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Unease
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Substitute Bride Saga Finding out what happened
The walk to the hotel where the party had been held earlier that night seemed to take forever, but the air helped calm Sebastian’s frayed nerves, at least a little. He did not know where to wait for Jessica, so he just sat where they had met earlier and waited for her. The party was still in full swing, but he did not go in. The last thing he needed was to see Carol’s friend at that time of the night. At exactly twelve midnight, someone tapped Sebastian on his shoulder, causing him to jump about a foot high as he sprang up and turned to face whoever it was. He had not seen anyone approach because he had been facing the entrance to the hotel, thinking that Jessica would approach from there. It was Jessica, still dressed in the baggy t-shirt and jeans that she had been wearing earlier, but this time, she seemed a little better off emotionally, although not by much. Her hair was piled up in a messy bun
The Substitute Bride Saga Flashback
The party had been held in Sebastian’s house in honor of his uncle, whose birthday it was. Prior to this time, Sebastian had become really worried about his uncle’s sudden hatred for his fiancée, Jessica, whom the man had loved to bits and treated as he would a daughter before. He would have a talk with his uncle about it, he decided. Many wealthy people, most of them billionaires like Sebastian and his uncle, had been invited and the party was going really well. Sebastian walked around, playing the perfect host and greeting people, most of whom were investors in his company. Sebastian had just finished having a small discussion with one man and his heavily perfumed wife when he realized that he had not seen Jessica for a while now, and his uncle too was nowhere in sight. The last time he had sighted Jessica was when she was surrounded by a group of wannabe models like herself who had c
The Substitute Bride Saga A sad occurrence
“Oh my God!” Sebastian breathed as the implications of what he had just remembered hit him. His face turned ashen and it felt like he was having difficulty breathing. Jessica, who did not know what was wrong with him, or the fact that he had just put two and two together looked at him worriedly, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.“Sebastian? Are you alright?” She asked.“Oh my God.” He repeated. “No … no … it can’t be.”“Sebastian. You’re scaring me. What is it?”“That night… the night of the party. He was quarreling with you…”“Yeah. Of course, he was. You were there and saw it, remember? He did not want us to be together, and was trying to make me leave you against my will.”“Oh, God no. He said… he said he could make you disappear if you refused to disappear on your own. That old bastard! That fucking old bastard! He followed up on his threats.”“I can’t really remember. The whole of that night is just blurry to me, because it was after the fight, a
The Substitute Bride Saga Aftermath
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of activities that Sebastian could barely remember as he clung to Jessica’s body. She couldn’t be dead…no, she couldn’t. He had just been talking to her only a few minutes ago. How on earth could she be dead? He could hear noise around him as people rushed over to where he was still crouching beside an unmoving Jessica, but he could not make out what they were saying, and neither did he bother himself about it. What he did bother about doing was praying to a God he hadn’t prayed to in forever, to spare Jessica’s life.He was vaguely aware of the floodlights of the hotel coming on suddenly, blinding him with the intensity of their brightness. Where were the lights when he had needed them? All of a sudden, someone shoved him off Jessica’s body as people gathered around and before he knew it, someone had picked her up and they were taking her away. Frank picked Sebastian off the ground and said,“Boss, get yourself together. They are taking h
The Substitute Bride Saga Wedding anniversary
There was a minute’s silence and Sebastian felt Carol stiffen in his arms. He waited without saying anything until a sigh escaped her lips and she relaxed in his arms again. “Jessica?” Carol asked, her heart beating fast as she wondered what the implications of this meant. She knew that Jessica was his ex-fiancée and was the reason why he had gotten married to Carol in the first place because his uncle had made his marriage to Carol the condition on which he would assist in finding Jessica. “Yes, Jessica. My ex-fiancée.” “I know who Jessica is. Well, I’m happy for you.” She said, not meaning a word of it. It wasn’t as though she wished the woman bad, but then, Sebastian loved this woman… loved her so much that he was willing to saddle himself to a stranger whom he did not know from Adam just to make s
The Substitute Bride Saga An uncertain future
As Sebastian had predicted, the next few days were quite hectic for them. Even though they flew first class, it could not be compared to the luxury of traveling in a private jet, but Carol did not mind that. What she did mind was the sudden change that came over Sebastian the next morning, after he went over to the hospital to see Jessica and see if there were any improvements in her condition. He came back to the hotel with his lips set in a straight line and his brows furrowed. By this time, Carol had finished packing all their belongings and was patiently waiting in the hotel lobby for him to come back. He had given her stern instructions not to move an inch out of the hotel until he got back, and then they would leave immediately.While Carol was waiting, a subdued looking Melissa had come over, seemingly from nowhere, glanced at the luggage that was gathered beside Carol, and adopted a sorrowful looking expression.“So you’re leaving and you couldn’t even tell me?” She as
The Substitute Bride Saga Illness
It was only when they got home that he relaxed a bit. As soon as the plane touched down, he brought out his phone and put a call to Frank, who informed him that Jessica had been admitted to the best hospital in Sacramento and was doing better than before, although she was still in a coma. Carol watched Sebastian’s face brighten visibly at this news but did not say anything, not that there was anything she could have said. She was feeling quite unwell, and all she wanted to do was go lay down until she got herself back. Maybe she had picked a bug from the exotic location that they just came back from or something. Whatever it was, she was feeling faint and she had a raging headache, so she excused herself and went straight to her room to lay down immediately they got into the house. She must have slept for only about 10 minutes when there was a knock at her door and Sebastian poked his head around it.“Hey, Carol. Are you alright? You’re very tired, huh? I can relate.” He asked wh
The Substitute Bride Saga Mr James's surprise
“Hello, Mr. James. How are you doing? It’s been a while. How is aunty?” “Ah, thank God, Carol dear. I’m doing as well as can be. I was beginning to worry that something evil had befallen you and my boy. My wife and I have been calling you and him for some time now, but haven’t got any response yet. I hope you both are doing okay.” “Oh, I’m sorry about that, Mr. James. The thing is that I’ve been ill for the past three days and I’m just getting myself back, so I turned off my phones and wasn’t taking any calls. I think that is why you were not able to reach me.” “I’m sorry about that, my dear. I hope you’re better now.” “Yes, I am.” “And your husband? He has not been taking my calls, which is very unlike him. We had a little altercation before I left, but I thought that we had resolved it. I don’t know why he is not taking my calls all of a sudden. Is he well?” “He’s fine. He’s just been so preoccupied, what with trying to take care of me as I was sick, and shuttling between here
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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
