Chapter 3
Janice POV
One week after the incident and still counting. I was expecting Mr. Connor to send the cops after me, but I guess I was lucky since there hasn't been anything like that.
The sound of my ringing phone echoed in the room, and I couldn't help the smile that laced up my lips when I saw the caller. It was the woman I saved from getting hit by a truck one week ago. After the incident that day, she gave me her card and asked me to call her, which I did, and guess what? She invited me to her house and she is super wealthy. Her house looked like another planet on its own, and trust me, the image was still living rent-free in my head even after five days of being there. I wished to be there even if it was only once.
"Hey, Janice," Her gentle voice sounded through the phone, and I smiled as I sat up on the bed.
"Hi, ma'am. How have you been? Are your bruises gone now?" I asked her with concern. Well, I may be a bad person, but I'm still nice, and I knew that.
"I'm fine, dear. They are gone now. Are you free to have lunch with us today? The thing is, my husband came back yesterday, and he wants to meet the person that saved me from getting hit by a truck. It'll be an honor if you can come over to have lunch with us," She asked politely, and damn! I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything in the whole world. Who knows, maybe this would be my way of finally getting out of poverty and getting rid of this messed up life I was living.
"I can send my driver to come pick you up. All you have to do is tell me yes," She was sounding convincing when I was already convinced from the moment she asked me that, because why not?
"Alright, ma'am. I will send you my address," I replied to her, and she thanked me before she ended the call.
"Don't be too excited, Janice. It's just a lunch," My subconscious mind reminded me, but I couldn't still help the excitement that filled my heart from within, knowing I was going to be eating with wealthy people. At least, that would be enough to last me for a lifetime.
How time flies? It was finally time for me to go there, and the driver was sent to pick me up. I have never imagined I would ever step foot into a private car since I have never done it all my life, let alone the latest SUV car.
The drive to the mansion took about an hour, and I was led into the house when I arrived. I only got to see the woman the last time I was here, and she mentioned that none of her children was around, not even her husband.
The house was still the same way it was the last time I was here. Large living room, big chandelier light hanging on the ceiling, expensive looking red couches, the walls were painted white color, the curtains looked expensive, and the center table was translucent and looked expensive. The house itself looks like those I've seen in the movies that were usually owned by billionaires. As much as I wanted to admire the house, I tried to compose myself.
Soon, the woman came to join me along with her husband.
"Honey, she is the young lady that saved me," She introduced me to the man in his late fifties.
"It's nice to meet you, and I'm grateful for saving my wife," He extended his hand for a handshake, which I quickly took, feeling elated. His hands were so soft like that of a newborn baby. His skin screamed nothing, but wealth, and I couldn't help but imagine how much the cream he uses would cost. Five million dollars? Ten million dollars? I asked myself, but quickly dismissed the thoughts.
"Thank you, Sir. It's nice to meet you too," I replied to him as I smiled nervously.
"Mommy, is she here yet?" I heard a masculine voice as thick footsteps descended the staircase, and my mouth dropped open in shock at the sight that welcomed me. When I saw Connor days back, I thought he was the most handsome man on earth, but seeing this young man that was perfectly built, I was starting to have second thoughts about what I said back there.
"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you. My name is Carl," He finally stood in front of me, and his smile was even perfect and contagious as he revealed his set of perfect dentitions. Now that I got to finally see what he looked like, he had a pair of charming brown eyes just like his mom, a pointed nose, smooth skin, thick eyebrows, sexy lips, and finally brown shady hair that was curled on his head with some strands on his forehead. He was literally the definition of perfection.
"Oh, hi! I'm Janice," I finally managed to pull out of my dreamland, taking his hand that was extended for a handshake.
"Oh, she's here?" Came another voice, and I snapped my head in the direction to see the young man that just walked in. He looked like he was the same age as me, and trust me, I was starting to hyperventilate because of how good-looking they all were. Does this run in their family?
