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Partial freedom
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Soon after that, Sebastian was discharged from the hospital and James took him and his wife and disappeared without a trace from the city we lived in then. My mother was heartbroken because she had come to fall in love with the bastard, plus her family disowned her when they found out that she was pregnant, so she was all alone, pregnant at the age of twenty. After she gave birth to us, we really suffered. I remember us being homeless for the better part of our lives before we turned seven when she managed to track the bastard down. He was living large and was extremely rich while we were living in squalor with not even a roof over our heads. After months, she managed to get an audience with him and begged him to take my brother and me even if he wanted nothing to do with her. Do you know what that bastard did? He sneered in her face, called her a harlot, and told her that he wasn’t the one who fathered us and that he now has a son…Sebas
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The Substitute Bride Saga Confrontation
The days passed in pretty much the same fashion for Carol. Sebastian left the hotel most times before she woke up and came back after she had gone to bed. As such, they hardly ever saw each other, not to talk of talking to each other. Carol did not mind though. Since that night that she had called him to check up on him and he had yelled at her for no reason, she had begun to dislike him even more than she had before. It was such a pity that she still had such a long time to spend with him. She spent her days painting the different places that she had visited, deciding that when she got back home, she would send them to some of the homeless shelters in which she volunteered while she was still single. It was the evening before she and Sebastian were scheduled to leave Paris, and she had packed up all her things and was now seated and painting the Eiffel tower. As usual, Sebastian was not around and
The Substitute Bride Saga A well-deserved apology
Carol’s mouth remained open in shock as she processed Sebastian’s words. The almighty Sebastian had just apologized to her? Perhaps she was dreaming and was not lucid because it was too surprising for words. Sebastian took her silence to be that she was not satisfied with his apology and tried again. “Look, I know that you do not believe me, but that’s the truth. You called at the wrong time, that was why I answered the way I did.” “It’s fine. It’s fine.” Carol said hurriedly. She disliked it when people thought she was mad at them and since Sebastian had already apologized, then it was cool. "Alright. From what just transpired, I’ll take a wide guess and say that you’ll rather not have come on this trip with me.” Sebastian said, moving away and starting to pack his stuff. “Well, I did get to see Paris for the first time and I’ve always wanted to do so, so there’s that.” “You’ve never been to Paris before?” Sebastian asked incredulously.
The Substitute Bride Saga Back home
The fleeting camaraderie that Sebastian and Carol shared the night before they left Paris disappeared as though it had never been when they got back home. Carol never saw much of Sebastian in the months that followed that time, and when she did see him, he acted as though they were strangers. The only time that there was a semblance of normalcy between them was whenever his uncle called and they had to talk to the man together. As time passed, Carol began to hate this arrangement with a passion. If he wanted to act like she did not exist, then it was better that he did so all the time, and not just when it suited his purposes. He made sure that she got her monthly allowance at the end of every month, and even doubled it, making it a hundred thousand dollars from the fifty thousand that it was when she first started to live with him. When Carol asked him about it, he told her that it was a reward that he thought that she should have for playing her part in trying to convince his uncle
The Substitute Bride Saga Belated wedding present
That night, Carol sat up past her bedtime, waiting for Sebastian to come home. He entered the living room where she was sitting at eleven on the dot, looking so weary that her heart went out to him immediately. “Hey. Good evening.” She called to him, wondering to herself why he always looked so tired. He looked surprised to see her, and she realized that he did not see her there at first. “Carol. How are you doing?” “I’m good, and you?” “I’m fine. What are you doing up so late?” he asked, moving over to the minibar and pouring himself a glass of whiskey. He downed the contents of the glass in one go before pouring another drink and sinking heavily into the closest chair to him. “I wanted to talk to you,” Carol told him hesitantly. She was alway
The Substitute Bride Saga Drunk tease
“Oopsie,” Carol said, her entire body tingling at the touch of Sebastian’s body against her and the strong hold that he had on her as he tried to keep them steady. “Here, I’ll help you to your room,” Sebastian said, looking down at her and then immediately wishing that he hadn’t. She was putting on a white singlet and wasn’t wearing any bra, and he could see the creamy top of her full breast where they were pressed into his chest. To his horror, he felt himself begin to respond, so he pulled away immediately, taking care not to do it too suddenly so that he will not end up swaying himself. Luckily enough, Carol did not seem to notice. “Aww.” She protested. “I was enjoying your body warmth and your hard, masculine chest.” She protested, stretching out her right hand so that he could take it and lead her to her room. She knew that she sh
The Substitute Bride Saga The 'almost' kiss
The days before Carol and Sebastian were set to go on their trip were very awkward ones, especially for Carol. She did not know what it was that she had done the night when she and Sebastian had drunk together, but she knew that it was most likely not good. It wasn’t as though Sebastian said anything, but she could see it in his eyes. Carol was horrified and hoped that she had not tried to seduce him or something like that, but she could not bring herself to ask him. He talked to her normally anytime they had reason to talk to each other, but there was something different about him.Right now, she was sitting with her legs in the swimming pool, just swinging it in the water and enjoying its coolness against her legs. She wasn’t going to swim, but she was just sunning and trying to get a tan or something. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and turned around to smile at whoever was coming, thinking that it was one of the maids or gardeners, only to see that it was Sebastian. The smi
The Substitute Bride Saga Unwanted visitors
Carol gasped and her face turned an alarming shade of white at this news. She sprang up immediately, and then wrung her hands worriedly, not knowing what on earth to do. Her parents were here? That was bound to be a major disaster. They had not even informed her that they were coming. She knew immediately that her mother was the mastermind of the whole thing. Carol could just imagine her saying, “Let us pay a surprise visit to Carol and her husband and make sure that she is following our instructions to the letter.” Oh, God! This was bad, and to worsen matters, they had come along with one of her aunties. Carol would bet her bottom dollar that it was that troublesome Aunt Alice, who couldn’t be bothered to ever mind her business and loved to poke her nose where it did not belong. What were her parents thinking bringing that woman here? Oh, God! This was going to be such a disaster. She could feel it in her bones. “Ma’am? Are you coming to see if they a
The Substitute Bride Saga Drama queen
The drive down to the house was a very noisy one, with Belinda bawling her lungs out far louder than was necessary and cursing her ill-luck in having birthed such a wicked and disrespectful child. The others, including Carol, tried to placate her all to no avail as she continued to wail.“Just say you’re embarrassed by your family. Just say that and stop beating around the bush. After all, that was how you refused to allow your sister to come to visit you. Your own blood sister! I know that is exactly what you would have done to us if we told you we were coming. Can you see that I was right about us taking her unawares with our visit? Can you see?” Belinda asked Aunt Alice tearfully, getting a hold of herself as they approached the house and saw Sebastian waiting for them in front of it. She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and applied some powder to her face before getting out of the car after the others.Sebastian smiled warmly at them in greeting, shaking her father’s hand an
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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
