Chapter 2

The next morning, the whole mansion is buzzing with excitement and laughter.

Evelyn has woken up and she has started ordering the workers and making sure everything is in place. One can easily see the amount of money spent on the wedding and can know that it is no small amount. The decorations are done fancily and beautifully by the best decorators. 

Evelyn does not want to see her sister but she has to due to familial relations and courtesy.

She goes near her sister’s room and hears her step daughter still ranting that she does not want to marry the ugly man. Her mother continues to tell her to be patient.

She enters the room to see the makeup artist busy at work and sees her step sister dress and admires it.

“Wow what a beautiful dress. It must be quite expensive” Evelyn thinks

“What are you doing here, are you here to laugh at me?” Ayla shouts at her fuming.

“I am just here to look at how everything is going here. Is everything ok?” Evelyn asks

“Why won’t everything be fine? Are you wishing for things not to be fine? Her step mother asks angrily

“Of course not, step mother. I hope everything goes well.” Ayla eyes her and continues ranting to her mom

Evelyn leaves the room to continue the preparation. The wedding program is to happen in the afternoon. Before the wedding starts she sees the groom, Micheal Andrews. He was regarded as the top wanted bachelor, until he had a severe accident that made him disabled and ugly though no knows how severe it is because he wears mask, it fosters the discussion that he was very ugly. Even with the rumors he is still the richest and most powerful man in the country.

Looking at the man, ugly or not, Evelyn feels the oppressive air around him. He looks superiors to everyone else. This man is definitely a very powerful man, his aura betrays his disability. He suddenly looks at her, Evelyn quickly ducks and runs away.

People are already feeling the hall, most of them are business partners from both the Hawkins and Andrews. Most of them looks down on the Hawkins family for selling away their daughter to the Andrews ugly master for money and investments.

Evelyn stands in the hall plainly dressed as many of the people don’t know about the eldest daughter of the Hawkins family.

As the ceremony starts, people became impatient as the bride is not yet out, the Hawkins are also not happy at this development. Evelyn is also surprised that her step sister. Her father beckons to her and she goes to meet him.

“Go and bring your sister out, right now.”

“Ok” Evelyn leaves accompanied by her step mother.

“Why is this girl not out yet.” Her step mother says quietly

They both get to her room and step mother knocks.

“Ayla darling, can I come in. Is everything ok there?” Step mother asks dotingly but no one replies or answers back.

She knocks several times but there is not reply, She quickly asks a servant to go and call the father.

Mr. Hawkins comes in a haste and knocks the door hardly and severally but there is also no response. Mr. Hawkins tells several servants to break into the room, after several attempts they finally broke the door of the room.

Mr. Hawkins and step mother quickly rush in to see no sign of their daughter, Mr. Hawkins quickly gives command to search the area thoroughly and step mother breaks down in tears, accusing her husband of forcing her daughter to run away and Mr. Hawkins stares at her angrily blaming her for spoiling the girl to an extent she thinks she can always have her way.

After arguing for a while, they finally notice a letter on the dressing table. Ayla writes that she cannot marry and ugly and disabled person and that she already has someone that she wants to marry so she cannot get married. She ends the letter saying that nobody should look for her and that she would kull herself they find her and force her.

After reading the letter, Father Hawkins face becomes very red with anger

“This girl has finished me, she has finished me.”

While step mother continues crying and blaming her husband for pushing her beloved daughter to running away.

Father Hawkins shouts at her and says that instead of blaming him, they should find a solution to the problem at hand.

“You know how powerful the Andrews family are, they can make us bankrupt in a blink of an eye and your stupid daughter has caused this. So instead of whining, hope and pray that we don’t become poor overnight.”

Hearing this, step mother keeps quiet immediately. “So what can we do about that, I don’t want us to become poor.”

All the while, Evelyn has been in the room looking in a daze and having some kind of evil premonition about what is going to happen.

As the couple are both discussing about the problem. Step mother suddenly says

“Why can’t your other daughter get married to him instead, she can use a veil until she gets to their house so they won’t be able to really do anything.”

“You underestimate the Andrews family, if they find out that we cheated them, they won’t let us go.” Father Hawkins says angrily.

“So do you have another option or another way to solve this problem, should we go outside and announce to everybody that our daughter has jilted her fiancé and is nowhere to be found? Should we?” Step mother asks.

“Of course we can’t, I hope they don’t find out during the wedding.” Father Hawkins finally says.

“Dad what are you talking about, why would I replace Ayla. Do you know what may happen to me when they find out that they have been deceived, I will be the one that ends in most of the trouble. Father please don’t do this” Evelyn begs her father fearfully.

“You ungrateful child, why won’t you do what we are asking of you. Do you want to see the company bankrupt and us homeless? Do you want to see us kicked out to the streets? You know that this is your mother’s hard work and sweat, do you want to see her hard work go to waste?

Evelyn cries, she knows that this was her mother’s hard work and she does not want to disappoint her mother, she is ready to do anything to secure her mother’s work. She reluctantly agrees and she sees her step mother sneers.

Her father impatiently calls the make up artist and they quickly start their work on her. Her father and step mother leaves the room and strange light flash through her eyes and suddenly she does not look like the little girl begging her father. 

She thinks, “Wow, how did I even know she was going to do this, not surprising at all. Well, lucky me. She made everything very easy.”

After they finish their work, they hurriedly help her to put on the clothes her step sister was supposed to wear. Evelyn feels disgusted and unhappy that even on her wedding day she has to marry the man her sister abandoned and wear the clothes she abandoned as well.

After getting her ready, they put a veil on her and push her outside. She walks on the aisle, very scared. She sees the handsome and unapproachable man, her heart beating heavily 

She stands beside the man. Everybody breathes a sign of relief and the ceremony begins

The priest starts to admonish and talk, the priest then says the vow and tells them to repeat it after him.

After reciting the vows, the priest announces them as husband and wife.

“You can now kiss the bride”

Evelyn bends down to his level and quickly gives him a peck on his lips. Looking at the face under the veil, Michael frowns, this is not his bride, did his bride get swapped??

After the ceremony, many of the business partners come to congratulate them on their marriage. The greetings are superficial though as many of them wants to just get close to the Andrews family.

By that time some of the Andrews family and guests have noticed the fact that the bride is not the second daughter of the Hawkins family but none of them says anything so as not to lose face. The Hawkins family are shaking in their boot as they don’t know how the Andrews family will react to this.

Evelyn can not think about anything but the fact that her legs were aching and that she was tired of smiling. The face of Michael Andrews is very dark.

“How dare they deceive me?”

He later tells his assistant to wheel him out, Andrews grandma signals to Evelyn that she should follow her husband. She smiles gratefully at her and hurries after her husband entering the car after him.