"Hi, I'm Chase," He introduced himself to me once he was standing in front of me, and I slowly nodded my head as I took his hand that he extended for a handshake.
"You are pretty, I must confess," He winked at me as he smiled creepily, making me more nervous.
"Thank you," I nodded my head as I watched him walk over to the dining room.
"Wow! Nobody called me that Miss Janice is here," A girl of about eighteen years old said as she walked into the living room. With the striking resemblance between him and this woman, I didn't need to be told that she would be her daughter. She also looked extremely beautiful with her brown eyes, smooth and light skin, long brown hair that has some strands on her forehead, pointed nose, sharp jawline, small pink lips, thick eyebrows, and finally long natural eyelashes. They were making me feel insecure about my look, I was suddenly starting to feel like I'm an ugly bitch.
"Stay calm, Janice. You are being crazy right now," I said to myself as I tried to stay calm, and I couldn't be happier that it worked.
"So, tell me about yourself," The Carl guy broke the awkward silence as we ate in the dining room minutes later, and I almost choked on my food, but I was able to control it.
"Huh?" I blinked my eyes rapidly as I raised my gaze to look at him, and he was staring at me. I looked around, and they were all looking at me weirdly, probably waiting for me to spill the beans, and for some seconds, I was starting to regret coming here in the first place.
"Me? Well, nothing to know about me. I'm just a random girl," I know my answer was a little bit dumb, but there was really nothing interesting to know about me. What would I possibly tell him? I'm someone from a poor family struggling to make ends meet and depending on duping men for survival? Will that even make any sense? So it was better to just shut it since I wasn't living a proud life anyway.
"Oh... Ok. Well, I'm looking forward to getting to know you more. Who knows, we could get acquainted with each other, and see what the future has in store for us. You are a pretty young lady, and I think I like you," His gut and straightforwardness were daring and also nice. I mean, I like straightforward people. Still, I almost choked on my food. Is this like him confessing his feelings to me? That's crazy. I mean, we were meeting for the first time, right? Well, it would be a jackpot for me if he really likes me. I mean, being with a real wealthy man has always been my dream, anyway.
Regardless, I just smiled at him weirdly.
"Oh, son... You're home?" The woman suddenly said, and I trailed her gaze to see the shock of my life. The man standing over there was the same man I met at the penthouse, Connor Hughes. Yes, the one I drugged and stole money from. My heart sank into my stomach and I swallowed nothing as I turned my face away. I could feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest, my body suddenly got so hot that I could literally feel it burning.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked myself, trying to get the pieces together, and now, everything was making sense to me although it was already too late. I could still recall the woman introducing herself to me earlier as Mrs. Hughes, but I was so clueless that I didn't think about it. Damn! I think I'm doomed.
"Are you not coming to join us?" I heard Mrs. Hughes ask him, and I prayed he said no and leave.
"No, Mom. I'm a bit tired, so I need to rest..."
"At least, meet the lady I was telling you about. The one that saved my life," At this point, I felt like disappearing into the air.
"Oh, hi!" I heard him say simply, and I sighed briefly, thinking he would leave afterward.
"Come on, Connor. Come and say hi to her. She is lovely," I almost jumped out of my skin when his mom said that.
"Mom..."
"Don't be rude, Connor," His dad chipped in, and oh hell! I knew that I'm done for.
"Janice dear, say hi to Connor, our first son," She finally introduced us, and silence assumed the atmosphere for seconds.
"Janice? That name... Janice... Hey, can I see your face?" I heard him say, and I shut my eyes tightly as the realization dawned on me that I was caught already.
Left with no choice now, I stood up and took a deep breath, turning to face him afterward, and the expression on his face as soon as he saw my face showed that he already caught me.
"You?" His eyes narrowed as he pointed his index finger at me, and I raised my eyebrows.
"What a small world. I finally caught you," He scoffed as he pointed his finger at me.
"Do you two know each other?" They all asked at the same time, and I cleared my throat. Getting caught has never been in my dictionary, so I needed to come up with something to save myself from this humiliation.
