At exactly at noon, when Victor left the mansion with his brother Mike in a grand convoy, heading to the Von Astrom Villa in style.

When they arrived there, the street was jam-packed with journalists who began to heat up as soon as they saw the groom’s convoy which began to slow down to a stop. Ever since the news yesterday all of the major news agencies in town was on high alert.

“They are all here because of you…” Mike told Victor as he signaled his guards to clear a road for them.

“I know, Right!” Victor said with an evil smile that Mike didn’t really get it. It reminded him of his father’s mischievous smile.

“Did you really have to wear that striped tiger suit?” Mike asked as he stepped out of the car, wondering if his brother had any decent clothes… He looked like a pimp.

“Yes… It was chosen for me by one of my girls…” Victor replied as he followed his brother, Theta got him this one… She thought he would look dangerous and cool like a tiger… She was right that it made him look dangerous, but wrong about the cool part. He liked it nevertheless.

“Ahh…. as long as you are cool with it,” Mike said as he walked next to Victor on the red carpet that was laid from the car to the Villa’s door. That’s how a Von Weise heir proposed.

Ignoring the photographers and journalists who were screaming out some very disturbing questions, the two brothers quickly headed to the door… No, not completely ignoring them. Two paparazzi were asking some very inappropriate questions about Victor’s mother. He heard them clearly… The nutcracker got to them from an impossible angle!

The Villa’s door was opened quickly as soon as they reached it. Behind it was a very troubled man who invited the two brothers in before shutting the door, totally ignoring the ruckus outside.

“Young master Mike…. Young master Victor… I am Sirius Von Astrom. This way please,” Sirius greeted nervously as he gestured for them to enter the living room.

Luliana was waiting there, sitting in anger. She barely glanced at them.
“Please sit down…This is my wife Luliana,” Sirius said.

Victor and Mike quickly took their seats after greeting Luliana with a courteous nod.

“Where is the bride?” Victor asked directly as he licked his lips and looked around, making both Sirius and Luliana cringe. Now they were sure the one yesterday was definitely a fake. They could tell immediately from that pimp jacket he was wearing.

“... She is not here….” Luliana said as she glared at Victor, she had seen the recordings from yesterday. This guy was a pervert.

“And where is she?” Victor asked as he frowned. Making Sirius hesitate as his wife shot him a warning glare.

“She went with her friends somewhere to relax… She will return in a few days.” Luliana answered, “You don’t have to worry, the engagement will go on as planned,” she spat. This is the only way they can protect her daughter for now.

“Oh... That’s good…” Victor answered as he secretly signaled Alex by ripping a talisman in his pocket.

“Now… Let’s make things clear… I will not let my daughter marry in a double wedding…” Luliana began to list her demands.

“That’s not negotiable!” Victor interrupted standing up angrily, just when something suddenly broke the window and hit Victor on the back of his head and sent him wailing onto the ground.
“Ahhhhhh!” he wailed,

“Guards!” Mike alerted, as he saw Victor slowly stand up while holding a stone in his hand.

“Are you ok?” Sirius asked as he watched his wife swiftly jump out of the broken window and glare at the journalists outside who were now kneeling as Mike's guards swiftly took out the big guns and ordered everyone to lie down on the ground with their hands behind their heads.

It was a mess…

Luliana returned two minutes later having found nothing. She saw the shadow of someone running away toward a nearby building, but when she reached there that guy had already disappeared as if he had evaporated in thin air.

Entering the house, she found that her husband and the guests had moved to the dining room where they were standing silently.

“Sorry about that… the journalists…” Luliana paused as she noticed that the men were reading a bloodied piece of paper. She could easily tell that it was wrapped around the stone as the purplish stains on it matched the blood dripping from Victor’s forehead right onto her wool carpet….

She froze for a few seconds, before running to the kitchen and grabbing a towel to wipe the blood quickly.

The moment she entered the room again her husband gave her that paper as he took the towel and gave it to Victor who put it on his head as he angrily glared at the couple… Not aware that the towel was meant for the carpet!

“I need an explanation…” Victor said very coldly while wiping his blood. He would definitely Punish that b*tch, Alex, later, did she have to throw it using all of her strength! It was like a freakin’ bullet!

Mike said nothing and just watched in silence. He didn’t like being made a fool.

Luliana frowned as grabbed the paper and began to read it.

“Young master… we better sit down first….” Sirius said as he glanced at his wife who forgot about her carpet as she began to shake a little. Her face was turning ghastly white.

“What is the meaning of this? Were you fooling me?” Victor, who began to appear angry, didn’t sit down, he just glared at the couple.

“Let’s take it easy….”

“... Sit down!” Luliana interrupted her husband as she sat down on a random chair and rested her hands on the dinner table, hiding her shake.

Seeing that Victor and Mike were ignoring her, she released her aura as a player as she ordered again after a deep breath, “SIT DOWN!”

