Liam's POV
"It's time to throw a bouquet," I heard the cheerful MC call out, "I want every single lady to be here." "I want to remind you of the law of bouquet throwing," the MC said playfully, while most young people in the ballroom scream for joy. “Tell us,” they shouted, their voices filling the hall. “The lady who catches the bouquet is getting married this year,” the MC said and there was a riot of laughter in the ballroom. Most of the ladies at the reception, including the bridesmaids, came out to catch the bouquet. "With clapping ovations, we welcome our newest bride, today's beautiful bride, to throw the bouquet," he said, and noise and screams filled the air as Asher walked elegantly to the dance floor. “Okay ladies,” on the count of three let’s see who catches the bouquet". The ladies on the dance floor held out their hands, ready to catch the bouquet. But when the count reached zero, something happened that no one expected, wind entered the ballroom and blew the bouquet in the air through the ballroom. Everyone gasped as the bouquet flowed over their heads, a lady in the congregation was able to catch it. "The beautiful lady, the one who caught the Bouquet, come out, let your beautiful face be seen." The MC, like everyone, turns his attention to the congregation to take a look at the lady who catches the Bouquet. The bouquet landed in the hand of the person I least expected at my wedding, my first love, Lucy, the one I thought was dead and who made it hard for me to love again. “Lucy,” I screamed, almost forgetting about my wedding. All attention was on me as I screamed her name, I froze on the spot not knowing what to do.She gave the bouquet to one of the bride's maids and walked back to her seat, all eyes following her to her seat.Lucy was a woman I loved so much, she is smart, pretty and intelligent. She relocated with her family and I never heard from her again. Later, I heard that she was dead and that made me not have the desire to fall in love again because my love for her was really strong. Losing her makes me reluctant to let anyone else into my heart. I could feel my love for her rekindling. Everything I had for her came rushing back, she is still as beautiful as before with the slim stature I had always admired in her. Then I heard the MC voice "Can we move on to the next show"? I jolted out of my daze as I heard the voice of the MC . I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. "Yes" I replied quietly as I discovered I had created a scene for my wedding.I could feel my parents' eyes on me but I couldn't bring myself to look at them."Who is she?" Asher asked quietly as she came back to join me where we were seating“The woman I had loved,” I replied. “I don’t think this arranged marriage can work,” I said, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Asher, this marriage was just to please our parents, my heart belongs to someone else" I said with so much pain in my voice."I heard the only woman you ever love is dead," Asher asked with all seriousness, her eyes fixed on mine."Yes," I said softly."I thought she was dead too but seeing her alive is like a dream to me".“Can we just get the wedding over with?” said Asher. "We can't disappoint or embarrass our parents, you know," Asher said. “Yes,” I mumbled.“Please let the wedding end and we discuss this later” She said again, and all I did was nod.I could see the pain in Asher's face as she tried to concentrate on the next program "Time for the last dance floor,” announced the MC. I reluctantly took Asher's hand to dance, but honestly I couldn't concentrate, and to make matters worse, Lucy came onto the dance floor to spray us dollars.This was the same Lucy that her family struggled to make ends meet.I remember my father telling me I can't marry her because she is from a poor background."You will never marry that pauper while I'm still breathing" My father would always shout at me whenever he caught me in her company. He made it clear he will never approve our relationship and this always left me frustrated."Her family is a gold digger, she will drain you and flee" My mom would say to support my dad.They later agreed I would marry Lucy when my health started to deteriorate. But not long after, Lucy relocated and I never heard anything about her. I later heard rumors that she was dead, and because of the love I had for her, I find it difficult to open my heart to anyone else, even to the billionaires' daughters my mom urged me to marry.My marriage was arranged when my parents realized I am hesitant to fall in love.I rejected the marriage at first but later gave in after so many pleas and tears from my mother who lamented that I never want her to have grandchildren because I was their only child.Although seeing Lucy now, she doesn't seem to be bothered, my heart is still aching for her. "Is she married?" I wondered as I felt around for a wedding ring on her fingers but I couldn't find and felt peace within me even though being without a ring doesn't mean you are not in a relationship.This was the lady I thought was dead and here she is. I whispered to Lucy. "How? I believed you had passed away. I was sad for you". I could hardly get the words out, and my voice was shaking."How could you do this to me?" I said again quietly to avoid being heard by our well wishers. Though all I felt was hurt and confusion, I wanted to be furious. "I never died," she uttered in a chilly, detached tone. "I simply relocated. I had to leave you behind. Asher gave me a look as if to suggest that this isn't the woman you should go back to.Liam's POVI hurried to find and ask Lucy what had happened when the reception ended and what she meant by "I Had to get away from you.". I believed we were in love . Luckily for me, I found her chatting with a friend I didn't even bother to know and dragged her to a room I suggested to be the dressing room."My family and I moved because of your father," Lucy sobbed as I pulled her inside the room."Your father gave a threat to murder me and destroy my family if I didn't stay away from you," Lucy said amidst tears. I quickly clamped my hands over her mouth to avoid us being overheard. I removed my hands when I noticed she's calm, the last thing I needed was to be overheard. "Why did you come to my wedding after everything that happened?" I asked, confused and hurt. "I assumed you wouldn't want anything to do with me after what my father did. I tried to stop the tears that were fighting their way from my eyes but I couldn't, my heart really was pounding. In addition to being angry,
