1 Chapter 1: Arrival

"Madam, we have arrived," a man said in a hushed voice.

Natalia immediately opened her eyes to the noise coming from the front seat of the car. The Suden voice made her heart pound like hell as if it would jump out of her chest. She can't believe her journey inside the car ended this quickly. Even though it was two hours long, she felt as if it had been five minutes.

Her face was covered with an annoyed look, which was just masking her fear so as not to seem scared. As she yawns, an irritated smooch escapes her mouth.

She soon realized that Her neck, which was resting on her hand, hurt when she lifted it away from her hand. She was unaware that she had dozed off while seated inside the car. All she can recall is that she closed her eyes after getting into the car.

She then stretched her arms in frustration, which were getting sore from the two-hour drive inside the car. She wanted to stretch her legs too so that she could feel comfortable, but she couldn't due to her uncomfortable and heavy dress. So she left her legs, which were resting beside her heels, alone.

She doesn't even care what a lady-like figure should seem. She once pulled her heels off her legs after getting into the car because they were too high for her, and she wasn't used to wearing heels at all.

If she could, she would also want to throw away the heavy gown, which is stitched with so many shiny yet beautiful stones, merely for aesthetic purposes. But she has to bear with it for a while because those decorations are necessary for today.

Her blue eyes, which were blinking every now and then, flew to the outside car just to see the place where they stopped.

She realized that even though the sky was clear, the atmosphere was not serene and tranquil. Instead, it was somewhat eerie. It was a particularly hot midday because the sun was trying to scorch everyone with its powerful beams.

A short time after the car came to a halt, the sound of an opening door was heard as the man in the front seat stepped outside. He walked quickly to the other side of the car, where Natalia was sitting, closing the button on his suit.

"Madam!" he said as he opened the door smoothly.

However, the angry expression on Natalia's face perplexed him.

In response, he politely smiled and asked, "Is there a problem?"

But he didn't get a vocal response; instead, he observed the head of Natalia, titled left, with her eyes squinting in annoyance. He swallowed hard because the person sitting in front of him is the soon-to-be wife of his boss, who is the owner of various multinational and national companies in England. And his strict order was to not make the madam feel any discomfort... he shuddered as he remembered his boss's face and tone while he was getting his orders.

He consoled himself in his thoughts, then quickly examined Natalia from head to toe. Without wasting time, he asked, "Madam, are your legs hurting?" in a concerned voice.

His words left Natalia in surprise; she never expected him to be able to observe her pain-covered feet, which were hiding inside her gown, in just one observation. "With this observing skill, he deserves to serve the boss like him," she thought, her face twisted in a smile.

But what will he do now? He just confirmed that I have trouble walking in heels. So the best thing is that I should wear something else, but we're probably a long way from the market. so it is not possible for him to get something comfortable for me at once. Natalia's eyes didn't notice the men's absence for a while because she was preoccupied with her thoughts.

"Why don't you try this, madam?" holding a box of shoes in his hand, he said.

She was now taken aback by his level of effort. She never expected someone to be this committed to work.

"How did he?" A hushed whisper escaped her mouth without letting her know when she spotted his sudden reappearance in front of her once more. She stared at his hand in disbelief with her eyes wide open.

She now quickly pulled herself back to the present as she heard that man's voice again. "You?" she asked, "What is your name? " clearing her throat, as she put her foot on his hand because he was already kneeling down for her in front of the car to put the shoes on her feet.

Her delicate feet felt his hands warm while he was putting the shoes on her feet, even though her legs were covered with shocks.

"It's Jeremy Witt, madam," he said as he stood up after putting shoes on both of her legs. After cleaning his hand with a handkerchief, he stretched his arms to escort the lady out.

Natalia, after holding his hand, gracefully stepped out saying "I will remember it well."

"It will be my pleasure, madam", Jeremy said in a composed voice.

As soon as her feet landed on the ground, a gentle air stroked over her face, making her aware of how unkind the weather was. Because inside the car, the temperature was comfortable.

But the light from the sun doesn't touch even an inch of her body because the large umbrella is shading over her head.

Those comforts should have made her smile, but her face turned into a frown, and she asked, "Weren't we supposed to go to the church?" But if my eyesight is correct, then the church doesn't seem like this. Where are we?" Natalia exclaimed in awe as she gazed at the large villa in front of her, the gate of which had been opened for her.

She slung those umbrellas over her head and sprinted violently away from them in panic because her dread was now at its height. Her pulse was racing, and all she could do was take deep breaths repeatedly. Her hands were shaking like hell. Even her feet were wobbling as she took a step back. Now the fear inside her was getting stronger, and all the veils of her false courage were fading away.

It took a lot of guts for her to agree to the marriage with the stranger who was supposed to marry her sister. But now, instead of going to the wedding venue, she finds herself standing in the middle of nowhere, with only the sight of one villa in the range of her eyes. She is completely unaware of how frightened she is. Her hand was continuously squishing the side of her dress, and her legs were now getting numb because of fear. Even though she felt as though she would drop to the ground at any second, she continued to hold herself upright.

Jeremy, becoming flustered by the reaction of Natalia, stepped back, putting his arms in the air, and saying, "Madam, don't panic; these are the orders from our master."

"He asked us to escort you here."

Before even letting him explain, she retorted, "But why here?"

The abrupt questioning stunned him, and he began to consider a method to calm her down while silently cursing his master for putting him in this position when he heard footsteps behind him which lifted his anxiety.

"Because I want to see my soon-to-be wife in her wedding gown before anyone else. That's why I asked my butler to escort you here." A man's voice, which sounded like screaming yet was gentle at the end, made its appearance beyond the gate of the villa.

Natalia's tall yet slender figure whirled around in surprise at the voice that was seeking her attention. Now her desperate eyes became unwavering because they now pulled toward the gateway of the villa. Without even realizing it, she found herself mesmerized by the figure of the man who was walking elegantly towards her in a white suit while his hands were resting inside his pockets. His demeanor causes Natalia to inadvertently gasp.

She almost stumbled in shock when that figure stood so close to her without giving her even a little moment of rest to ponder about that person. She now finds that she did stumble, which could have let her fall, but instead of falling, she now finds herself half floating above the ground.

Her waist was taking shelter under his arms; that's why her body didn't wish to surrender to the ground yet. He lifted Natalia in a way so she could at least stand, but her body remained curved because he purposefully kept her off balance so he could still hold her in his arms.

Her face was so near to his as she struggled to keep herself in check. An abrupt jolt caused Natalia Heart to pause for a brief moment. Their eyes matched, and at that point, there was very little distance because now her face was so close to his that she even felt the warm breath of his touching her face.

She now started to feel her body temperature suddenly rising, making her cheeks turn into tiny fireballs. She never in her whole life imagined she would be meeting her soon-to-be husband that way for the first time.

She was lost in a trance when a sweet whisper echoed near her ear, it startled her out of her reverie and brought her back to reality.

"Now, I don't think there will be any more confusion for you to ask about," he said in a calm voice, making her stand on her feet. "Is there?" which sounded like teasing.