Chapter first,

Weddings are always loud, happy, and full of emotions of all kinds. You can't help but smile and feel a little envious, bitter, and happy for the newlyweds. But for the Lockes and ColdGuards, it's a matter of business, honor, and social rank, and a hint of misplaced pride that's most often at play. In a nutshell, for the wealthy elite, marriage is just a necessary transaction to solidify business connections.

The Lockes and the ColdGuards are two powerful and wealthy families who make the news for all sorts of reasons. It's as if they live for their lives to be displayed on the screens of these media gossip sites in every nook and cranny of the country. Billboards are showing their faces, giving everyone an idea of who they are. 

It's pretty obvious that anyone who's on this planet knows about their power, wealth, and influence. They have no limits to their influence, whether national or international. Nothing and no one can stop them.

However, this afternoon, under this sunny sky, they are all gathered here today, friends, families, and the local and international press, to attend the wedding of Kelsey ColdGuard and Malayika Locke. Yet in this beautiful little world, well dressed and well perfumed, gathered for this special occasion, no one is talking about the wedding that is about to be celebrated.

There hasn't been any talk about the future kids and grandkids of the two families or anything else related to the young couple who will have to marry despite their initial reluctance. Malayika, though, has made a big deal out of it. He's always been against this marriage and everything that comes with it.

The well-dressed, beautiful guests from both families aren't focused on the newlyweds let alone questioning if they were in love with each other and since when. They're here to enjoy the food and talk about future partnerships, long- and short-term projects, and the benefits of this union. Meanwhile, the future newlyweds are getting ready for their social and marital duties in their respective suites.

Malayika sees the whole thing as a charade; he is a clown being shoved on the scene for the sake of others. He feels like a pitiful and unfortunate guy, just a pawn to be exploited for the greater good and collective happiness.

On top of that, he's never had the chance to meet his fiancée, as she's usually away traveling. He only knows her by name and from a photo that was published when she was a little baby. He thinks she was a chubby baby and, to be honest, pretty ugly.

The press often describes the youngest child of the ColdGuard family as a "free spirit." They published images of her a long time ago, when she was just a baby, but they haven't released any photographs of her as a teenager or beyond.

The lack of info in the media about her life shows how much influence the ColdGuard family has. If they can control the press and limit the information available about their daughter's life, while these individuals are driven by the desire for exclusive information, then they have significant influence and power.

The ColdGuards have always been upfront about what they expect and what they won't accept. They've made it clear that they won't put up with any overstepping or trampling of these boundaries. It's unlikely anyone will be bold enough to challenge them, given that they've made their needs abundantly clear.

If a ColdGuard child isn't introduced to the world in their teenage years, then the press or anyone else has no right to pry into their lives or photograph them without consent. It's a punishable offense and one of their most important personal boundaries. So far, it's been respected, and they like their privacy, even though it's challenging to maintain when you're a ColdGuard.

That's why, even though the press might want to make headlines, they've decided not to pick a fight with Xander Pekon ColdGuard, the patriarch of the ColdGuard family. His daughter's life will remain a mystery until she's ready to show the world who she is, so for now, no one is prying into her life without her or her parents' permission.

However, Malayika has never met his fiancée, not even once in his entire life. On top of that, his parents promised to let him choose who he wants to spend the rest of his life with, even though they'll be the ones picking the candidates that would suit his status the most. 

He thought he'd have the final word as promised, but here he is now in a tough spot, not knowing who'll be at the other end of the rope and even less having chosen this situation. All he has is a newspaper of this ugly oversized chubby baby that was smiling with her brothers while holding his father finger like a precious treasure without any regard for the mother who was holding her for the perfect family picture: the picture was a hit though.

It's a mess and a tragic situation that he has to deal with without anyone considering his wishes or needs. He didn't think it would be so easy for his grandfather and mother to ignore the promise they made to him. Who would have thought it? It's a real shame! 

Shame on them!

