Chapter Three: Don’t Get Comfortable

“I don’t belong here,” Lily said to herself as she stood in the middle of the strangers watching. 

It did not feel like her wedding day at all, and she felt as though she was in the midst of sharks as she stared at the wealthy, powerful and influential guests, most of them flanking around Christopher, and totally ignoring her.

“Have you ever tasted such power and luxury?” 

Lily startled as she heard a familiar voice behind her. She turned and saw that it was Emily.

“No,” Lily shook her head and said.

“Then you should consider yourself lucky that we selected you to be Ashley’s replacement, because we both know that your job would never have gotten you anywhere close to this even in the next decade,” Emily told Lily.

“I never wanted this,” Lily reminded Emily. In fact, now that Lily had said her vows, she was even more scared and frightened than she had been when she was kidnapped.

“You do not have a choice, dear. Remember that you owe me five thousand dollars every week,” Emily reminded Lily.

Lily stared at the woman in shock. Yes, she had mentioned in while they were in Ashley’s bedroom, but Lily hadn’t taken much thought to it, because she just felt the woman was blabbing. 

“But you and your husband are already on Christopher’s payroll as a result of this marriage!” Lily said in horror. 

Emily grabbed Lily’s hand painfully in such a way that no one would notice what was going on between them, and besides, no one was even paying Lily much attention to even know that she was being assaulted right in the midst of her wedding reception.

Lily whimpered in pains.

“How dare you counter me?!” Emily was furious as hell. Her breath reeked of alcohol, making Lily almost want to throw off.

Lily was not an alcoholic at all. It was ironical, because she worked at a wine shop, but she had never tasted alcohol. To Lily, she had been keen on living a responsible and moderate lifestyle. 

“Do you want me to pay your brother a visit?” Emily asked threateningly. 

At the mention of Joe, Lily shook her head instantly. “No, please, leave him out of this. I will try as much as possible to get five thousand dollars from Christopher for you,” Lily begged.

Then Emily smiled and released Lily’s hand. “Good girl. You already have my personal account details. I don’t care how you intend to pull it off, but make sure you never default, otherwise, you would be hearing from me,” Emily said and sashayed away. Then she stopped, turned back to Lily and said, “And remember that this is our little secret, okay?”

Lily breathed heavily. She felt as though she would pass out at any moment. Don Grander was already demanding so much from her, that is being their inside snitch in Christopher’s life, which is something that Lily had never done before, and now this?

Lily’s head was beginning to pound. She hadn’t taken a single sip from the glass of wine since it was handed to her, and she was grateful that no one was paying her any mind. Lily then decided to go into the restroom to gather herself together after the episode with Emily.

As she walked past Christopher and his guests, she noticed a very beautiful, curvy and sophisticated woman beside Christopher. She had noticed her from the beginning of the wedding reception, and Lily did not fail to see how clingy she was to Christopher, and of course, how Christopher just indulged her.

“They must be lovers,” Lily said to herself as she proceeded to the restroom unnoticed, or so she thought. 

She scoffed when a slight pang of jealousy hit her. Christopher had a lover.

“Just great,” Lily mumbled to herself. “Not only am I in a fake marriage, I also have a cheating husband to deal with,” Lily grumbled.

As she entered one of the vacant restrooms, she heard two girls talking and giggling in the other bathroom.

“Christopher Bridger is so hot,” one of them said. “And he is filthy rich. Did you know that he was recently declared the wealthiest and most handsome young man in Mexico’s Newtime Magazine?” 

The other girl gaped in awe. Lily was also shocked. She honestly had no idea about the man she was marrying, and if Lily was a social media freak, maybe she would know popular details like these, but Lily did not even own any social media accounts.

“Ugh, Ashley is so lucky! Gosh, I would be if I woke up as Christopher Bridger’s wife. Damn, he is so hot, powerful and without a single drama or scandal,” the second girl cooed. 

“Yeah, Ashley is lucky, not you, Lily,” Lily said to herself pitifully. 

“And I am pretty sure their sex is going to be wild tonight,” the first girl said. Then she whispered conspiratorially, but the walls were thin enough for Lily to still hear, “I heard Ashley is a wild freak in bed,” she said to the second girl.

Lily’s heart thundered against her chest. She did not doubt the words of these girls, because judging from what she had known about Ashley Grander in the last couple of hours, she pretty much seemed like that sort of girl.

The problem now lies in Lily’s performance. Of course, Christopher would have expectations, and Lily was a pure virgin. 

“I am truly in a mess,” Lily groaned.

“Yeah, I would hit that ass of Christopher if I had the chance though,” the second girl said. They teased themselves and drooled over Lily’s husband, giggled and left the restroom.

Now, Lily had more than enough reason to linger in the restroom to gather herself together. Gradually, she was getting a grasp of her new reality, and Lily felt sick already. How was she supposed to live just like Ashley Grander? She already felt differently just looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Lily took a deep breath and stepped out of the restroom, but as she came out, she found the woman who had been clingy with Christopher all day waiting for her.

“Hi,” Lily said nervously. She did not know how to act around these people yet, and she certainly wasn’t expecting to have a conversation with anyone soon.

The woman’s eyes were filled with jealousy and so much hatred that it sent shivers down Lily’s spine.

“I am not going to waste any time here,” she said icily as she stepped closer to Lily. “I am only here to warn you, Ashley, that Christopher is mine, so don’t get comfortable in this marriage,” she said and walked away.

Lily grabbed the doorknob for support; she was horrified.