "Okay, I'll take you at your word. But if he doesn't return, you know the consequences, right?" Gerald's question, this time, scared the woman.

The hostess glanced at her husband, asking for help. But didn't get any support at all.

"If this marriage is cancelled, then I will look for another bride and that means the financial injection from our family will be cancelled." Gerald said with extraordinary calm.

"I'm not just making empty threats, Mr. Oliver Brooks. You know how I work. And this 'business' idea was a suggestion from your wife. So if this marriage fails, I won't be harmed. But maybe you and your family will be the ones who will become beggars on the streets." Gerald showed a smile in his eyes while his lips sipped the remaining whiskey in the glass. He got up, and simultaneously, a scream was heard.