The Runaway Bride

Copyright © 2013 by Christine John

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or

mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of

brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses

permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author.

Website: www.christinejohnbooks.com

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are

either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any

resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Other Books Written by Christine John

How to Start and Run an Online Business

Short Stories for Teenagers

Chapter 1

Serena paced back and forth in the bedroom. She felt like a caged animal. She could

not go anywhere or do anything without her seemingly over-protective husband watching her

every move. She felt like she was suffocating; she could hardly breathe. Serena was trapped

in a marriage that she felt incapable of living up to the expectations of her husband or his

parents, his mother in particular.

The young woman stopped in front of the full-length mirror and stared critically at her

reflection. She wore a long black gown that accentuated her curves. Her shoulder-length dark

brown hair was twisted into a French coil, not a single strand out of place. Tiny diamond

studs sparkled from her ear lobes and a matching diamond necklace circled her slender throat.

Her make-up was done to perfection. Judging from her reflection, Serena was a picture-

perfect princess.

But Serena was not happy. She could see her sadness reflected in her hazel eyes. She

felt tied down and she needed to escape. She needed to breathe freely. She wanted to run wild

and laugh and play. Instead she was forced to act like the submissive wife that Bruce’s

mother wanted her to be.

Serena immediately started to hyperventilate at the thought of facing Bruce’s cold-

hearted mother again. She forced back tears that pricked her eyes and fought to control her

emotions.

“Serena, darling, are you ready yet?” called her handsome husband Bruce as he

rushed into the room fixing his bowtie. “We must hurry or else we’ll be late for dinner with

my parents.”

Bruce glanced at Serena and then looked at her again, suddenly filled with concern.

“Serena, are you all right? You look a little…flushed.”

The man’s young wife placed a delicate hand against her throat. She closed her eyes

and breathed deeply, hoping to slow down the rapid beating of her heart.

“Serena?” he said, his concern intensifying.

“Yes, Bruce, I’m fine,” the young woman replied breathlessly.

Bruce placed his large warm hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face

him. He tilted her chin so that she could look directly into his eyes. “Serena, did you have

another anxiety attack?”

“Bruce, I’m fine,” Serena assured him, avoiding the question. “I’m ready. We can

leave now.”

Serena’s husband stared at her suspiciously for what seemed like an eternity. She put

on a brave smile to reassure him. He sighed heavily and said, “All right. If you say so.”

He started fidgeting with his tie. “How do I look, Serena? Is my tie straight?”

Serena took a step back and examined her husband from head to toe. Earlier that day

he had gotten a haircut and his mustache and beard shaped in the latest style. Standing a head

taller than his wife, Bruce looked handsome, confident and very wealthy in his tuxedo.

“You look good,” she said shyly.

Her husband smiled in response. He checked the time on his gold wristwatch and

gasped. “Serena, we’re late! Let’s go.” The two grabbed their coats and headed down the

stairs. They rushed out of the house and drove quickly but carefully to the home of Phillip

and Isabelle Anderson, Bruce’s parents.

“Bruce! I’m so glad you’re back,” greeted Isabelle Anderson. “I haven’t seen you

since you went on your honeymoon.” She hugged her son happily.

He gently untangled himself from her embrace and cleared his throat. He placed his

arm around his wife and said, “Mother, you remember Serena, my wife.” He was careful to

emphasize the word ‘wife’.

Mrs. Anderson squared her shoulders and raised her chin. She was a few inches taller

than Serena, so she took full advantage of looking down her nose at her son’s wife. “Oh.

Hello Serena,” she greeted in her frostiest voice.

“Good evening, Mrs. Anderson,” the young woman mumbled.

There was an awkward silence and then Bruce asked, “Where’s father? Is he

upstairs?”

“No, he’s in the study. He’s talking on the phone. Most likely it’s a business call,”

Mrs. Anderson replied. “Why don’t you go ahead into the dining room and I’ll see if I can get

your father to cut short his phone call.”

“There’s no need for that, Isabelle,” said Phillip Anderson as he closed the door to his

study. He extended his arms wide enough to embrace his son and daughter-in-law. “Welcome

home, you two.”

“It’s good to see you, Father,” said Bruce.

“So how was the honeymoon?” Mr. Anderson asked Serena. “It looks like my son

took good care of you.”

Serena blushed as she remembered how Bruce made love to her for the first time on a

secluded beach in Bermuda. “It was every girl’s dream come true, Mr. Anderson. Bruce took

me shopping and to the beach. We really enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, we did,” Bruce agreed.

Mrs. Anderson sniffed and curled her bottom lip in disgust. “All right. That’s enough

talk about the honeymoon. Dinner is getting cold. Let’s go into the dining room and be

seated.”

She walked away stiffly and the others followed in silence. Bruce took his wife’s

hand and kissed her softly. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, “she’ll come around.”

As comforting as his words were, Serena did not agree with her husband. Isabelle

Anderson was against their marriage since the day Serena’s father died and left explicit

instructions in his will that Bruce and Serena must get married a month after his death.

