The Untainted
Chapter 103: The Missing Bride
In the blink of an eye, the long-awaited month had finally arrived.
For the groom, it had taken far too long.
For the brides, it had come far too quickly.
The bridesmaids, who were also the brides' closest friends, were among the happiest people that day. They were already on their way to the wedding hall, excited and eager for the ceremony to begin.
It was supposed to be a beautiful but low-key wedding.
Though, considering the amount of money the two mothers-in-law had spent decorating the hall, it was difficult to call it low-key.
Everywhere one looked, money, grandeur, and glamour screamed from every corner.
The mothers were extremely happy to finally see their wishes come true—to have their children marry one another.
Faridat and Ridwan were getting married, while Basit was getting married on the same day to his beloved, alongside his sworn brother.
Everything had been arranged.
The guests had arrived.
The grooms were ready.
The brides were supposed to make their grand entrance any moment.
But then—
Qazeem's sister, Folakemi, suddenly rushed into the room, panic written all over her face.
"Mom!"
Everyone turned toward her.
"We... we can't find Rihannat in the room."
Her mother's expression changed immediately.
"What do you mean you can't find her?"
They had arrived at the hotel only a few minutes earlier.
Rihannat had asked for some alone time before the ceremony, so they had left her in the room to prepare herself.
But after twenty minutes passed without hearing from her, Fola had become suspicious.
She had quietly peeped into the room to check on her.
The room was empty.
At first, she thought Rihannat might have stepped out somewhere nearby.
But they had searched.
And searched.
For more than thirty minutes, they had looked everywhere they could think of.
Nothing.
No Rihannat.
No clue where she had gone.
No idea what had happened to her.
So Fola hurried toward her mothers.
"Mom, we... we can't find Rihannat in the room. We've been looking around for more than thirty minutes now. We've searched the whole building, but we still can't find her."
Rihannat's adoptive mother didn't even allow Fola to finish.
She hurried past her.
Mrs. Collins, Rihannat's biological mother, followed closely behind.
The men noticed their hurried and panicked footsteps.
"What is going on?"
The two fathers exchanged a quick look.
A silent message passed between them.
Without saying anything else, they stylishly excused themselves from the party and followed.
Inside the hall, the grooms, Ridwan and Basit, were already seated.
Faridat, Ridwan's bride was also in her designated space.
But the only empty space beside her was Rihannat's, speaking volume...
The entire hall was waiting for her.
Basit could already feel that something was wrong.
But what?
Why would his bride refuse to come out when Faridat was already there?
His heart had been strangely restless since morning.
He had tried to ignore it.
He had told himself it was merely wedding nerves.
But now...
His phone suddenly rang.
Basit looked at Ridwan beside him.
They both stood at the same time and walked out of the hall.
The guests immediately began exchanging suspicious glances.
These were influential, powerful, and highly observant people.
They could tell something wasn't right.
Had the bride refused to marry?
Had she changed her mind?
Had something happened?
Whispers began spreading through the hall.
Slowly at first.
But the questions were already multiplying.
The moment Basit answered his phone, he put it on speaker.
Ridwan stood beside him, hearing everything clearly.
"Your wife-to-be is missing from the room. Did she tell you where she was going?"
Silence.
Basit's face went pale.
"Dad... I didn't call her out. We spoke about twenty-five minutes ago. She said she would be out soon."
"Are you sure she isn't in the room?"
Basit's voice quivered.
This.
This could be the reason he had felt so tense since morning for no apparent reason.
His instincts had been screaming that something was wrong.
He just hadn't known what.
Until now.
His bride was nowhere to be found.
For a moment, Basit wished someone would tell him they were playing a cruel prank on him.
He suddenly turned and ran toward Rihannat's suite.
Ridwan immediately followed.
They ran down the stairs instead of taking the elevator, as though waiting for it would cost them precious seconds.
Or perhaps they simply couldn't bear the thought of arriving there any faster to avoid seeing the reality.
Neither of them wanted to accept what might be happening.
The moment they reached the suite, the atmosphere spoke before anyone could say a word.
The bridesmaids' eyes were swollen from crying.
Their parents weren't doing any better.
Basit stopped dead.
His heart sank.
"Not again."
His wife couldn't disappear again.
He rushed into the room and began searching like a madman who had lost all sense of reason.
"Where is she?"
He looked everywhere.
"Why?"
His voice cracked.
"Why would destiny play such a cruel game with me?"
On his wedding day.
Ridwan grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.
"Calm down, bro. Please. Calm down."
But Basit could barely hear him.
His red, tear-filled eyes looked at his friend—the man who would become his brother-in-law that very day.
"Ridwan..."
His voice trembled.
"She's getting married to me today."
He swallowed hard.
"Do you think she ran away? Maybe she went to get something?"
He shook his head quickly.
"She wouldn't reject me, Ridwan."
His breathing became uneven.
"I can't lose her again. She was kidnapped once."
His voice dropped into a whisper.
"Is she..."
He looked around frantically.
"Is she bride-napped on her wedding day again?" he chuckled, everyone knows its the pain speaking not from his real cheerful side.
His entire body trembled.
"I can't survive this, akhi. I can't."
Basit's father stepped forward and pulled his son away from Ridwan, wrapping him tightly in his arms.
"We will find her."
His voice was firm, though his eyes were filled with worry.
"We let our guard down. We should have tripled the security."
Mr. Abbas looked around.
"With how many guards we have outside?" Basit's voice suddenly rang through the room.
It was almost as though he hadn't intended to speak aloud.
But his father heard him.
Everyone heard him.
All eyes turned toward Basit.
Their eyes grew wet as they took in his appearance.
This was not the calm and happy Basit they knew.
This was a man terrified of losing the woman he loved for the second time.
"We will hold the wedding as planned," Mr. Collins said firmly.
"She has already accepted to marry you, so it is permissible. Nothing can separate you if I'm alive."
Seifullah, who had been quiet until then, looked even more somber.
His eyes burned like those of a raging lion.
"I will do everything to find my sister."
His voice was low but determined.
"Even if it is the last thing I do on this earth."
"We are also here." Everyone turned toward the entrance.
The Mustopha's had arrived. Qazeem, Olalekan, and Oladeji entered with their parents.
"We will help," Qazeem said.
"We'll do everything in our power to find her. Please let's join the search.."
The room fell into a tense silence.
The wedding hall was filled with hundreds of guests waiting for a bride who had disappeared without a trace.
Rihannat was nowhere to be found.