Chapter 2: The bride runs away

"can I have my bag; I want to redo my make up." She said to a girl who has suddenly appeared from nowhere.

The girl immediately gave her a bag, the bride's parents and bride's maid were all surprised at the strange girl but were too preoccupied with the incident to think about the girl.

Inside the bag were some clothes and other things for change.

she took the bag and went into the corridor, trying to locate the female restroom.

The bridesmaid offered to follow her but she refused. But winked to the strange girl.

When she reached the corridor, looked round and did not see anybody, she took another route to the back of the church. There was an exist gate connecting the church walls and the backyard of the church.

Luckily for her, the tiny hidden gate was not locked but bolted. No! it was not a matter of luck; the gate was purposely kept unlocked for this purpose.

When she was a child, she always played with her friends whenever they come to church, so she knew the place very well. And it was not difficult for her to locate the small gate.

She unbolted the gate, stepped out, pushed it close, removed her wedding gown and changed into the clothes, changed her high-heeled shoes, removed her expensive Jewries put them inside the bag and left through a narrow path road.

The strange girl who gave her the bag was already waiting for her at the end of the narrow part and lead her to a car that carried them away before people could notice her absence.

…..

Yesterday

"Chin Cho you remember that tomorrow is your half-sister's wedding?" Chin Cho's mother Ae-Cha said with worry in her voice, she was afraid that Chin Cho was not going to agree with what she is about to say.

Yesterday, Chin Cho's mother Ae-Cha had called her to come back home, she travelled from school to Ado city where her mother was residing.

But Chin Cho loves the mother dearly and hardly refused anything or request by her mother. In her mind, her mother was her only blood relation. Elvis was just a father in name.

When a father hardly fulfils his fatherly responsibility to his child, that father is not worth regarding. So she thinks of her mother as her only flesh and blood.

She said offhandedly "yes mom, I remember the wedding tomorrow it has nothing to do with me." She showed no interest at all in what her mother was saying concerning the wedding.

Her mother had called her some weeks ago telling her that her half-sister Chin Sun who was the same age with her was getting married to a very rich man, from a very powerful family.

She was neither interested nor jealous. Chin Sun can marry the richest man in the whole world for all she cared.

To her, it is not how rich and wealthy the man you marry is that matters, but how much you two love and care for each other.

As for her, she was already in a loving relationship, she was in love and the man was also in love with her, though, he doesn't have money yet, but both of them would make money and build their life together.

"Well I called you home because I want you to attend that wedding please." Ae-Cha pleaded as she went about trying to find some drink for Chin Cho.

This really caught the attention of the girl who had showed little or no interest in the wedding of her half-sister.

Ae-Cha would have loved to attend the wedding by herself, but she was too sick, and could not travel far.

If Chin Cho was allowed to hate her mother, she would have done so, she would not have hesitated to hate her mother for sticking and always trying to please a man like her father.

But her mother has always insisted that her father was not as bad as Chin Cho was making him look. "Your father is not as bad as you think, just that Fatima is such a difficult woman."

She always try to defend the man she has mistakenly married some 25 years ago.

"I have my final exams starting on Monday, and you called me to come and attend the wedding of my half-sister; whom we hardly have anything in common?" She asked in surprise and anger.

This must be a very serious joke from her mother, and a very expensive joke at that.

She had laboured, suffered and studied 'Industrial Mathematics' very hard for the past four years in one of the best university in the country. She was hoping to come out with a very good grade, so as to get a good job, and live a better life; which seemed to have eluded her since childhood.

But now her final preparations had been interrupted for who? Chin Elvis, Chin Fatima, Chin Sun or Bong Ae-Cha?

Chin Cho and her mother were resident of Ado city while her father and steps were residents of K city.

"Mum you know the seriousness of my final exams, yet you still decided to pull this sort of joke on me?"

But this was not a joke, her mother wants her to attend the wedding on her behalf. Ae-Cha wanted to please Elvis.

Elvis always try to keep his two families together, but his wife Fatima would not allow it. But Ae-Cha having grew up without a father did not want Chin Cho to grew up without a father.

So anything that would bring the family together, she was in for it. Anything that would bring Chin Cho close to her father, she would do it.

But Chin Cho was thinking of something else.

She was hoping this was not true that her mother would not insist on her going to that wedding, and she would not hesitate to travel to back to school immediately. 'wedding indeed' she muttered under her breath.

She can't even remember the last time she met with that half- sister of hers.

In fact, the last time they met, they fought, they have always had misunderstanding with each other, and fought and quarrelled over nothing.