The Runaway Groom novel Chapter 1

Irene Spencer was married to a bridegroom who never showed up at their wedding.

The bed sprinkled with rose petals that formed a distinct heart shape, along with the decorations within the suite, were all a slap to her face.

It was humiliating! It was unbearable!

However, there was nothing she could do about it!

All her life, she had been under the control of others ever since she was born.

Even her marriage to the Jefferson family was because of her father's greed.

Her grandfather used to be Mr. Jefferson's chauffeur and had sacrificed himself to save Mr. Jefferson in an accident.

Her family managed a small company and incurred a serious debt. On the verge of bankruptcy, Irene's shrewd father predicted that they had already reached the limit of favors they could ask for from the Jeffersons. As such, he resorted to sacrificing Irene for the sake of his personal gain—by proposing to Mr. Jefferson to have his grandson, Isaac Jefferson, marry her.

It was overwhelmingly advantageous—Irene's family would earn a fat bridal purse from the Jeffersons. Besides, they gained prestige and status as the in-laws of the Jeffersons.

For their part, the Jeffersons could not refuse the marriage for the sake of their reputation.

Even so, the marriage upset Isaac considerably, which was why he did not bother to show up at the wedding while demanding that Irene not introduce herself as his wife outside the family.

No one ever asked Irene's opinion on the matter.

Her curled brows twitched above her bright eyes, concealing the rebellious nature behind them.

Still, just as she wondered how she would kill time on her wedding night, she received a text from her colleague, asking her to replace the shift.

Hailing a cab, Irene headed to the hospital, swapping her white bridal gown for a white lab coat.

-

Bang!

The door to the clinic suddenly swung wide open forcefully, and Irene was about to look up when someone killed the lights with a loud snap.

She felt goosebumps as fear seized her.

"Who—"

Even before she could finish her sentence, she was pinned against her desk, and everything on top tumbled to the floor while she felt a sharp blade held against her neck.

Amidst the dim light, she saw a man's face, covered in blood, and his sharp eyes as he threatened, "Be quiet!"

She could tell from the pungent scent of blood swirling in her nostrils that the man was hurt. Nonetheless, she remained calm despite the direness of the situation, thanks to her job.

She gently arched her foot in an attempt to kick the man’s crotch, but he noticed the instant she moved and used his own thighs to pincer her leg firmly, keeping it in place.

"I saw him coming this way!"

At the same time, there was a clamor of footsteps outside the room, and the people out there looked like they were going to open the door.

Perhaps out of the urgency of the situation, the man leaned in and kissed her lips.

Irene resisted, easily pushing him away, and suddenly realized that he did not slice through her neck in retaliation.

Click!

While Irene was left surprised, the doorknob started to twitch. As such, she quickly braced herself, wrapping her arms around the man's neck and lifting her face to kiss him.

There was a quiver in her voice, but she forced herself to stay composed. "I can help you."

The man gulped, though he took the initiative at the very next instant. His warm breath was beside her ears, and his voice was at once deep and alluring as he spoke, "I will definitely take responsibility for you."

The desk phone, which was just teetering on the edge of the desk from all that action, started ringing.

She reached out to grab it and immediately heard a voice calling out anxiously, "Dr. Cox? There's been a traffic accident, and they've just brought in a patient to the emergency ward in critical condition. Please come here immediately."

Quickly composing herself, Irene answered calmly, "Okay, I'll be right there."

Putting down the phone, she spaced out for seconds.

After all, her disheveled clothes and discomfort in her groin told her that everything that had happened just now was not a dream. It definitely happened—she just had sex with a man she did not know on her wedding night…

It was the most treacherous deed she had ever done in her entire life!

Still, this was not the time to think about this, so she quickly put on her clothes and headed to the emergency ward.

-

After working the entire night, Irene returned to the clinic to find that it was still a mess in here. She clenched her fists when she remembered what had happened last night.

Whitney Cox entered just then with a smile. "Thanks for covering my shift, Dr. Spencer."

Irene forced a smile. "You're welcome."

"Anyway, my business is done, so you should go home and get some rest…"

Whitney continued, but she soon noticed the mess in the clinic and raised her brows. "What happened here?"

Irene turned away to hide the panic in her eyes. "I accidentally knocked my things over. Well, I'll get going since you're here now."

Whitney thought that Irene was acting a little weird, but she took no notice and entered to clean up the mess.

That was when the chief of the hospital appeared at the door with Stan Hill, Isaac Jefferson's assistant, beside him.