Mike grabbed Victor’s arm and pushed him to one chair then sat at the one next to him.
“Speak,” he said nervously. No one told him that there was a tigress in this house.

“Let's come clean then... My daughter was kidnapped yesterday!” Luliana said after weighing his options. Her husband was activating an isolation talisman as she spoke.

“What? The message clearly says that she ran away.?” Mike asked as he glanced at Sirius and then back at Luliana, “How could you let that happen?”

“We are not sure about that… Yesterday… A man who looks exactly like master Victor came to propose… We were fooled. He wanted to speak with her alone… Then they vanished,” Sirius spoke this time, flipping his phone to show Victor and Mike a recording of Victor when he came in yesterday. It was shot from the house's security camera outside.

“There is no recording of him leaving,” Sirius explained.

“Oh….” Mike was surprised. He watched the video to its end… That guy really looked like Victor… No, not exactly, that guy was dressed in a white suit like a real gentleman.

“Who else knew that you would come to propose?” Mike asked Victor. He seemed to have believed them.

“Everyone… This young master does not keep secrets!” Victor said as he glared angrily at the couple.

“I see,” Mike looked back at the couple, “Can you find her?” He asked. Many families have ways to trace their descendants.

“That guy must be using some talisman to cut us out, but we are doing our best,” Sirius said, looking at his wife who kept glancing at her phone as if she was expecting a call.

The room went silent for the next five minutes. No one knew what to say.

“So now what?” Victor asked at last, “I have already told the world about this wedding? Do you want me to appear like a fool?” he asked.

No one answered, Luliana was about to tell him that he already looked like a fool with that striped tiger jacket, but her husband's glare made her hold her tongue.

“We will have to wait… My wife will definitely be able to locate her,” Sirius said, “The wedding will definitely go as planned.” If the wedding failed, his future would be very grim as his enemies in the family would definitely use this against him. And although his wife wanted to change the wedding plan, this was not an option anymore.

“And? What if she was never found?” Victor began to lose his nerves again, “I am planning the wedding of the century here!” he declared.

“Calm down!” Mike nudged him and then looked at the couple, his brother was right, this would not look good. The family might even punish them for being incompetent.

“Did you check her friends? Do you know if she has a secret lover?” Mike who seemed to notice that something was wrong with Luliana asked,

“None of her friends knew a thing. But... when Nova ran away before, she met a guy… We can’t be sure it was him though as she never revealed his name to us.” Sirius said as he pondered.

Victor frowned as he watched the couple. The way they were acting was a if those two didn’t know that their daughter was already a full woman? That would be the only reason why Nova would not tell them about Tom, fearing that he might spill the beans. But didn't they tell the world that she was no longer a virgin? This didn't make any sense!

Unless, they were lying... But why would they do that? Victor frowned

“It’s not him,“ Luliana said, “Nova swore to me that she would never go near that guy again. And whoever helped her, she must have had a chance to ask him for help recently… We only knew that you were coming a few days ago, and she didn’t communicate with anyone at that time,” she explained.

“Ahhh…that’s not entirely accurate….” Sirius said after some hesitation… He really screwed up this time.

“What did you do?” his wife who knew him well asked.

“A few days ago I helped her send a letter to that gay friend of hers…” Sirius said, not daring to look at his wife.

“Which gay friend?” Luliana asked as she squeezed her fist.

“Caspian or something…” Sirius said after a sigh, not realizing that his wife was looking at him with her mouth wide open.

“Which Caspian? Why don’t we go get that bastard and ask him then?” Victor asked, hiding his shaking hand… Shit that guy would definitely be at his wedding now… Plan B… No Plan C!

“I don’t know….” Sirius was interrupted by his wife.

“...It might be the young master of the heavenly sect, Caspian Drake...” She said as she grabbed her phone and began sending some messages to her friends… She began to totally ignore her poor husband who would sleep on the floor tonight.

“Oh……………………………………….” everyone in the room went silent until Mike exploded.

“WHAT?” he asked as he stood up pushing the chair behind him to the ground. If this did involve the heavenly sect then they were in trouble.

“Why are you saying that?” Sirius asked. He never knew that there was a relationship between his daughter and that big shot!

Luliana ignored him.

“Please explain,” Mike said.

“Nova met him once at a martial arts exhibition in Redsand city and… she was writing letters to him lately… I intercepted all of them… That’s what I thought anyway…” She said, glaring at her husband who nodded first, then slowly his expression changed from remorse to joy!

“Oh…” Sirius said as he turned to Victor and Mike, “It seems like we can’t go on with this wedding…” he said, isn’t this better for him? Caspian is a big shot, and his position in the family would definitely soar! He didn’t need to fear his brother anymore.

“If it were Caspian, he would not need to sneak in the night like a rat,” Mike interjected, making Sirius pause and think. That’s right, someone like Caspian would surely drag her from the front door.

