Dressed in a burgundy empire evening dress with a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves, I put on my Mary Jane Louboutins and was ready to face the Dumonts. I left my hair to cascade in curls down my back and didn’t bother with over the top makeup. I had no one to impress, so why bother with frivolities?
As I descend our winding staircase, I spot my sister in the foyer. She was on the phone and seemed rather upset. The clicking of my heels alerts her to my presence and she kills her call. Turning to face me, she plasters a fake smile onto her face and walks towards me and catches my frown. “Wedding problems,” she answers with the roll of her eyes. I knew she was lying, but who am I to say anything? She clearly did not want to tell me what was going on with her.
I offer her a tight smile, “Eliana, you know…” I start, but decided against it with the shake of my head, “Never mind. Is everything ready for this evening?”
She looked relieved at my change of subject and nodded, “The Dumonts should be here shortly.”Eliana looked nervous at this, where earlier she looked positively delighted to be seeing her fiance. We link arms and walk towards the dining area together. My sister relaxed a bit in my arm, but as soon as we entered the room, she stilled.
It seemed the Dumonts were here early.Snooty and pretentious, both Mirabelle and Spencer Dumont oozed elegance. Mirabelle was a raven haired beauty who used to be a Prima Ballerina back in her day. She married Spencer when her dancing days ended. Spencer Dumont was the wealthiest man in the UK, with Sebastian set to inherit everything. Not that the man needed to inherit everything, he owned half of the country already. And by that I mean the majority of the buildings in the country belonged to Dumont Enterprises.“Eliana, Elena,” Mirabelle greets us in her haughty voice. The woman had nothing good to say about Eliana but seemed to dote on me. How that worked, I would never know. Everyone always loved my sister. “You are both looking gorgeous.” She gushes as she walks over to us and gives us both kisses on either cheek.
“Mirabelle, how are you?” I ask her, being as courteous as I could muster. “You look lovely,” I say, taking in her beautiful emerald wrap dress.
She rolls her eyes, “As well as can be expected, I guess. Another dinner party that could have been a text-”“Mother.” Came the voice of Mr Ego himself, Sebastian Dumont.
Mirabelle rolls her eyes again, and this time it was aimed at her son. “Fine, I will play nice,” she says and winks at me while giving Eliana a once over.
My sister looks at me, “How did you bewitch that woman? She despises me.” She said sadly, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Eliana could charm anyone, but not her mother-in-law to be.I stroke her arm, “I am sure it will change after the wedding, love.” How was this comforting my sister? Because she just turned a pale green.
Sebastian walks over to us and gives her a kiss on the cheek, “Excuse my mother for the millionth time, love. She will warm up to you.” He says and Eliana nods robotically as if she had heard that line many times over.They had been together for three years, and Mirabelle seemed to dislike my sister more each day.
“Shall we?” Came the voice of my father, boisterous Lord William Wiltshire, the second wealthiest man in the UK, second only to Spencer Dumont.We all took our respective seats at the dinner table; my father at the head of the table, Eliana and I next to him on opposite sides of the table, the elder Dumonts were seated next to me and Sebastian was seated next to Eliana. My mother was seated at the opposite head of the table.
Dinner was served soon after and the polite conversation was made, however, the air was fraught with friction. Something was going on and I have a feeling this was not just your average dinner party between influential families.
“Now, it is lovely to have you over again, Spencer and Mirabelle, but I fail to see why a dinner party was needed to discuss this. Surely a phone call would have sufficed?” My father, asking all the real questions now.
We were currently seated in the parlour, having wine and our palette cleansed after a light four-course dinner.Mirabelle gets up from her chair, and I could tell she was completely livid but sad. She gazes at everyone in the room and her eyes fall on Eliana. I followed her line of vision and saw my sister looking anxious, that green tinge to her skin again.
“William, Susanna, I am afraid we come bearing awful news this evening.” She said and looked straight at Sebastian, who had the same confused look on his face as everyone else in the room.
Everyone except Eliana.
Spencer stood up this time, “This marriage cannot be, Sebastian.” He said and his son frowns at the statement.
“What exactly is this about, Father?” He starts, “I know you all hate Eliana but I love her and I will marry her in two months time. Your blessing given or not.”
