The grandfather signaled for Fati to go to her room. He wanted to talk to her father in private. Fati sat on her bed and thought: Will I really be engaged to the Jack Pike family?
She was always confused. Why would a rich family like the Jack Pikes care about destroying a poor family like the Fa Li family? It made no sense.
She was wandering why every time her grandfather spok with his son "her father" he spok a lone avoid her to hear them. Her relationship with her parents was painful. They left her when she was two years old. Her mother never called her, as she only cared about the three sons she had after Fati. Her father was also cold. She once traveled to visit them, but the relationship was bad, so she returned to her grandfather quickly. Her grandfather had told her:
- You were born into a family that worships boys. They see girls as a shame.
Fati lay on her bed, thinking about the letter. Her grandfather had taken it away, but she saw the name Jaguar. She was curious about how he looked. She opened her laptop and searched for his family name.
When she saw Jaguar's picture, she could not breathe. He was so handsome. His face looked perfect, like a statue. She touched his face on the screen with her fingers. She felt a strange power, as if he might step out of the screen.
She closed her laptop, and her cheeks turned red with shyness. She hid under her blankets, not believing it. A man like him wanted to marry a girl like her? Her heart started beating in a way she had never felt before.
A few days later, a letter arrived with an Acceptance. The grandfather smiled, but Jaguar did not care. He thought the bride was a young child, but she was twenty years old. He realized that Rosie's husband had quickly married another woman after Rosie died.
The grandfather took out a photo of the bride and put it in front of Jaguar:
- Look at your bride, Jaguar.
Jaguar stand up without looking at the photo. He said:
- I am in a hurry. Send me all the wedding information by message.
Jaguar left. The grandfather looked at the photo again. She was extremely beautiful, just like his daughter Rosie was when she died. He looked at Rosie's picture on the wall and whispered:
- My dear Rosie, you will see how I take revenge on the family who forced you to leave you and the baby inside you. This girl will be the price.
The news of the wedding was everywhere. Everyone wanted to know about the bride, "Fati." But Fati was very simple. She was not on social media, so the press could not find any photos of her. All the news stories had a picture of Jaguar with a big question mark next to him.
Fati was different. She looked for every piece of news about her fiancé. She filled her eyes with his photos. She had pictures of him in formal suits, casual clothes, and even while he was exercising in the morning, surrounded by his bodyguards. She even found photos of him in his private moments.
Fati's room became a museum for Jaguar. She looked at his pictures like a fan looking at a famous star. She was so in love that she felt as if she was breathing the air of "Jaguar."
Jaguar was not just in Fati's room he was in her dreams. The wedding kiss became her biggest obsession. It was the only thing she thought about when she went to sleep and when she woke up.
Every night, she touched his picture on the screen with her lips. She imagined him holding her face with his strong hands and giving her the most beautiful kiss she ever wished for. She closed her eyes and felt his warm hands on her cheeks. She felt so happy. Like as happy ending of all magical stories she reads in her life "live happily ever after".
Jaguar was living his worst days. He was full of regret for his idea that made his grandfather obsessed with revenge. He never wanted to marry, but now he realized he had pulled an innocent girl into a life of darkness. He wondered how his kind grandfather had turned into this cold man.
Jaguar decided he must save this girl from marrying him. But she was hidden somewhere he did not know. His grandfather had taken all their properties, leaving them with nothing.
Why should she pay for her father's mistakes? She was innocent.
But his grandfather was a broken man, blinded by his pain for his lost daughter. Jaguar knew he had to stop this. He had to keep her away from his "Golden Cage" that was full of fire and ready to burn her innocence.
Finally, the wedding day arrived. It was a dream for Fati, but a nightmare for Jaguar. The wedding hall was full of Fati friend's, teachers, shopkeepers, and workers. She loved everyone, so she invited them all.
Her grandfather sat alone in the front row. Her parents and brothers did not come, but Fati did not care. They were never there for her, so she did not need them today. The bridal room was full of her happy friends, who were laughing and helping her, even before the makeup artist arrived. Fati looked beautiful.
Fati was laughing with her friends. Her green eyes were shining with happiness. When her beautiful wedding dress arrived, she took it and went behind the changing screen. She told her friends:
- Do not follow me. I want some privacy, please!
She went behind the screen and started to take off her clothes. She warned her friends:
- Do not dare to come over here!
She waited for an answer, but the room was strangely silent. She shouted again:
- Why are you so quiet? Are you planning to surprise me?
Suddenly, a man's voice came from the silence. It was a voice she knew by heart the voice of her fiancé, Jaguar. He said:
- Bride, run away before we get married. I do not want to marry into a family with cheaters blood.
Fati beamed with sheer joy it was his voice. She didn't care about his harsh words, for her mind was entirely captured by the husky, velvet tone in his voice it played in her head like a hauntingly beautiful melody. She desperately wanted to rush out and see him, but she remembered she wasn't dressed yet. She hurried to put on her dress, calling out,
- Wait! Please, wait!
But then, she heard the door click shut. She stepped out from behind the screen to find her friends swarming her, giggling and teasing.
- So? What did the groom say?
Fati looked at them with a dreamy, faraway expression, her heart glowing.
- He didn't say anything important,
She whispered,
- But his voice... it was music to my ears.
Her friends winked at her, teasing her about her blossoming love.
Then came the moment of truth. The doors opened to a dreamlike melody, reminiscent of Swan Lake. Her friends lined up beside the groom, who stood cold and still at the end of the aisle. Fati walked forward, completely alone. She had no father's hand to hold, no warm shoulder to lean on just her, walking bravely until she finally stood face to face with him.
Finally, they stood face to face. He stared at her, but the lace veil blurred her vision. She waited, heart racing, until he finally reached out and lifted the veil.
When she saw his face, she couldn't hold back; her eyes filled with tears of pure joy. She couldn't tell if he was happy or sad, but she chose to see happiness, beaming at him with a radiant smile. That smile struck Jaguar like lightning, and for the first time, he felt his own heart racing with a strange, frantic rhythm.
After the vows, the priest declared them husband and wife:
ـ And now, you may kiss the bride.
Jaguar leaned in, his voice cold and sharp as he whispered into her ear,
ـ Didn't I tell you to run away...
But Fati, lost in the dream of this long-awaited kiss, didn't give him a second to finish his warning. With a sudden, impulsive grace, she pressed her lips to his, pulling him into a world of warmth and emotion he had never known before.