The First Meeting

"Amah! Are you sure this is the only way? I don't want to marry Han, but to marry a perfect stranger? Is it really necessary?" Xiu was worried sick.

"My dear Xiu! Just trust me on this. You're the most precious person in this whole world for me. I have no relatives, no kids, just you my dear. How can I take a step that is not beneficial for you?"

"I know Amah! You're the only one I can trust," and she quietly signed the marriage certificate.

Amah kissed her forehead, and congratulated her.

"May you have a blessed life with your husband and newly formed family," and then she hid the certificate in her pocket and went outside to give it back to the messenger.

The courtyard that was empty yesterday except for the plants and grass had been converted into a wonderland. Beautiful fresh flower arrangements, colourful fairy lights and light music in the background; It all gave a dreamy outlook. The impeccable seating arrangement was just waiting for the guests to arrive. The security was tight. After all, it was the venue for the wedding of the Minister's son.

A tall, dark man with crooked teeth was stopped at the gate by the guards.

"I am the electrician. I worked on the lighting yesterday. I have been called to add a few more lights near the stage. You can call the company to confirm," the man said.

The guards called their superior and after confirming his identity, they let him in.

"I have just an hour to pull this together," the man thought as he moved inside the courtyard. He slid behind a slightly dark staircase and checked the location of his target on his phone.

"Moving towards his room, or his death," he chuckled.

He sneakily climbed up the staircase avoiding all the surveillance cameras and slipped into the empty room beside the Minister's son, Han's room. He crept on to the balcony to see who else was with him. Two guards were standing beside him as he took off his shirt to change. He sneaked into the room again and opened the door leading to the bathroom. He had tampered with the door's lock earlier in the morning. The bathroom had two doors; one in each room. He hid behind the shower curtain waiting patiently for the groom to come in.

After a few minutes, the groom to be entered the bathroom whistling, unaware of what the future held for him. The man only gave a few seconds before pulling the trigger. It was a clean shot. The man caught the falling body and laid down it quietly. It was a silent, instant kill. He opened the shower, crept quietly out of the bathroom, and quickly went out.

"Oh God! Why are these ladies taking ages to come out? They surely are going to sabotage my mission and get me caught!" He was murmuring curses under his breath when he finally saw Amah and a bride with a veil on her face.

"What the….." he stopped midway.

"Here's your bride son!" said Amah joyfully.

"I don't have time for this. I don't want to spill innocent blood today. It's already too late. Hurry up!"

He roughly pulled the bride towards the car and dumped her in the back seat.

"Ok Amah! We don't have much time. It would soon be a chaos here!"

He fled towards the driving seat and sped the car away. He did not pick any main roads to travel. Instead, he manoeuvred the car expertly through small streets. It was pin drop silence in the car. Xiu thought he could hear her heart beat since it was beating so loudly. Through the veil, she could only make out that he had a head full of black, curly hair. He hadn't even taken a look at her, as if she was thin air.

"Is it my fate to be given cold shoulder by everyone?" She felt like crying. If it was for appearances, she had nothing to complain about. A pretty face with large black eyes, petite figure, smooth and milky white skin. She was a head turner, but fate works in mysterious ways. No matter how pretty and educated she was, she had always been snubbed. The princess of her parents believed her luck ran out when her parents died. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice that the car had pulled up in a dark secluded area.

The man, or rather her husband got off, and pulled her door open. She was startled. He yanked away her veil.

"Ahhhh! What on earth….." She screamed in fright as she saw her husband for the very first time. Tall, dark, very dark actually, very bushy brows, and yellow protruding crooked teeth.

"Amah! I trusted you! What did I do to deserve this?" she silently cried in her heart.

"Hello Miss? We don't have time! Why the hell are you wearing this?"

"Amah asked me to wear this. And Han's sisters were there, too."

"Do you have any other clothes?"

"No"

"What the hell?"

He walked away and picked up a bag from the car boot.

"Here! Wear this!"

He threw the bag to her.

It had a T shirt and a lounge pants.

"I need to change here?"

"Madam! I don't carry portable toilet and changing rooms with me!"

Xiu closed the car door and took a look at the rear view mirror. She was looking breathtakingly beautiful, but unfortunately it wasn't enough for her husband. She quickly changed and got off the car.

Her husband had started another car that was hidden behind the bushes. She walked towards him with the bag in her hand.

"Why are you bringing the bag?"

"It has my wedding dress and accessories in it."

"We can't bring it with us."

"My dress is really expensive. We can sell it and get some money."

"We could, only if they sold brains in the market. Madam, you're a runaway bride and that too of the Minister's son. We can't risk it at all. It would lead them to us!"

He snatched the bag from her hands and walked towards the car they had used to come here, dumped it in the car, threw some gasoline on the car and placed something in it.

He walked towards her, pushed her in the back seat again and sped the car away. A couple of minutes later, she heard a loud bang, and when she turned back to take a look, she could only see huge flames of fire enveloping the car they had just dumped.