"Caspian might not really care about her. It was a one-sided fascination as Nova only saw him one time,” Luliana lied after a few minutes of silence, in which she checked her phone a couple of times. “I called a friend at the sect, and young master Caspian didn’t leave the sect last week…. It's definitely not him!” She told the truth this time, sighing in relief. The only reason she approved her daughter’s disadvantageous marriage was to make sure that she could never marry Caspian. This was related to a secret that she discovered and led to her finding her wimp husband as an excuse to run away from the sect.

“Why?” Her husband asked, then quickly shut his mouth after a murderous glare from his wife.

Victor who was watching silently realized that Luliana didn't want Nova to marry Caspian for some reason. She was a member of the Heavenly sect too after all. She must have knew about some secrets...

Mike looked at Victor, “What do you want to do? This is your wedding.” He asked. “I will talk to father if you want to cancel it…” Even if Caspian was not involved here, the fact that the girl was already sending him letters was a good excuse to cancel this wedding.

“CANCEL? That’s not an option!” Victor exclaimed, “We will go on with the wedding… Even if it is a Caspian or something, I don’t care, this young master wants his bride,” he added watching Luliana's reactions.

“But… What if they didn’t get her back?” Mike asked, glaring at the couple.

“I don’t care!” Victor said, “Don’t you have a son? Let him wear a skirt and marry me… I was promised a bride from this household and I will get it one way or another,” Victor demanded unreasonably.

“Ahh…. My son is a man….” Sirius, who was distressed, said after taking a few seconds to fully comprehend what Victor meant. Thankfully his son was out looking for Nova.

“This young master doesn’t discriminate! I will just have to turn him into a woman…” Victor said decisively as if this was not the first time he did that.

“Ahh…. I don’t think that would be feasible….” Sirius said as he wondered if this guy was serious or was joking.

“Then, Mistress Luliana is still very charming… We can….” Victor said looking at Luliana then quickly dodging as she, feeling a shiver run through her spine, instinctively threw her slipper at him… She was not that old to be a granny yet!

“Victor, calm down,” Mike said. He had the strangest feeling that his brother was acting, it was as if he knew that something like this would happen…. No, that’s impossible.

“I am calm! Do you guys want me to lose my reputation then? I already declared my wedding date to the world!” Victor sighed and asked in great distress… As if he still had any reputation after yesterday’s events.

“Relax, We will get her in time… This wedding will go on as planned, just don’t tell anyone about Nova’s disappearance!” Luliana said she really didn’t like Victor at all, but if the wedding was really canceled, the Von Astrom family would surely use this against her husband and her son. Maybe even her daughter.

“Are you sure?” Victor asked,

Luliana didn’t respond, the one she was tasked with locating her daughter, didn't find her yet, so she wasn't sure. Why was that woman taking so long? Wasn’t using fate to locate someone an easy task?

It took everyone a few minutes to calm down,
“We can help you keep this a secret,” Victor said, “But….”

“What?” Luliana asked.

“We have to make a contingency plan, Listen….” Victor said as he calmly sat down again, “If by the time of the wedding you couldn't find the bride, we will find some other girl to take her place…You will attend and act as if she was Nova…. The wedding will go on as planned no matter what!” he said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

“Like we would ever….” Sirius got angry but was interrupted again, by his wife.

“It’s a deal! We will play along.” She said this was the best outcome! If Nova married Victor, Caspian would not be able to marry her as the heavenly sect places a great emphasis on purity!

Hearing her, Victor who was acting like a thug was smiled in his heart, his guess was correct! He must find an opportunity to ask her about this.

“What if Nova appeared with a new lover after that?” Mike interrupted, he didn’t like this at all. It was all messed up!

“Didn’t you hear? Nova likes that Caspian guy! She even sent him a letter a week ago. this letter must be fake to cancel the wedding,” Victor said, “This young master would not be fooled this easily.”

“What if she ran to Caspian's side?” Mike asked, this would be a big problem for his family. He didn’t know a lot about Caspian, but he knew enough

“The heavenly sect would never approve of such a relationship with an engaged woman,” Luliana said, “Young master Victor is right, this is our best course!” Luliana nodded. Unknowingly both Victor and Luliana had exactly the same goals!

“Oh….” Mike, who was not entirely convinced, nodded. His brother was pinching his arm...

On the other hand, Sirius, who wanted to ask his wife why she was against his daughter marrying Caspian, instead remained silent after getting his foot squished into the ground under the table.

Victor sighed in relief, Luliana was definitely helping him, she must have been the one who started the rumors about her daughter!

His excuses here were very weak. His plan was put in a hurry as Nova left him no other choice as she would never cooperate easily.

“Then it’s a deal… Now let’s go give those reporters outside a statement.” Victor said with a proud smile.

Akaichi

Sorry about the delays, this chapter was very hard as I had to change it many times, and I am still not entirely sure about it...

Enjoy!