He's still not sure why his grandfather and mother changed their minds so quickly about what they promised him. They've never lied to him before. They're pretty strict, but they're not liars. They've never cheated him to get ahead. They're used to discussing what needs to be done among themselves, even when it comes to orders. They're always clear with each other. So why did they do that to him? It's the ColdGuard, yeah, he understand this perfectly but something is still off about all this whole thing.

He doesn't understand, and it's also strange that they weren't willing to discuss it with him. It's a real letdown and he doesn't know if he got it in him, to forgive the one day!

He still has four years to make up his mind. It was agreed that when he turned twenty-five, he would choose a woman from among those his grandfather and mother would have presented to him to marry without making a fuss. But he just turned twenty-one last week, and he's already two steps into a hellhole of marriage with no way out.

"Mal, have they still not told you why they changed their minds?" His childhood friend Colin, who is tall with blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles, asked him as he helped him fix his bow tie. Terce, who is a tall and lean guy with blue eyes, plump pink lips, watched them from a distance, leaning against a wall at the other end of the room. His gaze was a little distant and cold.

He briefly met Malayika's gaze in the mirror, then looked away, sulking like a child. Malayika's eyes darkened even more at his attitude, and he turned away from the mirror, which Terce refused to look at.

"They haven't told me anything. I don't know anything at all, and given the time, I guess I'll never know. In a few minutes I'll be standing at the altar, putting a ring on a complete stranger's finger and exchanging banal vows that I don't want to say," he grumbled angrily.

"She didn't even make it to the engagement reception, saying her plane was delayed. We're talking about the ColdGuard,damn it! They can turn the world upside down if they want to,what a delayed plane. From what I understand, they each have their own jet, aren't they? It's pretty clear that the princess was too busy to attend her own engagement." Malayika snarled and became increasingly annoyed with each passing second. 

His friend's refusal to look at him or even talk to him only made things worse and put him in an even more complex state of distress.

He tried to talk to his parents, his grandfather, and his mother about it, but they wouldn't let him question their decision. They didn't even explain why they changed their minds. As soon as a suitable candidate was identified, these individuals reneged on their commitments and abandoned their principles. So, let's not dwell on the promises, considerations, and other things. 

That's what they did, right? They turned their back on him, didn't they?

When he thinks about the fancy engagement party his parents threw for his supposed fiancée on the day of their engagement, and she never showed up, and even worse, she didn't come to apologize or call, he just wants to strangle that arrogant and malicious girl. It's like she was making fun of his whole family and their status, since hers is at the top of the chain. The worst thing is that his parents weren't offended one bit, what a joke!

Malayika felt a rush of heat washed over his body as he felt a sudden, overwhelming rage take hold of him. Without warning, he began to rip off the bow tie that Colin had just fastened to his collar and began frantically unbuttoning his shirt buttons one by one and then ripping them off with his bare hands when the suffocation was too much to bear.

He couldn't take it anymore. He felt like he was being suffocated, and he didn't like it one bit. He felt trapped. This shirt and bow tie were suffocating him. He wanted to run out of the room and scream to free himself from this despair, agony, and feeling of being trapped.

His long, thin fingers shook as he clung to the torn shirt fabric. He didn't want this marriage, and he especially didn't want this disrespectful girl to come into his life. 

Her parents spoiled her too much, and that's why she behaved like this. The fact that her grandfather accepted it all without saying a word made him even more angry.

If he had to choose a wife, the ColdGuard's daughter would be the last one he'd choose out of a hundred. They all come across as arrogant and self-important, and he can't stand the girl's brothers to begin with. How is he going to live with the girl she's never seen? 

Not to mention, girls have a reputation for being worse than boys. Just look at her mother. She has the grand air of nobility, looking down on the world from her ornate throne. It's enough to tell him what kind of girl she has raised. They must be like a mother, like a daughter. There's no getting out of there, right?

He's upset with his grandfather and his mother for forcing this marriage on him when they had an agreement between them. He's frustrated with himself and with everyone, even with his brother who has the privilege of being the second grandson. He wishes he could have been in his brother's place, he would have had plenty of time to make this decision.