THE CRIPPLED BILLIONAIRE'S Wife

Chapter 3

What a small world. Destiny really knows how to joke around. That's what Cindy was thinking while staring at the face of the grumpy man she encountered inside the supermarket who happens to be her groom of Lucy and is now going to be her groom. He is Adam Aldana of the Aldana Group. Cindy knows the CEO of Aldana Group by name only because she sometimes read his name mentioned in any magazine that her uncle was reading. But she had never seen him before because he never wanted anyone to photograph him. Even Lucy has not seen Adam's face yet. If her cousin saw Adam's face and saw how handsome and full of s*x appeal her groom is even though he's sitting in a wheelchair, would she agree to marry him?

"So it's you," Adam's voice suddenly woke Cindy up from her daze.

"Yes, it's me," Cindy weakly replied, still recovering from the shock.

"What's the meaning of this, Lando and Aurora? I thought your daughter Lucy was the woman who was going to marry my son?" Adam's father, the Chairman of Aldana Group, asked angrily.

"Calm down, Joaquin. I think we had a misunderstanding here. My youngest daughter, Cindy, is the one getting married to your son. Check your invitation cards because Cindy's name is written on it, not my other daughter," Lando explained with a smile, secretly hoping that the mistake wouldn't be discovered by the people present at the wedding.

The name written on the invitation card was immediately checked by the guests, as well as by Adam's parents. Even the marrying priests also checked the names of the people getting married on their list. And Lando was right, Cindy's name was written on their invitation cards.

No one had any idea that Lucy had planned this early with her boyfriend Reymond and her friend Ana. Even the invitation card had Cindy's name on it.

"Yeah, you're right. Cindy is the name written on the bride," Adam's mother, Adela, said with a smile. She faced the priest and spoke. "Father, the wedding will proceed."

Cindy seemed to be out of herself while the ceremony was taking place. The words of the priest didn't even enter her mind, as if she couldn't hear anything. Whenever she needed to respond to the priest's question, her Uncle Lando would nudge her. She was grateful that their marriage vows were written on paper and all she needed to do was read them.

Cindy's mind was drifting throughout the ceremony. She only realized that Adam was already putting the ring on her finger. And when it was her turn to put the ring on Adam's finger, her Uncle Lando nudged her again.

"Cindy put the ring on Adam's finger," Cindy heard her uncle command her as she continued to gaze at the ring, lost in thought. "The bride seems to still not believe that she is getting married, that's why she seems absent-minded," her uncle joked, which made the guests laugh.

Cindy's face turned red, and then she quickly took the ring and put it on Adam's finger. She winced slightly when she saw the disapproving look that Adam gave her. She knew that like her, he was only forced into this marriage. But maybe he thought that despite his wealth, no woman would agree to marry him because of his illness, so he just agreed to his parents' wishes.

"To complete the ceremony, the groom may kiss the bride now," the priest announced with a smile.

Cindy suddenly got nervous while staring at Adam's face. He looked very serious. The guests will surely notice that he was forced to marry her by just looking at his expression. Or maybe Adam just always has a serious expression, so people who know him are used to it and no longer wonder why he has that kind of expression. She suddenly remembered that his face was serious since the first time she saw him in the supermarket.

Since Adam couldn't stand up to kiss her, Cindy just leaned down slowly. She couldn't understand why her heart was beating so fast as she approached Adam's face. Maybe because it was her first time to kiss someone even if it was just a kiss on the cheek. Yes. Just a kiss on the cheek. Because she will just kiss his cheek and not his lips.

"Are you waiting for this moment?" Adam asked her with narrow eyes.

Cindy gave him a bad look. "As if I want to kiss you. I'd rather kiss a dog than kiss a grumpy guy like you," she replied in a soft voice, enough to let Adam hear but not the people around them.

Adam's eyes are narrow even more. Cindy did not expect what he did. He suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap. She could only stare at him with wide eyes. He cradled her head and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Cindy's body tensed up as their lips met. Adam's lips were soft and hot. Even though their kiss was brief because Adam quickly let her go, it still made her knees weak. So even after he stopped kissing her and people were already clapping and congratulating them, she remained seated on Adam's lap. She looked like she had no intention of getting up from his lap, but the truth was her knees were just weak and she felt like she couldn't stand. She did not expect the effect of Adam's kiss on her body while he remained unchanged in his expression.

"Don't you have a plan to stand up?" Adam asked in a weak but firm voice.

Cindy's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she quickly left his side.

