Two

EVE'S POV

I twisted my fingers on my lap, and casted another look past the seated guests at the entrance of the gardens, where my wedding was taking place. My brow furrowed slightly when there was no sign of Morgan Caruso or any of his family members.

The ceremony had been supposed to start two hours ago. All the guests from my side of the family were already here, but not one from the groom's side.

Now, I was reduced to nerves as I sat and waited.

Was he going to make it?

I had never met him, but I had heard that he was an idler.

What if he decided to not show up?

Firstly I was been forced into marrying a stranger only to have him ditch me at the altar… All this not long after what happened with Jake and my sister.

The two were seated on the front row, and I was doing my best to ignore them.

Cindy had been stuck to Jake's side since they arrived, and a few comments had been thrown around about what a beautiful couple they were. But I tried not to let it get to me.

While it still hurt, I had accepted that I and Jake were now history. Even if I wasn't marrying someone else for Sandra’s sake, I would never have forgiven him. To not only cheat but to do so with my sister? How had I not found out sooner?.

Where did he get the guts to attend my wedding, anyway?. Cindy probably dragged him along just to rub it in my face.

Cindy huffed loudly from her seat, interrupting my stream of thought.

"I knew that man was nothing but a worthless trash. How dare he keep us waiting? If he didn't want to get married, he should have said so. What a coward!"

I closed my eyes momentarily, wishing that Cindy would just shut up. She was the reason I am in this predicament, to begin with.

Now, I had to pretend to be the eldest daughter of her family to save their face.

A murmur rose around her as the guests reacted to Cindy's's accusation.

“Poor girl. I heard his jobless. Who wants such a husband?"

"She could do better"

"He is a useless drunk."

"So shameless. Who keeps the bride waiting?"

I focused on the altar ahead and tried to shut out the rumours. It didn't matter. Whether Morgan was an idler, poor, drunk, or not. Marrying him was the only way I would be able to pay for Sandra's treatment. I would focus on that.

As the gossip deepened, Cindy spoke up again.

"Seriously, our family can do so much better. It's such an embarrassment to have to wed my sister to him. He is obviously alienated by his own family. Why should we accept him?"

“Why was she complaining so much?”, i murmured to my self.

She wasn't the one marrying him anymore, was she? Besides, it wasn't as if she cared about my feelings, so why was she acting as if she did?

She suddenly appeared in my face.

"Let's go, Eve. This is so embarrassing”,

I shook my head and remained in my seat. I was going to wait as long as it took for Morgan to get here. That's If he gets here. Surely, the Caruso's family wasn't going to back out of the agreement on the wedding day, were they?

She reached forward to grab my arm, but I shot to her feet and stepped back.

"Let it go, Cindy! There must be a good reason he's late. Let's just wait."

Maybe he was caught in traffic. Or he had not been well-informed when the ceremony commenced.

Cindy scoffed, ready to get into a tirade. But then, we noticed that the crowd around us had gone silent.

I turned to see what had captured their attention, and there It was. I saw a man walking towards the reception area.

My breath caught in my throat as the man stepped into clear sight. He was tall, handsome, and well-dressed in a dark blue three-piece suit that properly outlined his broad shoulders, lean physique, and long legs.

And his face..oh, his face. His angular jaw, prominent brow, those dark eyes that seemed to be looking right through me even from a distance..

My face flushed and I looked away momentarily as I realised that the man's eyes were on me.

Was this really Morgan Caruso?

I hadn't expected him to look so...put together. Idlers weren't supposed to look like they had walked out of a men's fashion magazine.

When I looked back up, I was taken aback to find out that Cindy had already left my side and was rushing towards the man, a big smile on her face.

"Hi! I'm Cindy", she introduced.

I held back my scoff. I wasn't even surprised at my sister's sudden warmth towards the man she was bad-mouthing just a minute ago.

I wouldn't even be surprised if Cindy felt ready to marry him now that she saw he wasn't as shabby as she thought.

But that wasn't possible now, was it? She is pregnant with Jake’s baby..

I was expecting the man to entertain my sister, but instead, he brushed right past Cindy and came up to me. He stopped in front of me and caught my gaze before bowing his head slightly.

“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. It was not intentional."

I felt my heart swell at his politeness and gesture. The nervousness that had built during the long wait evaporated, as I nodded.

If this was truly his real nature, the idea of marrying a strange man didn't seem as daunting as it had before.

"It's alright. I'm happy you made it."

"May I?" he asked, offering me his arm.

"Of course" I replied, hooking my hand on his arm and letting him walk me to the front for the ceremony to begin.

As we made our way to the altar, Cindy watched, simmering with anger.

“Was this man really Morgan Caruso? He didn't look like a jobless idler at all”, I assume this words were going to be battling in her mind.

She had lied about being pregnant to get out of the marriage agreement, because she had thought he was worthless. And now, here he was, looking like a prince?

She clenched her teeth together, her anger doubling as she saw how he looked down at me.

“That bitch!”, I saw the trace of her lips let out those words.

Shifting my gaze to the crowd, my gaze caught Cindy's stare, as she finally raised a brow and gave me a mocking look. Just then I knew exactly what that gaze meant as I followed her eyes movement.

Maybe she has come to the conclusion that him dressing well didn't mean anything. He probably must have borrowed the suit he was wearing. Or possibly hired it.

But none of her gaze or thought meant anything to me. I was just glad that even as an idler, he showed up in a ravishing appearance.

As Morgan and I came to the front and stood next to each other, I was aware of the many surprised gazes directed at him, and how many of the guests leaned towards each other in gossip. I could bet everything I had, that the tune of the gossip had now changed.

But, whether or not the gossip was in a positive light, I didn't want to spend more time here. I wanted to be done with the ceremony as fast as possible. It wasn't as if this was my dream wedding. My fantasies about my wedding had usually involved a man I was deeply in love with. A man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But instead, I was getting hitched to a stranger whose name I don't even know that much.

Sad enough, the man I had dreamt of walking down the aisle with? was now standing beside my sister.

It was time to let go of my silly fantasies. My life had never been a fairytale, and it looked like it wasn't about to get any better.

My eyes went back to my groom, purposely avoiding his eyes. He was handsome, way more than Jake could ever be. But then I found myself thinking, maybe that was my broken heart trying to soothe the ache.

Quickly I shook my head. His looks shouldn't matter. After my father made the payment for Sandra's treatment, I would remain married to the man. So, rather than his looks, I should be more worried about whether he truly was a drunk and Womaniser. I could give up marrying for love, but that didn't mean I would be happy staying in the same house with a man like that.

As my eyes appraised him, they landed on the brooch on his suit jacket. I frowned a little as I recognised the piece.

Wasn't that brooch worth around two million? So, how could Jacob afford that if he was just a lowly poor man?