"Of course, we..."
"Excuse me? Have we met before?" I asked him, and he raised his eyebrows as he stared at me in shock.
"Wh... what do you mean by that? You are not just a thief but a liar too?" He scoffed as he walked over to the dining room now.
"Excuse you? Me? Thief? Liar? What are you talking about?" I pulled a puzzled look. My heart was hammering against my chest, and my body was slightly shaking, but still, I needed to defend myself. Looking like a bad person in front of these people was the last thing I wanted.
"You really are a crazy bitch, you know? You dare to deny knowing me after you stole my jewelries and money?" He snapped at me this time, and I flinched because he was looking all scary now.
"What are you saying, Connor?" His Mom snapped at him.
"Stay out of this, Mom! Everyone, stay out of this! She knows what I'm talking about..."
"This is crazy and embarrassing..." I scoffed as a drop of tears slid down my cheek.
"Just because you are wealthy doesn't give you the right to talk to me in that manner and accuse me of what I know nothing about when we've not even met each other before!" I yelled at him this time as more tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Are you crying?" He scoffed as he blinked his eyes unbelievably.
"You know what? I'm out of here," I wiped my tears then grabbed my purse from the table before I stormed out of the dining room, ignroing them as they kept calling me.
"That was close," I released a deep breath once I was out of the gate...
Chapter 4 Connor Hughes 'Excuse me, do I know you?' I scoffed angrily and slumped on the bed as her words echoed in my head once again. Making me look like a fool out there was the height of it all. After she stole from me, she think she could get away with it by just pretending not to know who I am? "Ugh!" I groaned as I sank my fingers into my hair, trying to cool off, but it only got worse. The door suddenly burst open, and I sprang up to my feet to see Mom inside. "What the hell was that, Connor? What has come over you?" She snapped at me angrily as she glared at me, and I huffed unbelievably. "Mom, what are you saying?" I asked even though I knew what she was on about. "What am I saying? How could you embarrass my guest like that? The whole family owes that young lady everything for saving my life. I would've been gone by now if not for her..." "I know that Mom..." "Then what the hell was that? Accusing her of stealing something from you. Where the hell could you
Chapter 5 Janice POV I got dressed for the date I'm having with Carl tonight. After the incident that day, me and Carl have kept in touch, and we've hung out for some time. I was able to take care of Connor, and I know if I continue to deny knowing him, everything will be cool. My phone beeped, and I checked to see that it was a text from Carl. 'I'm waiting for you outside' After reading his message, I checked myself out in the mirror one more time to be sure I was good to go, leaving my apartment afterward. I live in a one-room flat apartment since I lived alone. I soon got outside where I met his car parked at the front of my house, and I got in. "Did I keep you waiting?" I asked him as I fastened my seatbelt, but he shook his head as he smiled at me. "Not really. You look gorgeous," He complimented me, and I smiled at him. "Thank you," I replied to him before the drive started. The drive to the fancy restaurant was peaceful and silent, and we soon arrived. Since the
Chapter 6 Two weeks later Connor Hughes "What do you mean, Mom? How could you even ask me to do that?" I scoffed angrily, and she sighed. "Connor, please you need to do this for my sake. We can't just stand her there and show up for the wedding. It won't make any sense, please," She pleaded with me, trying to sound as convincing as she could, but that was the last thing I would do. How the heck could she ask me to stand in as that bitch's groom because Carl ran away? Well, today was supposed to be Carl and Janice's wedding, but the jerk was nowhere to be found now, and they said that he wrote a letter that he was no longer interested in the wedding. "He shouldn't have started this in the first place if he wasn't interested in marrying her, and besides... I'm not your only son, am I? You can ask Chase to stand in as the groom, mom. I'm not interested in that," I stood my ground as I sat on the bed, but I knew she wouldn't give up no matter how much I tried to make him do it.
