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A happy ending
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Carol.” It was just one word, but that one word was enough to break the stupor she had been in as soon as she saw him.
“Sebastian.” She said in turn, standing up to go bring another chair for him to sit down, but in essence, she was trying to buy herself some time to get her breathing under control. He looked so good and smelled so nice that it was all she could do not to throw herself straight into his arms and breathe in his essence as though her very life depended on it. She saw Sebastian’s eyes widen at the small bump under her loose gown, and her hand went to hold it selfconsciously.“It’s growing.” She told him needlessly and then slammed her mouth shut. She sort of felt nervous being in Sebastian’s presence and wished that she had worn a more flattering dress than the one that she had on now, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Sebastian collected the chair from her and brought it over to place it i
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The Substitute Bride Saga Booting out the enemy
The weeks after Sebastian came to plead with Carol to come back into his life were the sweetest ones of Carol’s life. She had thought that Sebastian was attentive and sweet to her before, but now, she knew that that was an understatement. He treated her like a fragile egg that could break at any time, and Carol was happily soaking up all the attention and affection. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he just seemed to throw money around, but was more than grateful and touched, when he bought two flashy cars and a huge mansion not too far from them for her father, whom she could tell was very lonely.“I know that you’ll love to be close to your grandchild once he’s born." Sebastian had said as though it was nothing, waving away Donald’s thanks when the latter had broken down in tears, telling him that he did not deserve it. Now, Carol could easily hang out with her father anytime she wanted, and she was so happy about it.Sebastian didn’t work as hard as he did before any longer,
The Substitute Bride Saga Happily ever after
The sun was shining brightly this morning, and Carol was in lively spirits. It was her vow renewal day. She and Sebastian had opted to just renew their vows, and this time, make them with more meaning. Her joy knew no bounds, and her face radiated with it, as Mrs. James noted with pleasure. “You look very happy, my dear.” Mrs. James stated, cradling a three-month-old baby James in her arms, her face taking on the radiant look that many-a-grandmother had when they had the pleasure of holding their grandkids. “I can say the same about you, aunty. You’re really glowing.” Carol complimented in turn, taking care not to ruin the work of the lady who was doing her makeup. “I know, right? Baby James here has brought such sparkle into our lives. I’m more than thankful that I live close to you guys. I will be able to see as much of this handsome little face as I want.” Mrs. James said, looking down at the baby she carried in her arms. He stared back at her and babbled some meaningless baby wo
The Substitute Bride Saga PROLOGUE
Carol stood in front of the mirror in the room that she and her sister shared, preening and admiring herself. She turned this way and then that way, craning her head as far as it would go to see if her butt looked as big as she hoped. Her sister was sitting on their queen size mattress and looking at her with what looked like disdain. She shook her head, sighed, and got up to come and stand beside Carol, fluffing her hair and pouting in the mirror while using her considerably bigger body to push Carol to the side. “Hey! Why’d you do that?” Carol bristled, quickly grabbing and holding on to the edge of the dresser to steady herself. “I did that because I was saving you from wasting your time. What on earth are you checking out? You look like a fly.” Victoria replied, dragging her hands down her body to show her sister that she wa
The Substitute Bride Saga Wake up call
A persistent ringing sound woke Carol up from her deep sleep, and she groaned pitifully, blindly grabbing the spare pillow on her bed and covering her head with it in the hope that it would block the sound from disturbing her. She had slept very late last night and needed to get as much sleep as she could get before her alarm went off at six. The pillow succeeded in blocking out most of the sound, and Carol was about drifting off to sleep when her other phone started ringing too, and this one was right beside her on the bed. To make matters worse, this one’s volume was much louder than the other one’s own so she could not ignore it, even if she wanted to. “Who the fuck calls someone at 2 in the morning for chrissakes?”She wondered angrily to herself as she sat up, but in her heart, she already knew who it was. She never got calls by this
The Substitute Bride Saga The unwanted intervention
By the time it was noon that day, Carol was dead tired and totally swamped with work, so much that she could not even afford to take a lunch break. To worsen situations, the bakery where she worked was unusually busy today, with customers streaming in and out and hardly giving the workers any breathing space. Deciding that she was going to take a break even if it was for five minutes to gobble something down, considering that she had not had anything to eat that morning, she quickly headed out of the restaurant. No sooner had she stepped out of the restaurant than she sighted Victoria, armed with both their parents and heading towards her.Carol sent a short prayer of thanks upwards that she had decided to step out of the restaurant when she did, otherwise they would have made a scene right in there in front of the customers and everyone else. Her sister was wearing a smug grin while her parents wore the somber and disappointed look that she had come to know so well.“If you’r
The Substitute Bride Saga Heading home
“I’m not going to go anywhere. I have work to do and I’m going to go back in there. You’re all going to leave now and go back to wherever you’re staying. You can’t just spring something like this on me and expect me to drop everything I’m doing to go shopping with you. I’ll take Friday off so that I can be home for the wedding on Saturday, but as for anything other than that, please count me out.” Carol said, and walked back into the restaurant, praying inwardly that they would not follow her and leaving them gaping at her in something akin to shock. It wasn’t every day that she was bold enough to stand up to them, but she had to admit that it was extremely satisfying to do so. “You’re such an ingrate and a terrible sister!” Belinda shouted after her daughter, before flouncing off in anger, with her other daughter and husband in tow.
