Chapter 2 Be A Substitute For Bella

CALISTA’S POV.

I’m sorry, did I hear correctly? I am supposed to give my virginity to a random person all in the name of saving Bella, who has never done me any good favors, an arranged Marriage? What in the world was this selfishness in this family?

"Calista, you know how much we need to be married into the family of the Ferdinands. Your sister is no longer a virgin and that can be disadvantageous to us. Please for the sake of the fact that we took you in and fed you and housed you when your parents abandoned you, do this for us.” Mother said and I closed my eyes. They always did this whenever they had ridiculous favors to ask. I opened my eyes and looked at Mother.

“I really don’t have a choice, do I? I will get ready.” I said and walked away from the living room without saying anything or waiting to hear what they had to say. I bit back the tears that were threatening to fall. Big girls don’t cry, Calista. Someday, this sacrifice you are about to make will be rewarded. It's okay, don’t cry. I told myself as I walked to the backyard where the maid's quarters were. I changed my clothes and packed my hair in a ponytail and crumpled on my bed. I decided to get some sleep before anything else.

“Calista!” A loud voice screaming my name jerked me up from my sleep.

“Shit,” I mumbled as I checked the time on the clock. I had been sleeping for close to four hours. It definitely was Mother that yelled my name from behind the door. I rushed to the door and opened it.

Riel, another Maid that resided in the house with us, stood at the door.

“Yes, Riel?” I answered.

“Mrs. Flora asks that you join them at the table for Dinner.” She said and I raised my eyebrow.

“Are there visitors in the house?” I asked, wanting to be sure because Mother had never asked me to sit and have dinner with the family, except we had visitors and they were having lunch or dinner with us.

“Nobody. She says you need to have dinner so that you would be taken care of for the meeting.” She said and with that, she walked away. I followed behind her after locking my room door. I entered the main house through the back door and saw Mother, Father, and Bella sitting at the table. I sat at the table without saying a word and Father grunted and said grace.

We started to eat in silence, then Mother reached and put an extra chicken in my food. I looked at her with shock in my eyes, and I noticed for the first time that she was smiling warmly at me. I said nothing and finished eating my food. I stood up and started to walk away when Mother called me back.

”Have a seat, Calista.” She said and I sat, still without uttering a word. “This is a huge sacrifice you are about to make for our family, and I am grateful for that. I promise that we would make it up to you by finding you a suitable suitor that would marry you even with your uncleanliness.”

She said and I nodded still not saying anything. Mother then clapped her hands and someone who looked like a stylist came out. “Ensure to make her look irresistible and seductive enough, but at the same time innocent.” Mother said to the stylist and with that, the stylist led me to a room. I just have this nasty nagging feeling that I would be regretting my decision very soon.

“You look extremely beautiful, my dear.” The stylist said finally, after some hours of powdering and arranging and rearranging. I smiled hastily and looked in the mirror. I looked beautiful indeed, and this was the first time I was getting intense pampering. Mother ensured I used the most expensive skin care products and I had a spa massage. I had my bath with scented water and Rose petals and my white skin returned back to its natural shine. The maids in charge then rubbed some oils on my body and that made my body gloss.

After wearing a cloak and waiting for the lotion to dry,  The stylist started to do some things with my hair. Nothing much was done, as my hair still maintained a very beautiful shine to it. With that, she simply applied some oils and brushed out, and made my curls a lot more pronounced. Then she proceeded to do a slight make-up for me. I walked into the living room where Mother, Father, and Bella sat and they stared at me for some minutes.

“Great. Now she looks even prettier.” Bella grumbled and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“Perfect. Now you do not look like the slave girl that you are, you look like a celebrity. Who knew you had great hair and great looks.” Mother said and I bent my head down. I mumbled a thank you, and Bella stood up and passed me a dress.

“Here. Go change into that.” She said and I entered the room that I had just come out from. It was a white lace, but fitted dress and lord knows that I wasn’t going to feel comfortable with that at all, but I was already too deep in this to complain. I wore it and wore the pair of earrings and shoes that came with it. I looked at myself in the mirror and I felt extremely beautiful.

I had never looked as pretty as this, not once, not even on my birthday. I walked out of the room and once again I stood in front of Mother, Father, and Bella.

”Perfect. You look perfect. I have one more thing for you.” Mother said and handed me a black hooded cloak and a face mask.

“Here. For no reason should you take this off. And if by any chance you take it off, you have to leave the lights off. Whoever it is, Nobody must know that you are not Bella. Do you understand?” Mother said as she wore the Cloak on me. I nodded and she smiled. “This must go well, Calista. You cannot afford to mess it up. Do you understand?” She asked again.

“Yes, Mother,” I answered and she smiled. Then she turned to look at father.

“Do we have the location yet?” She asked and he nodded. “Alright. Go ahead. We will be expecting you by tomorrow. Remember, Nobody must know that you are not Bella. For tonight, You are Isabella Walters. And ensure that everybody knows that. This must not go wrong.” Mother said and with that, I walked out of the house.

As I walked to the car, I felt my hand being grabbed and I looked at who it was that grabbed me.

"Here you go,” Bella said and handed me a bag. “It's brand new lingerie and exotic perfume."