Chapter 1 Runaway Bride

• Maya sighed softly, hoping that fear wouldn’t show in her voice. “I would rather not marry a stranger, Dad.”
• The sight of the satisfied smile on Hector’s face caught Maya’s attention.
• “I’m not interested,” he said, gripping her arm tightly, which caused the girl to wince in pain, and. “I’m giving you an order. We need your cooperation, Maya.
• “My cooperation?” She only managed to say, when her father finally let go of her arm, “What good will I do by marrying a stranger?
• “Don’t be stupid, girl,” her last requirement of love and admiration for Hector quickly disappeared when he said these words. Joseph is not a stranger; he is the heir and only son of the hotel empire of the most influential family in this city. ”
• Her mother, Josephine, standing at the door, listened to the entire conversation without daring to interrupt him. When Maya’s eyes fell on her mother like a cry for help, she found only contempt.
• “Obey your father, Maya,” he said, while rolling his eyes, clarifying it that he would not help his daughter under any circumstances. ”This marriage will be a business deal, which will save our family from ruin.”
• “So I’m an object of exchange for you?”
• Hearing this, Hector looked at her angrily, then slapped her across the face and roared:
• “You will do as I say, and you will no longer question me about it,” he pointed his shaking finger towards her red face as he shuddered in fury. ”Tomorrow you will marry Joseph, and from now on, this matter is closed.”
• “But…”
• “Shut up, Maya,” Josephine shouted, making the girl wince. “Go to your room immediately. There’ll be no dinner for you tonight.”
• Maya’s face contorted with anguish as she stared at her parents’ faces before finally climbing the stairs and locking herself in her damp, dark room. She couldn’t understand why her parents had started treating her differently recently. The first fifteen years of her life had been pure happiness until a tragic accident changed everything. While she was playing with her younger sister Molle on the train tracks, a terrifying accident took place, claiming the life of her 10-year-old sister. From that day on, Hector began to despise her, beating and punishing her constantly. It took Maya a long time to understand why her parents hated her so much. They blamed her for Molle’s death.
• But forcing her into a marriage with a man who had a reputation for dishonesty was too much for her to bear. Everyone in town knew that Joseph and his family had achieved everything through violence and unscrupulous means. That man’s reputation was the worst possible, and just the thought of marrying a monster made Maya’s body want to fall apart.
• Maya had always dreamed that one day she would marry a man she loved and who would want to build a beautiful family with her. Her parents were about to destroy her plans. She would marry a man whose face she had never seen. What if, as well as being cruel, he was ugly?
• Maya threw her weak body on the bed and cried, letting out howls of pain without being able to find a way out. She soon fell asleep and only woke up the next day to a loud knock on the door. It was a nightmare. Her wedding day had arrived.
• She strolled to the door when the knocks became more urgent and Hector’s voice echoed from the other side.
• “Hurry, Maya,” the voice on the other side growled furiously. Don’t make me punish you for keeping the Lee family waiting.”
• Her heart froze. Was Joseph there too? Maya had to find a way out. She couldn’t accept marrying that man, even more so to satisfy her parents, who showed no affection for her.
• Only on the third knock did she open the door. With sad eyes, she saw Hector grab her hair and look at her with contempt.
• “The Lee family chauffeur is waiting for you outside,” he released her, as Maya let out a groan of pain. ”Hurry and say goodbye to this house. I never want to see you again, except to receive what is rightfully ours.”
• “Why do you hate me so much?” She asked, her eyes full of tears, “I’m still your daughter.”
• “My daughter died on those train tracks,” she said, her face contorted with bitterness. You’re not my daughter.”
• Then Hector grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the house. Josefina watched from the kitchen window, frozen in place to protect her daughter’s honor. Being dumped in the street like some kind of object, Maya looked sadly at her father. Maya was dressed informally, and her father hadn’t even allowed her to fix her hair. Josefina didn’t show up to say goodbye, and when the door was closed, Maya vowed that this forced marriage wouldn’t happen.
• A tall man led her to his car, which was parked in front of the house. Inside was a well-dressed woman who identified herself as Gloria Lee, Joseph’s mother. Her pleasant voice brought Maya back to her senses. The woman handed her a bag and asked Maya to change.
• The further the car drove away from the house, the more she avoided looking back and regretting the past.
• “Here?” she looked startled at the woman. ”After all, why would your son, being rich, want to marry a poor woman like me?”
• “My son isn’t seeking love; he’s looking for heirs,” she answered promptly. ”His job is to give Joseph children.
• “But, I…”
• Before she could say the rest of the sentence, the woman interrupted her. “Get dressed because we’re already on our way to the registry office.
• Maya’s heart fluttered. As she got dressed, random thoughts overwhelmed her. She would rather not marry a man she didn’t love and who would only use her to procreate. She thought of an escape plan and barely realized that the clothes she was wearing were the most luxurious she could ever buy.
• When the car stopped in front of the registry office, from a distance, she saw the silhouette of a man wearing an elegant suit. He had his back to Maya and seemed to be reveling in the tragedy that was about to unfold. Surely, that man was Joseph, her future husband.
• Maya would not marry that man. No matter what happened next. She was determined not to go through with it and become her parents’ biggest disappointment from then on.
• When she realized that the driver was distracted and Gloria was ten paces in front of her, Maya turned on her heels and ran away.
• She only heard screams and footsteps coming towards her as she ran as fast as she could without ever looking back. She slipped through a door, hid behind the store counter, and wished she hadn’t been found as she gasped for breath.
• Maya was running away from her forced marriage to a mysterious billionaire.