"Let's go, Crispin." He maneuvered the wheelchair and rolled it out of the church without taking a glance at her.

"I'm glad that you are the woman who became my boss's wife, Cindy," Crispin said with a smile. "By the way, I'm Crispin Espino. Secretary s***h driver s***h assistant of my boss. And welcome to the Adam's family"

"Crispin!" Adam called out to Crispin again, with a stern voice.

"Yes, boss. I'm coming," Crispin quickly responded. "Let's just meet at Boss's house," he added with a smiling remark before running towards Adam and pushing the wheelchair out of the church.

All the guests went straight to Adam's house where the grand feast would be held. Of course, his parents are billionaires and he is also a billionaire himself, so it's impossible for their wedding feast not to be grand.

Cindy was busy welcoming the guests and even though she didn't know most of them, she had to talk to them when they approached her. When Lucy's mother had the chance to talk to her privately, she pulled her towards a corner of the backyard where there weren't many people. Luna, upon seeing them, immediately approached them as well.

"Do not think that just because you are the one Adam married and your name is written on the marriage certificate, you are truly his wife, Cindy. Remember that you are only a substitute bride for my daughter. And when she gets tired of her useless boyfriend, she will come back to be Adam's real wife. Do you understand what I said, Cindy?" her Aunt Aura's voice said firmly.

"Yes, Aunt Aura," Cindy lazily replied. She was tired of entertaining the guests, so she had no energy to argue with her uncle's wife. After being reminded by her, she was left behind but Luna stayed.

"Don't think that you got lucky because your husband is rich, Cindy. When my sister comes back, she will take everything away from you," Luna said after giving her a sharp look. "Don't try to steal my sister's husband. Remember your place, Cindy."

"Do you want to be Adam's wife instead so that when Lucy comes back, you'll immediately give Adam back to her?" Cindy replied to Luna.

Luna was about to say something unpleasant, but it was interrupted when Adam suddenly spoke from a distance.

"Is there a problem here?" Adam asked with a serious face, addressing Luna.

"Oh, nothing, Adam. I was just greeting my younger sister. Okay, I'll leave you now," Luna said with a smile. She hugged Cindy and whispered, "Remember, Cindy. Don't be ambitious," she whispered before walking away with a smile.

After the celebration, Cindy was exhausted and lay down on the bed in the room provided to her by Neth, a maid in Adam's house. But before her back could even warm up from lying on the bed, the door suddenly opened and Adam entered. She quickly got up from the bed and her cheeks suddenly turned red. He might think that she's too relaxed and already acting like Mrs. Aldana.

"I don't know why your parents allowed you to marry someone like me, Cindy. But let me tell you upfront that you won't get anything from me," Adam said sharply to Cindy.

Upon hearing Adam's words, Cindy couldn't help but think that Adam didn't know about the deal between his parents and Lucy's parents. He will get mad for sure if he knows the reason why she married him.

Whatever. I didn't want to marry him anyway, and it's not my fault that I ended up marrying him instead of Lucy, she said in her mind.

"Not all people are money-hungry, Adam. Why? Are all the people around you think of you as their bank?"

Adam's eyes suddenly narrowed when he heard what Cindy said.

"I know people like you and your family. Your family would do anything just for money."

"I think you're just tired, Adam. It's better if we just rest and sleep," she approached Adam, intending to push his wheelchair out of the room, but he suddenly held her hand and pulled her onto his lap. She automatically placed her hands on his chest to create some space between the two of them.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about something s****l between the two of us?" Adam raised his eyebrow and then suddenly traced his fingers on her arm. "You know I can't do that, but if you really want to, then you're the one who'll have to work for it," Adam said with a mischievous tone.

Cindy felt a mix of annoyance and embarrassment upon hearing what Adam said. She understood what he meant and she didn't like it. She quickly got out of his grip and distanced herself from him.

"You're so rude! And don't worry because even in my dreams, I would never want to have "something" with someone who can't even stand up," She angrily replied to him. She couldn't bring herself to say the word "s*x" so she just used the word "something" instead.

Adam felt insulted and hurt by what he heard from her, he approached her and forcefully pushed onto the bed. Fortunately, the bed was soft, so she was not hurt. Adam did not speak, but he threw her a sharp glare before he left the room without saying goodbye.

Cindy took a deep sigh as she got up from the bed to close the door. On their first night together, she and Adam had a heated argument and an unpleasant conversation. What about the rest of their time spent together? Maybe they would start throwing knives at each other next time.