Chapter 1: The Bride Who Fled, The Groom Who Stayed
The banquet hall hummed with life, filled with hurried footsteps, hushed whispers, and the soft clinking of preparations nearing completion. It was the day of Rose Bailey's wedding to the Australian family—a union that would bind two of the most powerful families together.
At the center of it all stood Mable Bailey, issuing instructions to the maids with practiced authority, her composure betraying none of the storm that was yet to come.
Her gaze shifted—and then she noticed him.
Yuvan Verma.
An Indian boy who had long since become more than just a guest in their lives. His mother had once been Mable's closest friend in college. When tragedy struck and took his parents away when he was only three, Mable did not hesitate. She took him in, raising him as her own.
To the world, he might have been an outsider. But to the Bailey family—he was their son.
"Yuv baby, go check if Rose is ready," Mable said gently, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Hm… I'll go check," Yuvan replied, already turning toward the staircase.
He moved quickly, his footsteps echoing softly as he reached the second floor.
Standing before Rose's door, he knocked.
"Rose? Are you ready?"
Silence.
A slight frown creased his brow.
"Rose?"
Still nothing.
A flicker of unease stirred within him as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Rose…?"
The room was empty.
He checked the bathroom. Then the balcony. Every corner.
Nothing.
A sudden, chilling thought struck him.
His face drained of color.
"No…"
His heartbeat quickened.
"It can't be…"
Without another moment's hesitation, he rushed downstairs.
"Aunty!"
His voice cut sharply through the air, laced with urgency.
Mable turned immediately, concern flashing across her face.
"What happened, Yuv?"
"Rose… she's not in the dressing room," he said, his voice tight with panic.
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze.
"What?!" Mable's voice rose, disbelief giving way to fear. "Did you check the bathroom?"
"Yes. I checked everywhere," Yuvan replied, his breath uneven.
"She might be on the first floor—or the ground floor," Mable said quickly, trying to steady herself. "You search the first floor. We'll check the ground."
Yuvan nodded and hurried away.
They searched relentlessly—every corridor, every room—but Rose was nowhere to be found.
Then, as if delivered by fate itself, a maid approached Mable with a letter.
"It's from Miss Rose," she said softly.
Mable's hands trembled as she took it.
The paper shook as she unfolded it.
Her eyes scanned the words.
And with each passing line, her world shattered.
𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.
𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭… 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.
𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦,
—𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦
Tears slipped silently down Mable's cheeks as the letter fell limply in her hands.
"What happened, Aunty?" Yuvan asked, his voice softer now, edged with dread.
"She… left…" Mable whispered, her voice breaking as the weight of the words crushed her.
Before the moment could settle, a commanding presence filled the room.
Robert Sterling had arrived.
The former head of the Sterling family stepped forward, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room before settling on Mable.
"Where is the bride?" he asked, his voice firm and unyielding.
Mable struggled to steady her breathing, her fingers tightening around the letter.
"She… left," she said, her voice barely holding together.
A dangerous silence followed.
"What do you mean, she left?" Robert's tone darkened, anger simmering beneath the surface.
Mable sank to her knees, her composure finally breaking.
"I am… sorry…"
For a moment, Robert said nothing.
Then his gaze shifted.
It landed on Yuvan.
The boy stood frozen, caught in the storm of a situation he had never imagined.
Robert studied him—calm, calculating.
"Fine," he said at last, his voice cold and decisive. "If the bride is gone… then he will take her place."
He pointed directly at Yuvan.
"No!" Mable cried out, rising to her feet.
Her body moved instinctively, placing itself protectively in front of Yuvan.
"Because of my daughter's mistake, I will not ruin his life," she said, her voice trembling yet resolute.
Robert's expression did not change.
"If he does not marry my grandson," he said slowly, each word measured and chilling, "I will destroy your family."
The room fell into suffocating silence.
Mable's face drained of all color.
And beside her—Yuvan stood still, shock gripping him from within.
---
Robert's POV:
I watched the boy carefully.
He was trembling.
And yet…
The moment my eyes had first landed on him, something had stirred within me.
An instinct. A certainty.
He was perfect.
His eyes held a kind of innocence I had not seen in years—untouched, unguarded, and rare.
He was exactly what Sebastian needed.
Exactly what our family required.
I had known it the moment I saw him.
"Fine," the boy finally spoke.
"I'll marry him."
His voice trembled slightly—but his words did not waver.
---
Yuvan's POV:
Aunty Mable turned toward me, her eyes wide with shock.
"Yuv, baby… you don't have to do this," she said, gripping my hand tightly.
Her touch trembled.
I looked at her—at the tears staining her face, at the fear she was trying so desperately to hide.
And something inside me settled.
My hesitation disappeared.
My resolve hardened.
I turned to the man standing before me.
And in a steady, unwavering voice, I said—
"I'm ready to marry him."
*:..｡o To be continue o｡..:*