“I kid you not.” She was saying as Carol came into the room. “He’s so generous. I mean, just look at this pendant. He got it for me, he did…or rather, his father did. That man is sooooo generous. Supposing I was still single, I wouldn’t have wasted any second getting into his bed.” She confided in a whisper to her enraptured audience of about seven women, but Carol heard her.
”Mom!”“Oh dear, there you are. Now, do hurry to your sister’s room if you do have any plans of still being her chief bridesmaid. You must be careful though, I must say she is in such a mood and we do not want to upset her further. Wedding jitters, I suppose, although why she should be having wedding jitters or second thoughts when she’s getting to such a fine man as he to be her husband is beyond me.”“Um, mum. Do you even know the name of the man your beloved daughter is getting married to?” Carol asked in shock and watched as her mother’s cheek turned bright pink in embarrassment.“What a ridiculous question. Of course, I do. What sort of mother do you think I am?” Belinda asked, glaring at her first daughter. Carol noticed that she did not bother to say the name.“Well, I don’t know his name or anything about him and Victoria is marrying him tomorrow. It’s just weird, that’s all.”“Leave this place this instant! You should count yourself lucky that your sister wants you in her wedding at all and stop making such a fuss.” Belinda said and turned her back on Carol to continue talking to her friends.Carol shook her head and walked around, searching for her father, but could not find him anywhere. He was the only one in her family that she could really relate to, although that was when her mother was not around. Whenever her mother was around, he usually acted like a little boy who had to follow her every wish. It was irritating, to say the least.Since she could not find her father anywhere, she climbed the stairs slowly and reluctantly to go to her sister’s room. If her mother said Victoria was in a mood, then the situation was terrible and she was in n0 mood to deal with such, but she had no choice. Once she was at the door, she knocked gently and listened for a response, but did not get any. She knocked louder, but there was still no response from inside the room.“Victoria?” Carol called out and then tried to turn the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened, so she stepped inside the room cautiously. It was somewhat dark as Victoria had pulled down her blinds, but Carol could see the outline of her body on the bed where she was laying. She turned on the light in the room, but still, Victoria did not budge from where she was lying. Carol sighed, knowing how dramatic her sister could be, and went to sit on the bed beside her.“So are you going to say you didn’t hear me knocking on the door?” She asked and got only a quiet sniffle for her inquiry.“Hey. What’s wrong?” Victoria sat up and wiped at her face. It was obvious and somewhat surprising that she had been crying for a long time. When her mother had said tantrums, Carol had expected to see her sister flinging things around the room in a rage as she was wont to do anytime she got angry.“So are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” Carol asked after her sister only sat there and stared at the wall with tears running down her face for a good five minutes after she first asked the question.“I…”“Yes?”“I don’t want to marry him.”“Why don’t you want to marry him? I thought you were in love with him.” Victoria did not answer so Carol had to try again.“I…I don’t really know. Mom just said I had to, that he was very rich and was going to make a wonderful husband, and that she wants me to be happy.”“Hmmm. So are you saying that you do not know him? I thought you said you both met two weeks ago and that he is very handsome.”“I lied. I don’t have any idea what he even looks like.” Victoria said, glancing away in embarrassment. There was something else on her face that told Carol that she was hiding something, but she did not know what on earth it was.“So why on earth did you agree to marry him? Who still does that in this age and time when it is not as though we are still in the Stone Age? I’m not going to ask why I was not informed about this because first of all, I’m hardly involved in anything concerning this family, and mum also knows that I’d never have agreed to this.”“I don’t know. He’s a billionaire and he’s handsome, at least from the pictures I’ve seen. What more should a girl want from a man?” Victoria asked, regaining her composure and tossing her hair.“A total stranger?”
