The Runaway Groom

Chapter 1 Irene Spencer was married to a bridegroom who never showed up at their wedding.

The bed sprinkled with rose petals that formed a distinct heart shape, along with the decorations within the suite, were all a slap to her face.

It was outrageous! It was unfair! And there was nothing she could do about it!

All her life, she had been under the control of others ever since she was born.

Even her marriage to the Jefferson family was because of her father‘s greed.

Her grandfather used to be Mr. Jefferson‘s chauffeur, and had sacrificed himself to save Mr. Jefferson in an accident.

Her family managed a small company and incurred a serious debt. On the verge of bankruptcy, Irene‘s shrewd father predicted that they had already reached the limit of favors they could ask for from the Jeffersons. As such, he resorted to sacrificing Irene for the sake of his personal gain–by proposing to Mr. Jefferson to have his grandson, Isaac Jefferson, marry her.

It was overwhelmingly advantageous–Irene‘s family would earn a fat wedding purse from the Jeffersons‘ relatives and connections, just as they gained prestige and status as the in–laws of the Jeffersons. For their part, the Jeffersons could not refuse the marriage for the sake of their reputation.

Even so, the marriage upset Isaac considerably, which was why he did not bother to show up at the wedding, while demanding that she not introduce herself as his wife outside the family.

No one ever asked Irene‘s opinion on the matter.

Her curled brows twitched above her bright eyes, concealing the rebellious nature behind them.

Still, just as she wondered how she would kill time on her wedding night, she received a text from her colleague, asking that she replace her shift.

Hailing a cab, she headed to the hospital, swapping her white bridal gown for a white lab coat.

Bang!

The door to the clinic suddenly swung wide open forcefully, and Irene was about to look up when someone killed the lights with a loud snap.

goosebumps as fear

“Who–”

pinned against her desk, and everything on top tumbled to the

a man‘s face, covered in blood, and his sharp eyes as he threatened, “Be quiet!” She could tell from the pungent scent of blood swirling in her nostrils that the man was hurt. Nonetheless, she remained calm despite the direness of the

an attempt to hit the man where it hurt the moss, but he noticed the instant she moved and used

TI

saw him

there was a clamor of footsteps outside the clinic, and the people out there looked

LILIT

of the urgency of the situation, the man leaned in and kissed her

pushing him away, and suddenly realized that he did not slice through her

Click!

quickly braced herself, wrapping her arms around the man‘s neck and lifting her

she forced herself to stay composed. “I can help

instant. His warm breath was beside her ears, and his voice was at once deep and

misunderstood her–she was just going to

and coquettish

the lights from the corridor filled in, illuminating Irene and the man on top of her. It was still too dark for them

way he would be doing that after he got

chick‘s moans

moving! Find him,

they left, their footsteps becoming distant

that he was losing his restraint –

11

their raunchy positions abruptly triggered Irene‘s rebellious nature which she had been afraid to let loose for

had been controlled and kept