The CEO’s missing bride

Everything was so vivid. It was just like that day, a day she could never forget no matter how much she tried to bury it away in the deepest part of her mind. The hot rubble that stabbed her legs as she ran. The dense air that burned her lungs as she tried to gasp for air, and the boy whose small hands clung to hers as they made their way out of the fiery building that threatened to collapse any moment and bury them within. She felt herself getting weaker and weaker and her legs began to feel as heavy as bricks.She ignored the feeling and pressed on, not because she was desperate to live, but because of the young life that she dragged with her. She wanted him to survive no matter what, but that feeling was short lived as she felt her eyes getting heavier by the moment. She couldn’t keep her eyes open again and they fellshut involuntarily, clouding her vision in darkness. ° ° ° °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°Melissa’s eyes shut open as her breathing became laboured. S

U-mart was located at the north side of town, where Melissa lived. It was a five minute walk from her apartment, so working there was very convenient for her. The mart was relatively small, with just a few merchandise on sale. The mart was quite popular in the area, so it was buzzing with customers during the day and night. This night was quite different however. The store only had a few customers today, walking up the asile, viewing products, not entirely sure on what to buy.Melissa was Manning the counter as she always did during every night shift. Her curly hair was tied up in a tight pony tail today and she let a few stands fall just above her eyes. She was clad in a red t-shirt with a black collar and tight blue jeans. Her name was written in small letters on a badge and was stuck to the left side of her shirt. Even though it was a small mart, the owner tried to make things as professional as possible, hence the name tag.Melissa peered at her phone for the time and she sighed n

Melissa’s eyes were on the menu, but her mind was anywhere but there. She noticed that the menu she held was jittering and looked at her hands. They were trembling like she was suffering from a stroke attack. Just how nervous was she?Curious, Melissa peered over the menu and got a view of the man sitting in front of her. Gabriel Marshall. He was focused on the menu in his hand and didn’t pay much attention to her. She had been so focused on his face that she didn’t notice the Rolex latched onto his wrist. It had diamonds on it and sparkled under the light. Just from looking at the watch on his wrist, Melissa could tell how expensive it was.Her anxiety was slowly intensifying. The reality began to dawn on her slowly. She wasn’t just sitting with a normal person. The man in front of her was wealthy, and her Instincts were screaming it. Melissa began to curse internally. Tory had given her little to no background information on Gabriel Marshall. Her grip on the menu tightened as she th

"So, you wanted to talk to me? It sounded urgent, and you also sounded...angry?”Melissa just stared at Tory as she sipped from her cup of lemonade. She wasn’t particularly mad, well she was but it had subsided compared to how much she was seething with rage yesterday. All she wanted was answers from her. She didn’t want to bombard Tory with a lot of questions on the phone and thought it’ll be better to talk it out in person.“Mm, it’s not like I’m angry, well, not anymore.” Melissa finally said.Tory winced and groaned.“Let me guess, The date didn’t go well?”“The date not going well is an understatement, a really huge one.”Tory gaped at Melissa, her face full of curiosity and a slight hint of worry.“What happened? Please tell me it wasn’t that bad.”Melissa sighed and placed her cup of lemonade on the table as she tried not to relive the memories of last night’s date, but she had to, Tory needed to know what she had set her up with.“First off, Who is that man... Gabriel Marshall

Melissa moved back a little as the men approached her. The man with black long hair stood in front of three men. He was smirking at her, a smirk that felt like mockery to Melissa. He moved closer to her, while the other men stood in the same spot.“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Mel.”Melissa grimaced and moved back again until she felt her back, touching the door.“What do you want?” Melissa asked, trying as much as possible not to let her anxiety slip through her voice.“What a very stupid question to ask me don’t you think? The man said in a harsh tone.The small fox shaped pendant dangled from his chain as he bent over to look at her in the eye.“Your payment for this month is due, isn’t Mel?”Melissa felt her body tremble and small beads of sweat form at the top of her head as he stared at her dead in the eye. The man from a company she had burrowed money from, the loan shark that demanded money from her each month.Jack Torez, a tall attractive man in his thirties and the owner o