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The bargain
Jessica stared at the woman unsurely, but nodded politely, wondering if the name was supposed to mean anything to her. The name did not ring a bell, so she had no idea who the woman was, but she was not about to say that.
“Do you know who I am?” The woman, Charlotte as she called herself, asked.“No. No, I don’t ma’am.”“That’s okay. Now, I want you to know that I’ve decided that you’re leaving this place very soon. How do you feel about that?”“I’m very grateful to you, ma’am.”“You’re happy to leave then?” Charlotte asked, causing Jessica to pause. What sort of question was this? Was it a trick question? Since she did not know how to answer, she decided to go with the truth.“Yes, I am, ma’am.” Jessica’s heart was beating a mile a minute, but she hoped that this woman was really telling the truth. She would do literally anything, whatever it took to get out of here and see her dear Sebastian one more time. It was the thought of him that had kept her going all theRelated chapters
The Substitute Bride Saga The revelation
“No, ma’am. I can’t say that I do.” Jessica said, lifting her chin in defiance, but she was unable to control the small tremor that shook her bony frame. How on earth did this woman know about it?“It wouldn’t have to do with the fact that you were shagging a man who was old enough to be your father while dating Sebastian all because you wanted quick cash and the man promised you heaven and earth until James got wind of what you were doing?”At this, Jessica’s eyes filled with tears and she averted her gaze from that of Charlotte.“Are you going to tell him then? Is that how you plan to hurt him?”“No, of course not. I am no tattletale. Sebastian has done no wrong to me so I have no wish to hurt him at all. It is the uncle I’m after. Besides, who am I to judge you? We’ve all done things we’re not proud of at one time or the other. In your case, I know you needed the man to break you into the modeling world and that was why you did what you did. That’s a noble reason if y
The Substitute Bride Saga Victoria's 'reappearance'
The weeks passed in pretty much the same fashion, with Carol’s daily routine being sleeping and eating. However, this time around, Carol saw even less of her supposed husband than she had seen before. Sebastian went out before she woke up and most of the time, came back after she had gone to bed. Even on days when he came back before she went to bed, he greeted her as though they were strangers before disappearing into his study, not to be seen again till the next time she happened to come across him.As for Carol, she spent her days sitting in her room and painting. Painting was one of her greatest passions and now that she had more than enough time on her hands to spare, she sought out a shop where art materials were sold and bought numerous art supplies from the money Sebastian had given her. She still hadn’t bothered herself to read the contract or find out what it was about, as she did not care the least about it. After all, her so-called husband did his best to avoid her in
The Substitute Bride Saga The mother from hell
Carol sat in shocked silence for some time after her sister cut the call, wondering what on earth her offense was. So she was now the evil one for deciding to bail their family from those evil people? She knew exactly what was wrong with her sister. Victoria had found out that the marriage was nothing like she had thought it would be and that Carol was not suffering like everybody had assumed she would. So she was jealous and angry, preferring to think that Carol had purposely ‘stolen’ her spot.“What sort of sister and even family do I have for crying out loud?” Carol asked herself. Already, the call had spoilt her mood and she was feeling agitated and saddened. All she had felt was genuine concern for her sister, but Victoria obviously did not give a damn and preferred to think the worst of her sister. She was even threatening Carol, for crying out loud. Deciding to let her parents know that her sister had finally reached out if "reach out" was the proper term for the conversat
The Substitute Bride Saga Mr. James comes visiting
There was no way to pretend that she had not been crying so Carol did not even bother to do so. She sniffed, wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks, and then smiled shakily at him.“Good afternoon, Mr. James. What on earth are you doing here? I didn’t know that you were coming here. It’s a pleasure to see you.” Carol said, trying to hate the man, but finding that she could not really summon the energy to do so. It wasn’t his fault that her father had a gambling problem.“I can’t say the same about you, my dear.”“Huh?”“I surely did not expect to see you crying. What on earth is the problem? Is my dear nephew not treating you well?”“Oh no. It’s not that. Sebastian’s nice.”“So what then is the problem?” He asked, gesturing at her to make room for him on the bench on which she sat. Carol quickly did so, wishing she could get away. What on earth did she have to say with Mr. James? She barely had anything to say to Sebastian, whom she lived with as it was.“It’s
The Substitute Bride Saga The quiz
Besides, what was her coming into Sebastian’s life supposed to do for him or for her, exactly. Well, she supposed that it benefitted her family immensely, but she did not see the exact good that it was doing for Sebastian or his family. The man could barely stand her as it was, not that she cared in the least bit, but from what she could deduce from what the uncle was saying, she should be caring. Anyway, it wasn’t her fault that his fiancée decided to abscond.“Does he seem happier than he was before?” Mr. James asked her, finishing off the last spoon of food before him and sighing in satisfaction. The man was a ravenous eater.“Well, I certainly did not know him before, so I cannot say whether he is happier or not, Mr. James.”“I know that, but I mean that does he seem happier than when you newly got married? You’ve been married to him for a little over a month now. I daresay that you should be able to note certain differences in the man.” Mr. James said, with
The Substitute Bride Saga The marriage contract
The copy of the contract which her mother had sent over to her after the marriage along with some important documents that her mother had taken from Carol’s former house was kept in a big envelope in a drawer of a table in Carol’s room. After taking her bath, wearing her nightie, and doing a few other things, she brought out the envelope, sat on the bed, and removed the contract from it. All this while, she had put off reading it because she was not sure that she wanted to know what was inside it, but now, she needed to know. At first glance, the contract was just a bunch of legal jargon which Carol did not understand, neither was she willing to go through the trouble of deciphering what they meant. She was wondering whether to call her mother to explain it for her when she happened to come across the part of it that stated what was expected of her.
The Substitute Bride Saga Explaining the contract and conditions
“Which part of it don’t you understand, my dear?” He asked, a carefully blank expression on his face as the smile disappeared from it as though it had never been there.“I thought you paid off my dad’s debt.” She began, color flooding her face at even having to broach such a topic. It was an embarrassing subject, to say the least. This man did not owe her dad or family anything, as they were solely responsible for their actions, but then, he was the one who had come to her family to offer his help.“I did…to an extent. The remaining part depends on you and your ability to fulfill my demands. Since you’ve read the contract now, you know what it requires of you, and since we are on the subject, I would like to clarify some things. First of all, my nephew has not seen the contract, neither does he have any wish to see it, as he says he does not care what my dealings with your family are. He only knows what I’ve told him about it. He is quite nonchalant about the whole thing. In f
The Substitute Bride Saga A horrific revelation
The next morning, which was a Sunday morning, Carol woke up late, and by the time that she got downstairs, Mr. James and Sebastian were just settling down to breakfast. Carol was surprised to see that Sebastian was still around, but did not show her surprise. She greeted both men, who answered her greeting cordially and then settled down to dinner. They were all silent for a while as everyone ate their food. Surprisingly, Sebastian finished his food first. Mr. James did not seem to be very hungry this morning and only picked at his food.“I’ll be going back home today.” Mr. James announced to the table at large.“Oh so soon? We had thought that you will stay with us for some time.” Carol lied, playing the perfect wife to her adopted father-in-law. In truth, she could not wait for the man to leave. He seemed to be monitoring her every move and with him out of the way she would be able to breathe.“Yes, my dear. I only came to do something in town briefly yesterday and now that it is don
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