The Substitute Bride Saga Advising Victoria
“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 ridicul
The Substitute Bride Saga Victoria's first disappearance
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
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The sun was shining brightly this morning, and Carol was in lively spirits. It was her vow renewal day. She and Sebastian had opted to just renew their vows, and this time, make them with more meaning. Her joy knew no bounds, and her face radiated with it, as Mrs. James noted with pleasure. “You look very happy, my dear.” Mrs. James stated, cradling a three-month-old baby James in her arms, her face taking on the radiant look that many-a-grandmother had when they had the pleasure of holding their grandkids. “I can say the same about you, aunty. You’re really glowing.” Carol complimented in turn, taking care not to ruin the work of the lady who was doing her makeup. “I know, right? Baby James here has brought such sparkle into our lives. I’m more than thankful that I live close to you guys. I will be able to see as much of this handsome little face as I want.” Mrs. James said, looking down at the baby she carried in her arms. He stared back at her and babbled some meaningless baby wo
The Substitute Bride Saga Booting out the enemy
The weeks after Sebastian came to plead with Carol to come back into his life were the sweetest ones of Carol’s life. She had thought that Sebastian was attentive and sweet to her before, but now, she knew that that was an understatement. He treated her like a fragile egg that could break at any time, and Carol was happily soaking up all the attention and affection. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he just seemed to throw money around, but was more than grateful and touched, when he bought two flashy cars and a huge mansion not too far from them for her father, whom she could tell was very lonely.“I know that you’ll love to be close to your grandchild once he’s born." Sebastian had said as though it was nothing, waving away Donald’s thanks when the latter had broken down in tears, telling him that he did not deserve it. Now, Carol could easily hang out with her father anytime she wanted, and she was so happy about it.Sebastian didn’t work as hard as he did before any longer,
The Substitute Bride Saga A happy ending
“Carol.” It was just one word, but that one word was enough to break the stupor she had been in as soon as she saw him.“Sebastian.” She said in turn, standing up to go bring another chair for him to sit down, but in essence, she was trying to buy herself some time to get her breathing under control. He looked so good and smelled so nice that it was all she could do not to throw herself straight into his arms and breathe in his essence as though her very life depended on it. She saw Sebastian’s eyes widen at the small bump under her loose gown, and her hand went to hold it selfconsciously.“It’s growing.” She told him needlessly and then slammed her mouth shut. She sort of felt nervous being in Sebastian’s presence and wished that she had worn a more flattering dress than the one that she had on now, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Sebastian collected the chair from her and brought it over to place it i
The Substitute Bride Saga Meeting at last
It was a warm, sunny, and bright day, but it was also a slow one. Carol sat in the tiny bookshop in which she had gotten a job the very day she got here, waiting for customers to come in and fighting sleep. She was the only one in the shop, as the owner had dashed off to prepare for her birthday party, leaving Carol all alone in the shop.“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to handle it. Price tags are on every book, so you don’t need to worry about not knowing the prices. If you need anything, my number is pasted on the wall over there, so you can call me. Bye now.” The middle-aged woman had said, sailing out the door before Carol could even say anything else, so here she was, bored beyond measure and counting the seconds as the time ticked slowly by. She had managed to sell two books, but it seemed that the shop did not get any customers, because, for the remainder of the time, she just sat there alone, staring into space … and missing Sebastian,
The Substitute Bride Saga The search
