Forced Marriage To The Billionaire (Book 1)

Chapter 34: The Missing Bride

"The Giardini la mortella?" Markris scrunched his face when the driver turned to the famous garden.

"Yep." Jorginho nodded beside him.

"So an outdoor wedding then." He said, stroking his chin.

"With lots of people," Jorginho squinted his eyes to see through the tinted glass. "I presume." He added.

Markris scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course. It would have been much more surprising if many people were not invited."

"Just take a deep breath, and let's get it over with. Okay?" Jorginho grabbed his friend's knee, starting to feel sorry for him. It must be a challenging position to be in. He couldn't imagine being forced to do anything. Especially not marriage. His parents had given up on him in that sense.

"Fine." He said through his teeth.

"Go straight behind. We're not going straight to the garden." Jorginho ordered their driver. He couldn't see through the tinted car, but with the little he could, it was about to be a packed wedding.

The News stations were ready with their cameras. It wasn't every day you saw two compelling families merge. They were probably tussling right now for the right to put out the first pictures from the wedding.

A gate spread open, and the car passed through it, into an enclosed space, before stopping.

"The parents are waiting here." Jorginho spotting the look of confusion on Markris's face, quickly explained.

He nodded, and they stepped out of the car. Markris took a minute to adjust to the brightness of the day, then took an extra minute for a brief scan of his environment. Although the building was attached to the garden, the big gate was the separation.

" Aγαπημένος?" A loud voice called ahead. He raised his head and saw his aunt standing on the porch, waving at him.

"Malaka!" He cussed. As if this day was not stressful enough, he had to share it with the family he liked to stay away from. What was she even doing here? He wondered as he approached her. If his memory served him correctly, she was at odds with his father.

"Markris!" She said, jumping into his body. He staggered back at the sheer force. It didn't help that she was a plump woman, which was unexpected.

He heard Jorginho chuckle behind him, and his head grew hot.

"It's good to see you too." He said, managing to move her away from his body.

"Look at you. The English folks have taken you. You can't even speak your father's tongue anymore." She giggled, which sounded like a bellow, and smacked his hands.

"Right?" He said, grabbing the spot she had hit with a fake smile on his face.

"And who is that behind you?" Her eyes lit up, and she almost shoved him to the wall with the way she pushed him aside.

"Oh, now she knew English words?" He thought. Markris rolled his eyes as he watched his aunt flirt shamelessly with his best friend.

"Jorginho ma." He smiled, taking her hands. "I'm Markris's best friend." He said. He was placing a soft kiss on it. She giggled again, and it was as if the room shook.

"Common. Come with me. Everyone is waiting inside." She fluttered her lashes, which were even more prominent than her already big eyes, and grabbed Jorginho's hands into her larger ones.

"Everyone?" Markris muttered to himself. He had heard enough now to draw his conclusions. All he was told was to come for a wedding. His wedding. If he knew it would have been such an annoyance, he would have fought his father over this ridiculous decision.