“Don’t come spitting your sanctimonious and self-righteous crap at me. You’re just jealous, that’s all. Besides, he’s not a total stranger. We’ve talked on the phone before and he was very nice.” Victoria said, every trace that she had been crying just minutes ago gone, including her tears.“Okay, I’m out. I’ll be in my old room, and I’ll be at your wedding tomorrow, but what I would not do is sit here and have you talk to me like crap.” Carol informed her sister, standing up from the bed and proceeding to walk out.“Wait!” Victoria called out after her. “Please come back. I’m sorry for saying that. It’s just that I feel so miserable. All my horrible friends refused to come down for the wedding. I’ll pay them back, mind you. Fake lots, all of them!” She screeched and burst into tears again. “Well, I can’t exactly say that I blame them. The world does not revolve around you like mom and dad have made you believe, you know. Plus your attitude kinda sucks. When did you inform them about the wedding?”“Um, three days ago,” Victoria replied sheepishly and Carol shook her head.“Anyway, you can do it without them, I guess. There’s me and a bunch of other old ladies who are mom’s friends. By the way, that reminds me, I bought a dress for my chief bridesmaid duties. Here, let me show it to you.” Carol said and brought out the dress for her sister to examine.“Eeew!” Victoria exclaimed, wrinkling her dainty nose at the dress before standing up to go to her wardrobe. She held out a super expensive-looking pink dress that was studded with gemstones for her sister to examine. “Sebastian bought it and the wedding dress for me to wear. He also bought me so many other things, or rather, his dad did. Oh, he’s coming by this evening, so get ready to meet him and be wowed.” “Well, your mood sure changes fast,” Carol commented drily. Just minutes ago, you were crying because you did not want to marry him, and now, you’re gushing about all the things he got for you.”“Yeah. I guess I have you to thank for that. I was just feeling lonely and sad about how alone I was, what with those traitors I call friends. Besides, I was wondering what I was doing entering into a marriage in which I am not in love with and barely know my husband to be, but I’ve thought about it and I now realize that love will come later. The best thing is that I’m well taken care of, and that’s all that matters.” Victoria said, but something in her voice told Carol that all this was false bravado.“You can still call off the wedding, you know. It’s not too late. Personally, I think that love is very important for any marriage to work.”“Call off my wedding to a billionaire and risk being the subject of ridicule everywhere? I think not.”“Victoria, no one cares whether you’re married or not.”“My friends all know I’m getting married to a super-rich guy. I guess that is why they’re jealous and do not want to come to the wedding. Not to talk of how embarrassing it would be for mom and dad after they have invited practically everyone they know. Anyway, why are you so particular about me quitting the wedding? How on earth is it any of your business? Damn, I knew that many people would be jealous, but I did not think that my sister would be one of them.”“You’re right. I’m sorry. So can I see the wedding dress?”“Sure, you may,” Victoria replied and then went to the wardrobe again to bring out the wedding dress. Carol ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ over it as any good sister should, even though she did not for the life of her understand why anyone would want to get married to someone they had not yet met in real life."Anyway, I hardly slept last night as I had to work late to cover up for my absence this weekend. So, I'm going to go to my room to get some shut-eye."
"Uh-huh. Later."
Once she was in her old room, Carol sank gratefully into her bed and sighed. Maybe it would all work out for her sister. Different strokes for different folks and all that. Victoria was a spoilt brat and a confirmed pain in the ass, but she was her sister and Carol loved her in her own way, even though she could be incredibly self-centered. If it didn't work out well, her sister could always leave the marriage. With this thought on her mind, Carol closed her eyes and within a few minutes, she fell soundly asleep.
It only felt like minutes later when Carol heard an insistent knock at her door that permeated her sleep. Groaning, she turned, stretched while still laying in her queen sized bed and then sat up and looked around in a disoriented manner. It was dark outside from what she could see, so that meant that she had slept for hours. The knock at the door became more insistent as the seconds rolled by and then she heard her mother yell out her name and rap out a series of further knocks. “I’m coming.” Carol yelled out in reply and hurried to get off the bed and open the door before her mother broke it down with her insistent knocking and the way she was banging on it. “What is it mum?” Carol asked, rubbing at her eyes as she stood there in her pink shorts and white singlet. Her mother gaped at her for a few seconds and then screeched. “Why are you dressed like that?” “Dressed like what?” “The way you’re dressed! The guests are already here and you’re
"Um, I'm sorry everyone, but may I have your attention please?" Once everyone was quiet, Belinda continued, hardly able to hide the tremor or uncertainty in her voice. "I'm sorry, but we would have to have dinner without my daughter, Victoria. I'm afraid that she's indisposed at the moment, but is recuperating. She's asleep now and we do not want to wake her up so that she will be well-rested for the wedding tomorrow.""Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish her a speedy recovery." A middle-aged woman said, placing her hand above her chest dramatically. The other people around the table muttered their condolences and wished Victoria well, asking her to give Victoria their best wishes. Carol noticed one man in particular who looked to be in his sixties and was sitting next to Sebastian who was seated across from her. At Belinda's announcement, the man's eyes narrowed, but he did not say anything. He didn't offer any condolences as the others did, but took up his cutlery and began t