Steven Taylor was a hopeless romantic and had always dreamed of his only daughter

marrying Bruce Anderson. He knew that Bruce was a strong, capable young man who would

take care of his daughter if anything ever happened to him. Mr. Taylor, with the help of

Bruce’s father had tried to get nineteen year old Bruce to show a little more interest in

fourteen year old Serena, other than brotherly love.

Serena had a huge crush on Bruce. He was handsome, intelligent, charming, and

ambitious. She had often sat on the swing in her backyard and dreamed about becoming Mrs.

Bruce Anderson. She never thought that it would ever come true because Bruce was five

years older and Mrs. Anderson was completely against Serena’s relationship with Bruce.

Isabelle Anderson had such high hopes for her only son. She wanted Bruce to go

away to college, as far away from Serena as possible, and become a doctor. She had hoped

that with Bruce so far away, he would forget about Serena and become romantically involved

with a beautiful, wealthy young woman closer to his age.

When Steven Taylor was diagnosed with cancer Mrs. Anderson was outraged to find

out that Bruce had chosen to attend a local college close to home rather than going to one out

of state. She blamed Bruce’s choice in colleges on Serena. In fact, whenever Bruce disagreed

with any of the plans she made for him, which happened very often, she always blamed

Serena. Isabelle Anderson believed that Serena was not good enough for her precious son.

The years passed swiftly and Bruce chose to study law instead of attending medical

school and got a job in his father’s law firm. Serena also went to a local college and studied

music and art. She grew up to be a beautiful, vivacious young woman and her father was very

proud of her.

Steven Taylor’s health was deteriorating at a rapid pace and he knew that he did not

have much longer to live. He frequently called on Phillip and Bruce Anderson to talk to them

privately. On days when he was strong enough he would take a leisurely walk to the park

with his daughter.

Eventually, Mr. Taylor passed away peacefully in his sleep. Funeral arrangements

were taken care of by Phillip Anderson and Bruce never left Serena’s side. He comforted her

and sat with her during the funeral service and stayed with her at her father’s home until she

fell asleep.

When it was time to read the will Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Bruce and Serena gathered

together in the living room at the home of the late Steven Taylor. According to Mr. Taylor’s

last will and testament, he had left Serena a sizable income to live on comfortably for the rest

of her life. The house and all other assets such as stocks and bonds now belonged to her.

There was a particular section in the will that shocked everyone. Steven Taylor had

left explicit instructions in his will for Bruce and Serena to get married on the condition that

both parties were willing to accept.

“But she is only a spoiled child!” Isabelle Anderson cried when she heard the reading

of the will. “Serena Taylor knows nothing about marriage or raising a family. She will

destroy my son’s life!” She collapsed into a chair and sobbed hysterically into her

handkerchief.

“Now Isabelle, stop crying,” Phillip Anderson pleaded with his wife. “Bruce and

Serena are good kids and I’m proud of how they both turned out. Serena loves Bruce and she

would do anything to make him happy. And Bruce will always take care of Serena and

protect her. This was Steven Taylor’s last wish before he died and I think we owe it to him to

carry out what was instructed in his will.”

Mrs. Anderson jumped out of her chair, nearly knocking it over. “No! That little brat

will not marry my son! I will not stand for it!”

“That’s enough, Mother!” Bruce yelled, shielding Serena in his arms. “I will not allow

you to talk that way about the woman I’m going to marry!”

Serena gasped and looked up at the man she dearly loved. “Bruce? Do you really

mean it?”

He looked down at her, his kind, brown eyes glowing in warmth. “Yes, Serena. I want

to marry you. That is, of course, if you will have me.”

“Yes, Bruce, of course I’ll marry you,” she replied excitedly.

“No! I will not allow it!” Mrs. Anderson roughly pushed the couple apart and threw

Serena against the wall.

The young woman crumpled to the floor and stared at Mrs. Anderson in sheer terror.

Her heart started beating faster and she began to hyperventilate.

“Isabelle, what are you doing?” cried Mr. Anderson as he grabbed his wife, stopping

her from attacking Serena. “Get a hold of yourself, woman!” he exclaimed as he fought to

keep his wife under control. “Come along, Isabelle, we are leaving.” He dragged his

hysterical wife towards the door.

“You’re not good enough for my son!” Mrs. Anderson yelled. “You will destroy his

life! Twenty years of planning for my son’s future…Wasted! You will pay dearly for taking

my son away from me!”

Those were the last words Serena heard before she collapsed into Bruce’s arms.

Sample Chapter of The Runaway Bride by Christine John

The Runaway Bride is a novel about a woman named Serena who married the man of

her dreams at a very young age. Feeling intimidated and threatened by her mother-in-law,

Serena runs away to fulfill her dream of going to university to study art. But her plans are

soon interrupted by a devastatingly handsome and charming stranger. Now Serena is feeling

very confused about what she really wants.

Should she go back to her overprotective husband and endure the icy stares and cold,

cruel insults of her horrible mother-in-law, or should she spend the rest of her days living a

wild and exciting life with the very sexy Armando?

If you enjoyed this chapter from my book The Runaway Bride you can grab your copy of the

book now from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

For more information, please visit my website www.christinejohnbooks.com.