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The not-vacation
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Carol 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 allRelated chapters
The Substitute Bride Saga Sharing a room
Carol was a little mortified as she searched for a fresh pair of underwear and her pajamas. She was to share a room with Sebastian? She had no doubt that it was going to be a very awkward one week. She glanced surreptitiously at him to see what he was doing and whether he was paying attention to her and was not surprised to see that he had brought out his laptop and was in the process of turning it on. It was always work and more work for him, not that she could blame him as this was not a real honeymoon and there was the fact that he was actually on a business trip.Quickly, she gathered up her underwear and pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom where she ran a bath and soaked in it for over thirty minutes, humming her favorite song the whole while until Sebastian pounded on the bathroom door.“What is it?” Carol called out, not yet ready to get out of the bathroom as she was really enjoying her bath.“You've been in there since forever. I need to take a shower too.”
The Substitute Bride Saga The beginning of deception
The next morning, Carol woke up very late, around a few minutes past ten, and was not surprised to see that Sebastian was not around. She looked for a note but did not see any, after which she laughed at her foolishness. When did she and Sebastian begin to have the kind of relationship in which he left a note for her when he was to go out? Realizing that she was famished, she ordered some food to be brought to her and then devoured it hungrily, after which she took her bath and headed out of the hotel, leaving a note for Sebastian that said she was going shopping. Carol did not know where she was going to go, or what she was going to do, but she was damned sure not going to stay closeted in a hotel room while in Paris. She was almost at the elevator when her phone rang shrilly inside her bag, so she paused and rummaged inside the bag for it to see that it was her sister who was calling. Carol stared at the phone screen warily. The last time that she had heard from her sister
The Substitute Bride Saga A surly husband
By the time Carol came back in the evening, famished and sweaty from all the shopping that she had done, Sebastian was nowhere to be found, neither did it look like he even came back at all in all the time that she had been away. She dumped the parcels she was holding on a nearby chair and proceeded to take off all her clothes before having a much-needed bath. The day had been rewarding, albeit stressful. She had visited a lot of tourist attractions and shopped a little. Now that she knew that the money that Sebastian had sent to her was hers to keep, she could use it freely. Some days ago, she had sent the money that her mother had requested from her but did not even get a thank you for it. Carol sighed and shook her head. By the time she was done having her bath and had eaten dinner, Sebastian was still nowhere to be found. Carol was beginning to become a little worried. What sort of business meeting was this that kept him out till nearly ten in the night? “I’ll ju
The Substitute Bride Saga A new enemy
I don’t believe you.” Jessica said quietly after Charlotte dropped her bombshell. Charlotte had just told her that Sebastian’s uncle, Mr. James was the one who ordered her kidnap, torture, and finally, death. “Yeah. I know that you won’t believe me. You never believe anything I say unless I give you proof. Tell me, which one is harder to believe? That Sebastian got married to another woman five months after you disappeared, or that his uncle, who used to be a notorious drug dealer wanted you tortured and killed after you cheated on his beloved nephew? These people kill for things that are way less than that. Everyone knows this.” “I know, but Mr. James loves me very much.” “I think 'loved' is the word that you’re looking for. People like this do not care one bit about whatever relationship they had with you in the past once you mess up your loyalty to them, and you messed up big time.” “So you’re saying that Mr. James asked you to do all this to me?” “Tell me one thing. Why on ear
The Substitute Bride Saga A strange revelation
Jessica nodded in the affirmative, that she understood everything that the woman had said. She would be damned if she let herself get killed when she had a chance to get free after Sebastian’s uncle had ordered that she be killed. She still did not understand any of what Charlotte’s mission was, and frankly, she did not give a flying fuck. All that mattered was that she got out of the whole thing alive and well... or as well as could be, considering her current state. “Of course, I don’t need to tell you that when I said you are to keep a low profile, I meant that you are to stay away, not just from Sebastian and his family, but also from everyone that you know, your family included,” Charlotte said, watching Jessica intently as though she would be able to decipher from her face if she would follow these instructions to the letter or not.
The Substitute Bride Saga Partial freedom
“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
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.
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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,
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“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