Asher's POV"Hey, where has my newest couple been?" Liam's mother said, smiling as she moved closer to us."We’ve been looking for you,” She said again."Asher, are you okay, your eyes are red like you've been crying." She asked curiously as she placed her hand on my arm and looked into my eyes.“I’m fine mom,” I replied, smiling at her."" I hope you will make this marriage work?" she asked again."Mom, Asher and I are tired, we need to get some rest," Liam finally spoke, trying to avoid further questions from his mother.“Have you already booked a hotel for us or what?”“Are you arranging our honeymoon?” he said again quietly.“Yes, your honeymoon is arranged, you are traveling to another country, your ticket is booked,” she said with a bright smile.I exchanged glances with Liam. It surprised me that my parents have never mentioned to me that I will travel out of the country for my honeymoon.“What country, Mom?” I asked. “Oh, you’re going to Germany,” she said grinning.“I’m sur
Liam's POVI woke up to the sight of Asher, sleeping peacefully beside me.We had lodged in the hotel yesterday after the afterparty. We are to stay in the hotel till evening when our flight will take off to Germany.I stared at Asher's pretty face for a few minutes, I smiled to myself as I thought about the conversation we had yesternight. We talked length and be so honest with each other, and It was clear that we both want to make it work, we agreed that it was important to take things slowly and not to rush things and know each other better first.I planted a kiss on her forehead and she stirred a bit. I quietly got up from the bed to avoid disturbing her pretty sleep and tiptoed to the bathroom to have a quick shower and I'd go to order for our breakfast before she woke up.After my shower, I thread gently out of the bathroom making sure not to wake her. I walked up to the box of clothes my mother had kindly brought for us to the hotel without our knowledge. I picked up a shirt
Liam's povAfter what happened at the hotel, Asher has refused to speak to me. She only faked a smile when our parents came to take us to the airport to board a flight taking us to Germany for our honeymoon. After arriving in Germany, I made several attempts to talk to Asher, but she ignored me every time I did. I knew what I did hurt her but it was never intentional to do so. I wanted to make things right with her, but she kept ignoring me and wasn't ready to hear me out. "Babe," I called softly. "This is the limousine that would be taking us to our hotel". I said as I already confirmed the plate number given to me and was sure that it was for us but my wife remained silent, her expression unreadable. I could feel some tension between us as we sat close to each other inside the vehicle. The air was so heavy with a lot of unresolved feelings. As the limousine drove away from the airport, I wondered what would be going through her mind.In less than one hour we got to the hotel. A
Asher's pov"So babe, what could I possibly do that will make you lose trust in me" I asked Liam as we found a spot in the hotel garden."Hmmm, that's a deep question" He said "Nothing actually but I guess if I had to say something it would be finding out that you are keeping a secret from me. I believe in openness in a relationship. I would not appreciate it if I found out my woman was keeping a secret" He said and my heart skipped a beat but I caution myself to act normal."Ok, but you believe I'm not keeping anything from you right?" I asked with a smile."Oh, yes, I trust you baby" He replied and gave me a peck."So baby, another question" I said with a smile."Ok, go ahead" He said, returning my smile, ready for my next question." What do you intend to do about this Lucy threat?" I asked, ever since Lucy called yesterday when we arrived in Germany, I have been scared even though Liam assured me there won't be a problem but I'm worried she might eventually harm me like she threa
Liam's povAs I reached for my phone, I noticed a message popped up from an unknown number. I already knew it was probably from Lucy. I didn't want Asher to ask me what I was reading on my phone, so I got out of bed and took the phone into the bathroom. Asher had been so shaken by our encounter with the waiter yesterday that I didn't want her to get scared any further. I had assured her that I would take care of the situation, but I didn't even know how I was going to do that. I felt so helpless and alone."If you don't want your woman to get hurt, let us meet. I will send the address to you after you accept . Don't think it's an empty threat. I love you" My heart was racing as I read the message. This is getting really complicated. I was troubled, I know it would be best not to agree to meet with Lucy, but also I feel like I had no choice. I couldn't bear the thought of Asher getting hurt. I knew I had to do something, but I didn't know what to do. I was paralyzed with fear and inde
Liam's pov"Oh, my goodness", I screamed as I jolted out of sleep. I was so confused, I was lying right beside Lucy on her bed, with only boxers. I struggled to remember how I'd gotten here, and then I remembered Lucy gave me a glass of wine and the last thing I remembered was feeling lightheaded. What could have happened? Had I been drugged? Had I blacked out?. I shook Lucy angrily, trying to wake her. But she only stirred and then I realized she was only wearing panties, my head went blank at that moment as It was obvious that something I never wanted had happened while I was unconscious. What had she done to me? Has she taken advantage of my unconscious state?I angrily hit her on her shoulder for her to wake."Ow", she cried out" What happened, why would you hit me like that, is that how you wake your woman" She said and this really pissed me off."What happened between us?" I asked angrily."What sort of question is that"? She snapped as she sat up. " What happened between us?
Asher's pov"It Should not be more than two hours after you left for your friend's place," I said, narrating the horrible incident to Liam who was seated at my bedside in the hospital."Those men pretended to be hotel guests, but they were actually there to harm me" I said, my voice shaking with fear. I tried to stop the tears that were fighting to drop from my eyes , but I couldn't and I let them out. "They beat me, punched me on my face, I shouted but no one heard me. It was after they left that I was able to call the hotel and they rushed me here" I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my palm. "Liam, I called your number countless times but you didn't answer," I sobbed, as he held me close to himself, trying to comfort me. "You made me think maybe you are in their custody, like you've been kidnapped or something" I paused, gathering my thoughts. "I thought they got you too, different thoughts were running through my mind. I thought something bad had happened to you" I