Chapter 2 Find The Runaway Bride

• Joseph was fixing his tie when he heard shouts coming from right behind him. He hid in the shadows of the building so as not to be seen. When he looked back, he saw a woman wearing a turquoise dress running down the street, her black hair mussed by the wind.
• How could she run so fast in those heels?
• The woman’s running skills really impressed Joseph, and he even found the scene funny, until he realized what was actually happening. Gloria entered the reception area of the registry office distressed, her hands shaking and her face pale. It was only then that Joseph understood what was happening.
• “She ran away,” the voice almost disappeared, and Gloria had to stare into Joseph’s furious eyes before continuing, “I got distracted for a moment, and the woman ran off down the street.”
• Joseph’s expression changed completely at her words. So that woman running down the street was his fiancée? The woman his father had insisted he marry on the promise of at least getting a position as head manager at the hotel?
• What a ridiculous role he was playing. Soon, every newspaper and media outlet in the country would report that unpleasant episode, and Joseph would be ridiculed once again. He should have stayed in Europe, turned down his father’s offer, and continued his life of drinking, luxury cars, and beautiful women.
• “You mustn’t worry,” Gloria continued when she noticed Joseph’s disturbed silence, “the security guards have gone after her. I doubt Maya can get very far, especially running in those giant heels I made her wear.”
• It was clear that the woman didn’t want to marry him. The best thing would be to let her run away. But his blood immediately boiled inside him. Any woman had never rejected Joseph, and it wouldn’t be now, by the one who needed him more than he needed her. He clenched his fists and walked towards the exit, but his feet hit the ground as if they were glued to it when he saw the crowd of journalists standing in front of the registry office.
• Too late.
• They probably already knew about his fiancée on the run, and he couldn’t risk showing his face. Joseph had been hiding so that no one would know that he was one of the Lee family heirs. He had lived in Europe since childhood, so far, away from the family’s business success, that the world often forgot that he too was part of that empire.
• Joseph came to like the anonymity, although the reasons behind it were sad and dark.
• He took a step back and faced his mother’s eyes again.
• “Is that why you brought me back?” An icy stare full of contempt: “to be humiliated in front of all society?”
• “The woman will be found, and you will marry her,” Gloria watched her son approach. “Should I remind you of the conditions your father imposed on you to get married?”
• “Do you want to force me to be part of this family?”
• “I thought you were interested in the chairmanship of the Lee Hotel.”
• “Who are you kidding, Mom?” the dry tone mixed with the ironic smile, complicating the situation even more. “My brother is already president. My father only promised me a simple managerial position and threatened me if I refused.”
• He sensed that this discussion was going to go on for longer than he would have liked. Joseph could no longer bear to discuss his fate with the people who had always made the decision for him and had never given him any choice.
• When the family driver ran into the registry office. The man’s face was red, and he was struggling to breathe. He had to stop, close his eyes, and try to control his breathing before he could finally tell them what had happened.
• “We haven’t found her, sir,” he said and immediately lowered his head.
• “How could you not find her?” Gloria snapped because she found the driver’s words impossible to believe, “You let a woman in heels beat you in a race?”
• The driver kept his head down, feeling that if he looked at the woman, he would lose his job right away.
• “I’m sorry.”
• Gloria clenched her fists as the entire story took aback Joseph. His runaway fiancée really was willing not to marry him, and she was good at running. But he knew that the woman’s escape would bring him enormous problems.
• “Get all the security guards behind that woman!” Gloria shouted, frightening the clerk. “Turn this town upside down. Nobody humiliates the Lee family like that and gets away with it.”
• Joseph massaged his temples as he thought about what that family would do to his poor fiancée. If she knew how cruel they were, she’d rather marry him than face her mother’s fury.
• “Are you going to stand still, Joseph?” When Joseph opened his eyes, he saw Gloria glaring at him. “Try to find this woman as soon as possible, before things get worse for you.”
• “Can it get any worse?” He frowned, pressing his lips together tightly. “Let her run away. I’m the one who doesn’t want to get married anymore.”
• He turned his back on his mother and prepared to leave.
• “You can’t do that,” Gloria came up behind him, ”you’re not thinking straight, Joseph.”
• “I wasn’t when I accepted this imposition from you,” he said, looking at her for the last time. He crossed the corridor and left the registry office through the back.
• He got into his car and asked the driver to take him back to the hotel. Joseph couldn’t imagine the mess that would ensue. His father would ruin his life if he found out what had happened. Joseph went into his room, took a shower, and threw himself on the bed.
• He woke up to a loud knock on the door. When he got up, one of the hotel’s security guards was at his door.
• “Your father wants to see you in the meeting room.
• Joseph stared at him numbly. Why had his father sent a security guard to warn him? To intimidate him. Marcos Lee was wrong if he was afraid of his threats.
• Without saying a word, Joseph closed the door and got dressed. When he left the room, the man was still standing in the same place and, incredibly, followed him into the meeting room.
• Everyone was gathered. The Lee family and the hotel’s advisors. Everyone was sitting comfortably around the vast table, looking at him as if he were the attraction of the moment. When his eyes fell on Marco, he saw something dark and terrifying.
• Marcos stood up, walked towards him, and threw the newspaper in his face.
• “Irresponsible,” he roared in anger. “You had a simple mission to marry that girl and get the chance you so desperately wanted in this company. But you failed, just like every other time.”
• “It wasn’t my fault that the girl ran away.”
• “Of course it wasn’t,” he said dryly, clarifying it that something worse would follow. “For that reason, you’ll be working as a mere trainee at the hotel until I find another wife to marry you.”
• “But Dad…”
• “Your brother will take care of everything, and you will obey him from now on, so that maybe you can learn to be responsible.”
• Joseph’s eyes fell on Kael Lee, the hotel president, who seemed to be amused by his younger brother’s tragedy.
• When Joseph finally left the room, he called someone important.
• “Find my runaway bride,” he said. ”I’ll make this woman pay for her audacity.”