Mirabelle had a horrified look on her face and she looked towards Spencer, “Tell him.” is all she says and sits down again. Spencer grins, “Even better, I will have someone else do it for me.” He says and the parlour door opens.
A man whom I have never met before enters the room and I heard Eliana gasp. I looked towards my sister and saw that she had gone a deathly pale.
What was going on?
Echoing my thoughts, Sebastians asks the same question out loud. “Uncle Robert? What exactly are you doing here?” He added.
The man, Robert Dumont, looks towards everyone in the room. He was tall, well built and frankly, quite handsome. He ran his fingers through his curls in what I can only assume was frustration.“Sebastian, you are being lied to.” He said and pointed towards my sister, “Eliana has not been as forthcoming with you.”
Oh no. Oh heck no. Eliana, what have you done?
Sebastian looks at my sister and frowns, “What exactly does he mean by that, Eliana?” He asks but his expression showed that he did not wish to know. Eliana looks up at him with tears in her eyes, “I am sorry, Sebastian,” she says.
Gosh, was I in a soap opera right now?
I take in everyone’s expression; My father seemed livid, my mother looked put out of countenance. The Dumonts were upset and angry, whereas my sister seemed sad but elated?
Was that even possible?
“Sorry? What are you sorry for? What have you done?” He asks, taking a step back from her.
Eliana stood up and walked towards Robert Dumont, then faced us with a grim expression, “I am in love with Robert and wish to call off this engagement.”Her statement sent literal shockwaves through us all. Sebastian looked as if his heart just got ripped out, my parents went ashen and me? I sat there with my mouth hanging open in a very lady-like fashion.
Eliana, the poised and proper Wiltshire sister was going to cause an upper class scandal.
Robert grinned and looked proud, “But that’s not all. Tell them the news, love.” He says in an incredibly sleazy way that I even got shivers.Eliana gazed proudly at him, “I am pregnant with Robert’s child.”
You could hear a pin drop. Eliana, my sweet sister, would be causing a scandal with her news. The worst type of scandal in the upper class and nobility circles. Affairs and babies born out of wedlock. Sebastian had gone pale, my parents were reeling from this news and the Dumonts? Well it seems that even they did not know this last little titbit. Mirabelle walks towards them, “You’re pregnant?! A child born out of wedlock, how shameful!” She shrieks and I could tell this upset her incredibly. “I knew there was something about you that I didn’t like.” Eliana throws her head back and laughs, or rather cackles, “Mirabelle, there will be no scandal. Robert and I will wed before the child is born. Then you will finally be rid of me.” I do not think I have ever heard my sister speak in such an acid tone, especially not towards Mirabelle Dumont. I could feel the shame radiating from where my parents were seated. Mirabelle goes completely
A knock at my bedroom door draws me out of my reverie. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide in here forever. “Elena?” came the voice of my father. This made me frown. He hardly ever came into my room. I would have expected it to be mother or Eliana to run after me.Not the head of our family.“Come in, father,” I called out, then I sat up, straightening myself out as a lady should. He then opens the door and pokes his head in. “May I come in?”I nod and grab a tissue from my bedside table to dab my eyes with. Did he honestly expect me to tell him he could not enter my room?My father takes a seat on my bed and takes my hand in his, “Elena, I do not wish for you to go through with this marriage.” he starts abruptly, causing me to stare at him in surprise. Didn’t he just agree with everyone downstairs?“What do you mean by that, father? You just agreed with everyone downstairs that I should g
“This one looks beautiful, Elena!”Can you guess where I am right now? What a way to spend a peaceful Sunday.Currently swaddled in lace and silk, my mother and Mirabelle had kidnapped me so we could go hunting for a wedding dress. “Why can’t I just wear Eliana’s?” I had asked, and both of them looked like I had spat in their faces.Okay, then.So here I was, being a doll to my mother and Mirabelle. After trying on at least 10 more dresses, I started losing my temper.“Let me find my own dress, mother. Give me a few minutes,” I say in an exasperated tone to the surprise of the two ladies with me. If this was going to be my wedding, I might as well choose the damn dress since I didn’t get to choose the groom.I walk into the back section of London Bride Couture and sigh. This wasn’t how I pictured myself when I eventually had to choose a wedding dress. I thought I would be a lot happ
