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Mr. James comes visiting
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2024-10-29 19:42:56There 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’sRelated chapters
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
The Substitute Bride Saga The plan
There was a pregnant silence between Sebastian and Carol as they walked side by side back to the house. Carol did not know what to say or how to broach the topic of what she had seen with Sebastian. After all, he yelled at her for trying to talk about matters that were not this delicate, so she could just imagine if she started to talk about this one. A sudden thought came to her. What if she was mistaken and he did not notice or know that something was going on with his uncle as she had thought? Was she supposed to keep it to herself? When they got into the house, she was about to tell Sebastian that she was going up to her room when he spoke first.“Can we talk, Carol?” He asked, sounding as weary as Mr. James had looked.“Of course, we can. What is the matter?” Carol asked, as though she did not know what the matter was.“It’s about my uncle. I know you saw the blood he coughed up when he had the coughing fit earlier.”“Oh, thank God. I thought that I was the only one who noticed. W
The Substitute Bride Saga The bar meeting
Victoria Daniels plopped herself down on a seat in the bar, full of rage and righteous indignation. This was the third bar she was visiting just this evening. The other two had thrown her out because she was drinking too much. “They are damn bloody fools.” Victoria thought to herself angrily. She was not even all that drunk. No, her anger was keeping her mostly sober, much as she did not want to be sober. She had messed up big time, and her self-righteous bitch of a sister was to blame for it all. Victoria could not believe how she had allowed Carol to trick her the way she had. By now, she would have been living the big life that her sister was living by being the wife of a billionaire and having servants and different exotic cars to use at her convenience. But no, she was broke and stuck here in this
The Substitute Bride Saga Plastered
Carol was in her room reading a novel the next afternoon when there was a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.” She called out and was surprised when Sebastian poked his head around the door before coming inside the room cautiously. Since that first day when he had brought the postnuptial agreements for her to sign, he had not come into her room. She herself did not even know what the inside of his bedroom looked like, despite the fact that she had been here for over a month. This was no doubt, one of the weirdest marriages in the history of weird marriages. “Hey.” He said, making himself comfortable on a chair in the corner. “Hey. How are you doing?” “Good. I hope you remember what we talked about this morning.” “Yes, I do. I’ve packed all my stuff. Also, you don’t need to worry yourself about my performance. I’m a good actress even if I do say so myself. I’ll put up an Oscar-worthy performance that your uncle will not doubt or suspect anything.” Carol said, thinking to herself
The Substitute Bride Saga The not-vacation
Carol sank down into one of the seats in the lobby of the luxury hotel where she and Sebastian were going to lodge, totally tired and worn out, while he sorted out bookings and stuff like that. She was surprised that he had not done it earlier, or had someone do it for him, but at this point, all she wanted to do was get into a shower and have a thorough bath, before climbing into bed and sleeping for hours on end. Who would have thought that the novelty of flying private would wear off so fast for her?“Common, let’s go. You look very tired.” Sebastian told her, coming over to where she was sitting and almost nodding off. The statement didn’t sound like it was made out of concern. Instead, it sounded as though he was just stating a fact, which he no doubt was. Carol stood up and followed him wearily. His bodyguard, who had come on the trip with them, followed discreetly with their bags.“I would have thought that you would have done all those things beforehand.”“Done all
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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 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