Chapter 7 Janice POV My heart pounded hard against my chest as I sat on the edge of the bed while listening to the sound of the running shower. Many thoughts ran through my mind, and I couldn't help but shake nervously. My life took another turn for the worse in a space of seconds. "Ugh! What do I do? I can't stay here. He is going to kill me if I stay here as his wife," I mumbled as I ruffled my hair crazily as I sprang up and paced restlessly in the room, thinking of any possible solution, but I couldn't think straight or come up with anything as my head was blank. I hurried over to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked from inside and the key was not even inside. "Damnit!" I cursed under my breath as my heart sank into my stomach. The shower finally stopped running, and I didn't need anyone to tell me that he would be out soon, and that only made me more terrified. As expected, the bathroom door finally opened, but I turned my back to him s
Chapter 8 Connor Hughes "You bastard!" Carl snapped angrily as he sent a punch hard to my face as soon as I walked into the living room, and I scoffed unbelievably as I rolled my eyes. "How dare you bastard! How dare you!" Be roared again as he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and punched me hard in the face for the second time, but I only smirked at him. "How does it feel, brother? Did you enjoy it, huh?" I smirked at him after I yanked his hands off my collar, adjusting my clothes. "How dare you!" He snapped again as he grabbed my collar again, but this time, I retaliated and punched him hard in the face, sending him staggering back. "What the hell is happening here?" Mom shrieked as she finally showed up with the kids, since Dad traveled immediately after the wedding yesterday. Mom gasped sharply and stopped on her track when she found Carl standing with me. "Carl! Where the hell were you? How dare you run away from your wedding? You were the one that asked her to
Chapter 9 Janice POV I scoffed for the fifth time as I stood in the garden with my hands on my waist. The view here was supposed to be called beautiful, but I couldn't even think of that because of the shit going on in my head. "Ugh! That guy is a real bastard. So this wasn't because of me, but his brother? How could he get me involved, huh?" I mumbled and scoffed because all this doesn't make any sense to me. The sound of the footsteps behind me pulled my attention, and I turned to find the youngest brother. I mean, Chase. We have only talked a few times since I've been coming here even before I moved in yesterday. "Hi, sister-in-law," He smiled at me. I've noticed how different he was from every other person in the family. Unlike Connor, he smiled a lot, much more than Carl does too. "Oh, good evening," I greeted him as he came to stand beside me, and he nodded his head. An awkward silence assumed the atmosphere as we both stared into space. I was nervous and curious ab
Chapter 10 Janice POV 'Don't think of running away, for I will find you wherever you go' Those words kept driving me nuts that I couldn't even think of running away. Connor looked like he would be someone dangerous, and I didn't want him to do something nasty to me if he found out I ran away and managed to get his hands on me. Sitting on the bed in Connor's room and trying to think of a way out of this mess I was in, the sound of the knock on the door disrupted my thoughts, and I went to get the door, but I froze on the spot when I pulled it open and found Carl standing there. "Ca... Carl?" I called surprisingly, but he held my hand and dragged me out of the room. "Where are you taking me?" I asked as he dragged me down the hallway, but he didn't even bother to answer me until we got to the garden. "Janice..." He paused and caught his breath, running his fingers through his hair. "Why don't you want to choose between us? We were going to get married before he ruined every
Chapter 11 Janice POV "Who told you to go spend the night with my sister?" Connor yelled at me angrily as soon as he dragged me into his room and slammed the door behind us. I was still finding what to say to Claire when he barged in and dragged me out of there. "Do I need anybody's permission to do what I want?" I asked him, and he scoffed. "You really want to die, yeah? This is my damn house, my damn family, and everything here belongs to me. You can't act on your own without my orders. How dare you?" He snapped at me, looking like he was going to pounce on me, but raising his hand on me would definitely be the last thing he would want to do. If he dared to hit me, he will surely see the crazy side of Janice. "If you can't tolerate me, then fucking let me go! You can't keep controlling me simply because it's your house. I want to leave your damn house for you, so fucking let me go!" I was already losing it, so I couldn't hold it in anymore. I thought he was going to yell