Sebastian fought the urge to retch as he observed his surroundings and the woman in front of him. If this was where Carol was staying, then he would drag her home with him today, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming. He would not have her stay with this woman who did not like her and was clearly very irresponsible.“Hello, Belinda. Sorry to disturb you, but we’re looking for Carol. Is she here?” Mrs. James asked.“How the fuck am I supposed to know where she is, huh? Anyway, what is it to you? Is the contract not supposed to be over? Why are you still looking for her?” Belinda asked suspiciously, and he could see that she was also high on drugs.“Well, um, we had a little altercation, and I haven’t seen her since then, so I was wondering if she was here. Do you perchance, have her number? Her dad is also not answering his calls.”“Look, I don’t have any business
The Substitute Bride Saga Finding Carol
It was raining cats and dogs once again, exactly as it had been raining on that fateful day when Carol had left him till now. Sebastian was sitting in his aunt’s house, sipping a mug of hot coffee and ignoring everything that she was currently saying. He looked like a shadow of himself, which was not a surprise, considering the fact that most times, all he did was drink and have to deal with a nagging Jessica, who was still in his house, even though he had taken her name off the deed to the house. Because of her, he was hardly ever in his house again, but preferred to stay here at his aunt’s for a better part of the time he was not working himself to death … literally. “Are you even listening to anything I’m saying, Sebastian?” Mrs. James asked, shaking him a little to get his attention.“No, aunt. I can’t say that I am. I’m sorry, but I think I zoned out a little there. What were you saying?” He asked finally. Mrs. James shook her head, reminding him of when he was still a recalcitra
The Substitute Bride Saga The threat
“Wh…what does he mean by this?” Donald asked at last, after scanning the text message. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Carol replied, rubbing at her face, hardly able to believe the level to which Sebastian was willing to stoop to be cruel to her. If he thought that she was going to just lay low, act like a sheep and allow him to ride all over her, then he had another thing coming. She just couldn’t get the image of that text out of her head. Good morning, Donald. How are you doing? So, have you heard from your daughter yet? I just wanted to let you know that she’s with something of mine. Something invaluable. I don’t know if she told you about it or not, but she’s pregnant with my child and according to the contract that she signed, if such a thing were to happen, then I’ll have full custody of the child. Tell her to come out of wherever
The Substitute Bride Saga Crippling loneliness
“I don’t think that what you are doing makes any sense at all, Carol,” Donald said worriedly, looking at his daughter, who averted her gaze and tried in vain to stop the tears welling up in her expressive blue eyes.“Why do you say that, dad?” Carol asked him, wiping away her tears.“Well, maybe because you’re pregnant and you choose to slave away at doing a regular job instead of taking proper care of yourself.”“A lot of pregnant women work at regular jobs, dad.”“I know that, but not a lot of them have huge lumps of money lying in their bank accounts untouched while they look malnourished. Why are you punishing yourself this way, my dear? I mean, it’s only been one month since you left Sebastian. In that one month, you’ve become almost as thin as that girl Jessica., whom we do not like at all.”At this, Carol burst out laughing despite herself. Her father was acting like a
The Substitute Bride Saga Nowhere to be found
It was with a growing sense of urgency that Sebastian drove away from the hospital, Jessica's insults and curses trailing after him until he could no longer hear them. It was a sad thing indeed that she was now the way she was, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He had offered to help her, but she kept turning down his help at every turn, so there was nothing he could do for her anymore. He could not do the very thing that she wanted, which was to be with her, as he did not love her anymore. He stopped by a flower shop on his way back to the house to get some flowers for Carol, knowing that women loved things like that. Hopefully, she would forgive him, and even if she did not, he would keep trying until she did. He still did not know how she managed to wind up pregnant, if she was taking her pills like she had claimed, but he knew that sometimes, those things were not foolproof, especially if the lady who was taking them fell sick during the period. He remembered that C
