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Miserable honeymoon

GENESIS

“What’s happening?” the question flew out of my mouth and eyes as I looked around. The surrounding chaos was rising, the camera flashes hotter, brighter, faster, it was eye blinding. The mumblings and murmurings growing like a school of fish and it grew louder, overpowering me, overwhelming me in mighty waves that had me in a sea of confusion.

My eyes met that of my parents, and they looked just as confused. With worry and questions filled in their gaze.

“Come on…” Someone grabbed my hand, and I turned around to find Mom Leona. Her eyes were serious and hard and so was her hold.

“Mom…”

“Shh…” her eyes spoke. Whatever compliant and cries I had simply disappeared, but the confusion remained. She stepped closer until she was standing right beside me. A smile flashed on her face, and she gently cupped my cheeks and pulled me in for a hug.

“Play along...” she mumbled against me before pulling away and turned to the cameras.

“This is definitely something every bride would dread.” She let out a heavy sigh, and they paid their attention to her.

“What is going on Mrs. Chase? Did he leave her? Is she not the woman he was supposed to get married to? Why did he leave?” A reporter asked her and she turned to me.

“Just look at how sad she looks.” she cupped my chin and made me look at her once more. Her lips still had a smile and her eyes were on me. Not as hard, but definitely not as confused as I was.

“My son had to leave for something very urgent. He had warned us that it might happen, but she had prayed that he would only leave after the marriage ceremony proper. The event itself is so beautiful, it was heart-breaking watching him leave so abruptly. But he is a businessman before anything else. It’s a good thing he has a wife to support him, no matter what.” She turned to me and I frowned.

“You will be fine. He will be back soon. Don’t sulk, you know how much he would hate it.” She gave me the warmest yet most pitiful smile. I simply stared at her, confused and more still annoyed that she was not helping me ease my confusion. And without proper response, men in black pulled me away from her and towards the entrance. With the comforting smile she gave, I knew they were my security details and I could trust them. But I was suddenly wondering if I could trust anything.

What was happening? Why did he leave? Why was she lying? How could such a thing happen on such a special day? No one answered the questions that came to my thoughts and no one gave me time to think as a car pulled up in front of me and I was made to get in. When the door was shut, only then did I see Tiana and Tiffany trying to make their way through the crowd and reporters that had actually followed me.

“Wait…” I turned to the driver who started the car and immediately drove the car without paying heed to me.

Our ride took an hour this time. I had no idea where we were going. It seemed to be out of the city and I did not have my phone with me. So I had no idea what the time was or if Jordan had called or texted. I had no idea what was happening in that confined space and that made everything worse.

“Where are we going to?” I turned to the driver who had ignored me earlier. He turned his gaze to me through the rearview and back at the road.

“Somewhere quiet and far away from the chaos,” he responded.

“Where is that exactly?” I asked, more skeptical than I should be. For all I knew, they could actually kill me and sell my organs.

“Master Jordan had this place prepared for you, to escape from the noise and crowd and suffocation of the reporters and the Chase wedding. He didn’t make it, but I am sure that he would have wanted me to bring you all the same.” He explained. I sighed. From relief yet pain. The thought of Jordan thinking about this for me had me thinking about what kind of man he was and what kind of husband that he could actually be. Yet, he had walked out on me without prior notice nor did he look back. I wondered what had gone wrong. Was it my face?

I shook my head seeing as I was not making sense of the situation in the very least. He had to have a reason and that should be enough.

We arrived at our destination, and I gasped at the sight. So far, away from town, it looked like a vacation home. Decorated with flowers, roses, and the smell of nature surrounding me. There were women on apron, standing by the side with a smile on their face. I could feel their warmth from where I stood and I could not help but smile. All thoughts of Jordan gone instantly as the thought of exploring the whole place took hold.

They gave me everything I wanted, and I was treated like a princess. I had people to help with my dress, with my hair, with my bath and even with my food. People fuzzing over me as if I was a child. Though, it made me awkward and uncomfortable at a point in time, but I enjoyed it. I explored the house, ate as much as I could. I had not eaten a thing since because I was too nervous to have anything in my stomach. But I ate and drank and danced and went back, where I dipped my legs in the pool till I started filling cold and was asked to return inside. The thought of Jordan and the excitement I was supposed to experience when I stepped into our bedroom was nowhere to be found when I stared at the bed and empty room. I might not have been ready to consummate our marriage, but I wanted more, I wanted better, I needed something good. We could sit and talk all night long, we had done that a couple of times on the phone till I fell asleep on him or he dozed off himself. It was like a dream come through then, why was it so different now? And where the hell was he?

A few more nights went by and I got no answer to my question. And no husband by my side. Nothing excited me anymore, not the house or the food or the shiny new things. My life was beginning to taste miserable, and it was worse because I still didn’t have my phone and was not permitted to leave the premises. I had no idea what was going on in the outside world and no way to reach anyone or my family. I was a prisoner on my honeymoon. I was a woman all alone in an unknown place and I wanted to scream.

Unable to bear the pain and misery, I stomped out of the bathroom and found maids in my room. They looked at me strangely. The same way they had been staring at me the past few days. With eyes filled with pity. I glared at them. They looked away immediately, and I walked past them. Ignoring that I was under-dressed and made my way to the entrance. I could feel their eyes watching me, my steps, my body. I could feel the questions in their burning gaze, the movement of their lips and the murmurings and words that were said behind my back. It burned, all of it burned and it left tears burning the back of my eyes. I wanted to leave, to speak to my mom, to see Ava and cry in their arms.

“Ma’am...” my driver revealed himself the moment I stepped outside, and I paused. I still didn’t know his name and I honestly didn’t care about that.

“I need a phone…” I began and the smile on his face disappeared. I frowned and glared at him before he could start speaking.

“I can…..”

“You have three options,” I cut him off. I was tired of hearing the same s**t I have been hearing.

“You either get me a phone or get me my phone or get my mother-in-law down here.”

“You have two hours.” I turned back to the house, fuming.

He was wise enough to make a decision. Within two hours, a car drove into the compound. My heart raced and for a moment there, I thought it would be Jordan. I threw aside the book I held and turned to the door. But before that, I rushed to the mirror and made sure I was looking presentable. Then turned to the door with a racing heart. The door opened before I could get closer and my heart fell.

“Seems you were expecting someone else.” My father-in-law began and I frowned even more.

“For a newly married. Do you think anyone would be happy to see their father-in-law instead of their husband?” I crossed my arms over my chest and he frowned. His eyes hardened and he glared at me.

“I see you still have a sharp mouth. I wonder how we let in a lousy woman like you into the Chase family.”

“The both of you stop it.” Someone snapped from behind him. Whatever I wanted to say disappeared as I turned to her. She came out from behind her husband, looking fashionable, classy and beautiful as always.

“Oh, my dear…” she came closer to me, opening her arms widely for a hug. But I moved away.

“Where is Jordan?” I began instantly. She frowned.

“For locking me in here and making me your prisoner, you better have an explanation to what is happening right now and while a wife is locked up in here without her husband or phone.”