A New Beginning ..

""Now that the wonderful union is sealed between Elwood Karen and Castillo Kryos, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now clap your hands!" the official pronounced. Karen's jaw was tightly clenched as she blinked at the priest in tears.

A stark reminder of her loveless union.

The priest's words rang hollow, as there was no husband to present the kiss. No husband was present at this wedding! No groom to exchange vows and wedding rings.

She couldn't believe that her dreams were finally crashing right in front of her, and she couldn't stop them.

She had always dreamt of having an elegant wedding with her husband beside her, kissing her possessively, with huge smiles dancing on their faces as they took their romantic vows eloquently.

But right now, it was all over, disappearing into the thin air within her poor eyes.

She sniffed tearfully as she stared at the diamond rings presented to her by the priest, she thought, "You may clap your hands?" That was the most horrific thing she had ever heard at a wedding. In a normal wedding, the priest was always asking the groom to kiss his bride, but maybe that wasn't for every bride like her.

Oh, she remembered; it was for non-loveless weddings, where the couples were madly in love with each other.

Her fists balled as she stared at her white, long, mouthwatering wedding dress, which hugged her sexy body firmly, and her veil was delicately attached to the back of her bun, leaving her gorgeous face visible to the audience. To her, it was all bullshit.

"Damn you, Kryos," she cursed under her breath as she walked through the wedding footpath alone, with no husband beside her. The hall was filled with so many influential people because of how rich her parents were and Kryos's parents too. The majority of them laughed scornfully as they stared at her, while some felt pity for her—the fact that she got married without a groom.

She held her white and purple bouquet filled with colorful and fragrant roses tightly to herself as she tried to avoid the eyes of the audience who mocked her.

It had never been her plan to get married to a man she didn't know or love, but she was forced by her grandfather to marry Castillo Kryos—the richest, most ruthless, and youngest billionaire in New York—after the impending demise of him, since her life had been promised to him after a business deal between the two families (her parents and his) even before her birth.

Even after being so reluctant about it, she was pressured to do it, but right now, she clearly regrets her actions! She wishes she hadn't agreed to it; she could have been more objective about the idea. Then maybe her grandfather could finally give up on setting the two of them together. She badly wanted to scream at her parents for ever putting her into this, but she couldn't... they were nowhere on the earth's surface.

More tears fell from her eyes as she remembered that her parents had mysteriously disappeared on her 10th birthday, leaving her weak soul in the hands of Bella, her stepmom and stepsister, who took a job making Karen's life miserable. They made sure to deprive her of all her rights and freedom in the home, leaving her helpless. They turned her into a lowly slave in her own house, and that was why she considered getting involved in this loveless marriage—the fact that she was going to escape her stepmom's cruelty.

Immediately, she descended the altar,Bella walked toward her with an evil smirk obviously dancing on her lips as she patted Karen calmly on her shoulders when she saw the tears on her face.

"Oh, you little poor thing, you should stop crying, okay? Your husband actually didn't mean to abandon you at the wedding, okay? I know how embarrassing that could be. Take heart, dear, and by the way, don't ever think of coming back to the mansion, okay? It's now ours, you unfortunate thing." She smirked as her group of friends, who followed her behind to congratulate her, burst into heavy laughter, while Karen gulped in emptiness as her hands played with the hem of her dress.Samantha, her stepsister, came forward, staring at her scornfully.

"Oh, bitch, congratulations on your hilarious wedding. It just defines how useless and pathetic you are, even on your wedding. And you know what? Enjoy your marriage for a while, okay? Cause it's never gonna last long. I'm soon gonna claim what is mine, okay? And Kryos is!!!" Samantha yelled, clenching her fist tightly as Karen swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, staring blankly at the floor as if it wasn't her they were referring to.

"Let's leave, Mum. Standing with this loser irritates me. Just imagine her getting married to herself. Gosh, it's obvious her husband also despises her for doing this to her," Samantha laughed loudly again as Bella joined in the laughter. Samantha pushed Karen really hard as she made her way forcefully and harshly out of the hall. Karen bit her lips as soon as they left, trying so hard not to be affected by their words. After all, she had been enduring this for over 15 years now, so it wasn't surprising to her—getting mocked by her half-sister and mother.

She just wished this marriage would work out for her and not attract more shame to her, like it already had.

Samantha may be right; Kryos must really hate the fact that he is getting married to her, to the extent that he ignored his wedding.

She knew that he wasn't in support of the wedding, just like her, but still, she believes it's the only path available for her to live a life of freedom, far away from her stepmother's threats.

She knew so well that she needed an arm to lean on and cry. She gulped down emptily, as her throat went dry. She has NOBODY. Her grandfather, who forced her into this marriage, died last night, so to her, today was nothing close to her happiest day. It was always said that a couple's wedding is the happiest day for them.

But those words didn't actually work out for her.

Mr. Castillo and his wife, Kryos' parents, walked toward her with smiles on their faces, and they immediately gave her a tight and warm hug when they saw her expression.

"Oh, my sweet daughter-in-law, I'm so sorry for the embarrassment, and on behalf of Kryos, for not attending the wedding to represent himself as your groom. Baby, I'm so sorry; we were also stunned by that. That's how grumpy he is; you should understand him, please," Mrs. Castillo Riley muttered sincerely as she released herself from the tight grip. Karen forced a smile at them.

"It's nothing, ma'am; I understand," she said.

" Wishing you a happy married life with my son, Kryos. We all know how grumpy and cold he is, but we believe you will do your best as a wife to him. Please don't get upset by his character; he just portrayed it toward the wedding," she said as she nodded slowly.

"I'm not," she lied, as they both smiled at her.

"Trust us, Karen, you won't regret your marriage with him. By the way, we need to leave for the company, We are going to visit you guys soon, okay?" Mrs. Riley waved at her as they both entered the white, sleek Lamborghini Aventador that drove into the compound.

Karen sighed weakly, her breath hitching when she saw they were gone.

To hell with their empty promises!

"Trust me, Karen, you won't regret your marriage with him..." What the hell, what was there not to regret? She was already regretting it even on their wedding day.

She sighed again under her breath, trying not to show how pissed she was when a group of well-armed, hefty men walked toward her. As she stepped back a little as she raised her eyebrows ,obviously stunned by their muscular body structure.

"Who are they?"

One of them stepped forward as they all stopped in front of her, bowing lightly.

"Congratulations to you, Mrs. Castillo, on your wedding. I'm Jameson, Mr. Kryos's private driver, and we have been asked by him to pick you up to leave for home, ma'am," he said respectfully. She scoffed inwardly when he addressed her as Mrs. Castillo; the name really sounded so awkward to her ears.

"Thanks, Mr. Jameson. By the way, I would prefer Karen," she muttered politely as he nodded slowly, flashing her a sincere smile.

"Sure, ma'am. Since we don't have anything else to do, I think we should start leaving now," he replied, and she nodded slowly, wondering how luxurious and big the mansion was going to be, and how wide her room was...

"Ma'am? We should leave now," Jameson's voice came again, snapping her out of her wide thoughts. She nodded twice, walking out with the guards surrounding her protectively as she bit her lower lip really hard, embraced by the thought that she was no longer a single lady, but now a MARRIED WOMAN, and not just that, but with a great title attached to it: "The Billionaire's Wife."

This was the beginning of a new life and future for her.