I spin around at the voice behind me and look straight into the eyes of Sebastian. Anger flared in his honey-coloured eyes as he took in the scene before him; Nicholas cupping my cheeks and my arms around his waist.I feel the anger radiating off Nicholas when he lets go of me and faces Sebastian, “We were just saying our goodbyes. There is no reason to be rude, Sebastian.” He says, meeting Sebastian’s angry stare.Wait, why the heck was he so angry, anyway?Stepping forward, I walk towards my supposed fiance and meet his gaze, “Nicholas was my intended before they forced me to marry you, Sebastian. I am saying goodbye to him, that is all.” I say to him and he peers down at me.“Irrelevant. I will not have another Eliana as my betrothed. You will go with me right this instant as we need to discuss a few things regarding our pending marriage.” He says and turns on his heel, “I don’t like to be kept wait
After fixing up my makeup, I leave the confines of my bedroom and walk downstairs. Might as well strike the iron while it’s hot. My mother’s words are still ringing in my ears as I descend the stairs. Could I be the wife to Sebastian as she was to my father?I spot Sebastian’s back and he turns around as soon as he hears the clicking of my heels. At this vantage point, I had to admit that he looked exceptionally handsome; raven hair that was a little long with a fringe that fell in his eyes. His facial hair was a medium stubble beard trimmed to perfection. Tall, yet broad and muscular. Think of Chris Evans.He looks up at me and an unfamiliar expression crosses his face when he takes in my stony expression. Was he going to try and intimidate or insult me again?I come to a stop in front of him, “Sebastian,” I say and he holds out his hand, palm up.“Walk with me, Elena. I think there are a few things we need to discuss,
1am - The morning of my wedding day.My mother and Mirabelle have been fussing over everything all week and it was driving me crazy. They had my walk-in closet cleaned out yesterday and they delivered my clothes to Sebastian’s villa in Kensington. My home from tomorrow.Heck, from today.I haven’t been able to sleep a wink because of nerves. Sebastian and I have been keeping our distance from one another since our kiss in his office, not that I mind! He threw me for a loop with that kiss, and I haven’t been able to think straight since it happened. At our rehearsal dinner, we were amiable, but as soon as it ended we went our separate ways. We barely made eye contact, and I think Sebastian was as awkward as I was.Rolling around under my covers, I sigh in frustration and decide to give up.The public had suspected something had happened, but the news outlets were too scared to report anything bad about the Dumonts. So now they were
A flutter at my bedroom door gets my attention, and I see Mirabelle saunter in with a beaming smile on her face. This makes me want to break down, and I felt light at the same time; everyone is expecting me to be okay with this, but I am not. I know this needed to be done, but yet again I am everyone’s second choice.“Elena, darling!” she exclaims, taking in my wedding attire with her eyes filling up with unshed tears. “You look beautiful, my dear. This dress altogether compliments your body well.”I genuinely smile at her compliment. Ever since I found out she preferred me to my sister, I have been seeing a different side to her. She certainly wanted me to be with Sebastian, but cared about my happiness as well and felt it lay with her son.In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Mirabelle and I spent a great deal of time together. She explained what they would demand of me as a Dumont wife and how the public would look upon me as Mr
I keep my eyes straight ahead as the oak doors swing open and gulp down a breath of anxiety. This was it, I was getting married to the arrogant CEO Sebastian Dumont and there was no turning back. My wedding procession had started, now it would be my turn to enter. The attendees stood up as my father and I appeared at the doorway and I felt myself flush; the cathedral was packed with people I did not know. These were obviously people invited when Eliana would have married Sebastian, people of noble blood and prominent in high society. “Don’t trip, Elena. Don’t trip.” I repeat over and over in my head, willing my self-confidence to come forward as we stride down the aisle. Keeping my head forward and feeling thankful for the veil covering my face, I see Sebastian waiting for me at the altar and my heart beats faster. Why did this man have to look so dashing in a classic charcoal grey three-piece Armani suit? His mouth was a thin