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Unwanted visitors
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Carol 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
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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
The Substitute Bride Saga The same old story
Dinner that evening was a noisy affair, with Belinda telling numerous stories about Carol and Victoria to everyone at the table, the same way that Mr. James had done when he came to visit Carol. For most of the time, Carol’s face was red from embarrassment, but Sebastian seemed to find the stories entertaining and funny. “This isn’t as bad as I had thought.”Carol thought to herself in relief. For the first time since she came here, there was a lot of laughter and noise. It was the first time she had seen Sebastian laugh out loud many times. Looking at him now, she was once again struck by just how handsome he was. The man really had it all. Carol knew how easy it would be for her to fall in love with him if he kept being nice to her and she saw him regularly. In a way, she understood why he kept her at arm’s length as he had explained while th
The Substitute Bride Saga A disturbing revelation
Carol found it difficult to sleep that night as sleep practically eluded her. She tossed and turned on the bed, trying to get some shuteye, but it just wasn’t happening, no matter how much she forced herself. So, she got up and padded out of her room, trying to be as silent as possible so as not to wake anybody up. The house was quiet, which was not a surprise, considering that it was already past two in the morning. Normally, she rarely found it difficult to sleep, but her mother never failed to bring out the worst in her and annoy her to no end.The light was off in the dining room, so she turned it on, got some orange juice from the fridge, and just sat there sipping it and staring into space. She was about to go and put on the television as there was no point just sitting there without doing anything when she heard the sound of footsteps. She froze where she was sitting, wishing that she did not put the light on as she was in no mood to speak to anybody about anything. Howeve
The Substitute Bride Saga Seeking comfort and solace
“I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that,” Carol said, her heart pounding at the evil look that was on Belinda’s face. She wished she had just left things the way they were because she had the awful feeling that Belinda was not bluffing.“Yeah. Everyone’s temper is just high. How about we all calm down and enjoy a peaceful dinner without any fight?” Tom put in eagerly. To Carol’s surprise, he was sweating profusely and he looked really terrified. Aunt Alice was looking around in confusion, probably wondering what was wrong with all of them.“No, no. there’s no use in pretending about it. I’m sick of pretending, so it’s just better you know now. You should be grateful to me because I did not birth you, but I’ve done everything within my power to raise you right. But no, what do I get as payback for it? Answer me. Answer me, you ingrate!”“Belinda, please. This is neither the time nor place. Stop this madness right now!” Donald commanded in the strongest voice that Carol had
The Substitute Bride Saga Seeking answers
When Sebastian got back to his room, he found Carol fast asleep in his bed. She was lying on the covers in her pajamas, which incidentally, she had worn to dinner before the events of the evening had taken place. He went to take a hot shower, after which he wore his pajamas, and stood contemplating whether to get into bed beside her or not. After a while, he got into bed with her, after all, she was practically his wife, even though they did not act like it. Besides, they had shared a bed in Paris and nothing had happened. “Yeah well. Remember that then, you were not this attracted to her.”A voice in his head told him, but he shrugged it off. As soon as he climbed into bed, Carol rolled over, murmured something in her sleep, and made herself more comfortable by leaning fully against him, her back molde
The Substitute Bride Saga Her origin
“Carol, please.” Her father begged, beginning to cry himself.“Just answer my questions. If you piss me off sufficiently, I swear I will cut off from you for life… oh, wait. You won’t give a flying fuck, and neither will your beloved wife.”“I’m your birth father. I’m your father, and I love you more than life itself. You know that Carol.”Carol heaved a sigh of relief. Somehow, she did not care if Belinda was her mother or not, but she did not want it to be that Donald was not her father too. Her whole life could not be based on lies.“Okay. So what the hell happened? Who is my birth mother and where the hell is she? Why did she just dump me with you guys and forget all about me?”“She’s dead, Carol. She’s long dead. She died soon after giving birth to you.” Donald told her solemnly, and she could sense the pain in those words.“Oh,” Carol said, the fight going out of her instantly.“Yeah. I loved Miranda... that's your mother so much and knew that she wa
The Substitute Bride Saga The whole story
Carol gasped, her heart going out to him and the poor woman who had given birth to her.“Wow!” That was all that she could say.“Yeah,” Donald said, rummaging in his pocket for something. Bringing out his wallet, one which had clearly seen better days, he produced a worn picture from its inner compartment and extended it to her. Carol took the picture with shaking hands, and looked down at it, hardly able to see for the tears that blurred her vision. She wiped at them and then glanced down at the picture again to see a beautiful woman who looked almost identical to her.“Jeez! We look so much alike.” She breathed, rubbing a finger over the picture almost reverentially.“Yeah, that's right. You remind me of her so much when she was your age. The only thing that is different about you two is that you do not have her fierce temper, and I thank God for that every day.”They both laughed a little at this and then Donald sobered up, inhaling very deeply and exhaling slowly.
The Substitute Bride Saga The aftermath
The atmosphere at the house the next morning was a strained one. Carol had to wake up early to pack her stuff, otherwise, she would have just stayed in her room and slept until her family left. As it was, she had to come face to face with them. Belinda averted her gaze and refused to look at Carol or speak to her the whole time, not that Carol wanted to speak to her either. Aunt Alice did her best to pretend that everything was normal and that none of what had happened yesterday happened. It was still a marvel to Carol that someone like her, who was such a tattletale knew about all this and had been able to keep her mouth shut all these years.As her father had promised, they did leave somewhat early, so all she had to do was bid them a forced goodbye and they were on their way. However, they turned up thirty minutes later saying that they had missed their flight due to traffic on the road and that it would have to be the next day that they would leave. Her father looked apologet
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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
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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
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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