Victoria tossed her head, not showing any concern that they had apparently heard a good part of what she said. As far as she was concerned, that was their goddamn problem. “Victoria, my dear. You sure have grown into a fine young woman.” Mr. James said, coming over to give her a hug and peck where she was standing. Victoria received them rigidly, her posture giving off ‘I don’t know you vibes.’ “Now, I know you may not remember me, but I used to be your father’s best friend.” Mr. James continued. “Yes, yes. We are best friends, honey.” Their father put in, a tad too eagerly. Mr. James put up one finger to silence him and he snapped his mouth shut as though someone had used a remote button to control him. Carol watched in surprise, wondering what kind of hold this man had over her family th
Even before she got downstairs, Carol could hear the strong voice of Mr. James raised in utter displeasure. She could not hear what her parents were saying, but even without hearing them, she knew that they were trying to pacify him. It seemed they succeeded in doing that because he stopped shouting. Carol hurried toward the study and put her ear to the door, trying to hear what they were saying inside the room.“We can postpone the wedding though. We’ll find and convince her. I’m sure of it. All this is just cold feet, which is not a surprise considering the circumstances. Once she calms down, she’ll see reason.” Carol heard her mother say.“I don’t have the time or the patience for that. It was difficult enough convincing Sebastian to agree to this in the first place. He’ll gladly back out of the whole thing if he finds out that his bride has absconded. Are you absolutely sure that your daughter has run away?”“Yes. She left a note for us.”“Well, in that case, I’m afraid that there
The drive to the church was a tense one that seemed longer than usual. Carol sat stiffly in the backseat with her mother, while her father sat in the front seat beside their remaining driver. They had had to send the other two drivers away more than four months back. It was now everything made sense to Carol. Her parents were in serious debt. Looking at them, however, especially her mother, one would never guess. She was always clad in the latest, most expensive, and most fashionable clothes there were. It did not bode down well at all with Carol that they had to resort to using her as a sort of payment for their debt, but she could not let those bastards kill her uncle for something that he did not know about. Besides, she had no doubt that they would follow through on their threat to kill off the rest of their family. She only hoped that Mr. James would keep to his word and would help pay off her dad’s debt.
“You do have a way with words, don’t you?” He asked, in what sounded suspiciously like a mocking tone. “I’m sorry.” “You don’t have to be. My uncle is an asshole, even though I do love him. So why on earth are you married to me instead of your sister?” “Um, well. She…she ran… I mean, we can’t find her. We don’t know where she is.” Carol said, hating herself for the way her voice sounded so high and squeaky and the way she stammered. Sebastian wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, he was busy on his phone as he talked to her. What if he looked at her? She would no doubt curl up into a ball and die. “I can’t say that I blame her. I had the urge to do the same thing too.” Sebastian said in a sardonic voice. He did not seem to be particularly concerned, pained, or offended. Now that they were alone, a sudden thought that made her suddenly sit up ramrod straight sprung up in Carol's mind. Sex! What about sex? They were married for crying out loud. D
The car took Sebastian and Carol straight to the airport. The drive there was a quiet one, with both of them lost in their thoughts. Carol did not speak because she was tired and just wanted the day to be over, while Sebastian really did not know what to say to her. In a way, he felt sorry for her and could not imagine how she must be feeling right now. It was clear that she was the pushover of the family if she let them prevail upon her to marry a stranger in the space of some hours. He could not say he had been exactly shocked to see her walk down the aisle instead of her sister as he had sort of expected the stunt that the sister pulled this morning.Sebastian wondered what sort of hold his uncle had on her parents to make her consent to this, but he did not really care as it was actually none of his business. He would never understand what his dear uncle stood to benefit from his marriage to any of his friend’s daughters, but that was his uncle’s business, not his. All that m
“Gloria will show you to your room. I have to work. See you in the evening.” Sebastian said, and walked away to another part of the house, leaving her standing alone like a lost sheep. Carol sank into one of the comfortable armchairs in the large living room, feeling sorry for herself. It was clear that Sebastian did not want her here. The television in the room was off, and since she did not have anything to do, Carol was about to stand up to pick up the remote from the table and turn it on when a maid, from the looks of her, walked into the room.“Welcome, mistress.” The woman said, curtseying. “I’ll take you to your room so that you can rest, have a bath, and have a change of clothes.”“That would be nice, thank you. I’m tired and really need to get out of these clothes. By the way, it’s Carol and not Mistress.”Gloria, who looked to be about fifteen years older than Carol looked at her as though she was crazy and led the way up a grand staircase to a big and airy bedroo