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Victoria's death
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Sebastian came back home not long after his uncle left. He was surprised to see Carol sitting in the living room and putting finishing touches to the drawing that she had been making. He sat down beside her and proceeded to look her all over as though by just doing that, he would be able to tell whether she was exerting herself or not.
“You’re drawing? Are you not supposed to be resting?” He asked finally after he was satisfied with what he saw.“I’m back to myself, Sebastian. I can assure you that I feel very fine now. Thanks for your concern though.”“I’m glad to hear that. Wow! This is really good. You’re so talented. You should make a living off your drawings.”“Um, thanks,” Carol said, suddenly feeling shy. It was not as though she was insecure about her work, but she was glad that Sebastian liked it.“It’s for you.” She informed him.“Really?”“Sure…if you want it that is.”“What are you talking about? Of course, I want it. Thank you.”“You’ve done mRelated chapters
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The next few minutes were a blur to Carol. She was vaguely aware of hearing a loud keening sound, and it was only when Sebastian took the phone from her hands to speak with her father that she realized that the sound was coming from her mouth. Victoria was dead? It sounded so surreal and unbelievable that her sister, who was so full of life and zest, was dead, and worse still, she had been murdered. Sebastian finished talking on the phone and gathered her into his arms, where she sobbed her heart out until she was spent. “It’s all my fault. I should have called her more often.” She muttered at last, unable to even summon the strength to speak properly. “No, my dear. It’s not your fault at all. Remember that Victoria always seemed to be pissed at you and rarely ever took your calls.” “I know that, but I should have tried harder. Oh, God! Poor
The Substitute Bride Saga Getting rid of the dead weights
“So what do you propose that we do now?” Charlotte asked her remaining bodyguard, who was sitting in front of her and glaring at her with barely concealed hatred, but there was nothing he could do to her and he knew it as well as she did. “I don’t have a clue, ma’am.” “Well, you should. After all what exactly am I paying you for if you can’t even give me solid advice?” “You’re paying me to guard you, not provide advice, ma’am. But then, of recent, you’ve not even been paying me for the service of guarding you, so I don’t know why you’re bugging me for more.” He replied, his voice tight. Charlotte eyed him slowly. This guy was becoming a big nuisance and she was at the end of her patience with him. Ever since that fateful day when his partner had been killed while shooting at that bitch Jessica and Sebastian, he had developed this streak of rebelliousness. Charlotte would have preferred it a lot if he was the one who had been killed in place of the other man, but one could not alway
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The next day, Carol woke up feeling slightly better but looking like a hot mess. Her eyes were swollen with shed and unshed tears, and her appetite was non-existent. To her utter surprise, Sebastian was still at home, even though it was almost eight when she woke up.“I wanted to make sure that you were fine before leaving.” He informed her when she asked him why he was still around, watching her force down the breakfast that he had brought for her despite her steadfast proclamations that she was not hungry. Carol tried to take one more bit of the food, but it just wouldn’t go down.“I can’t eat anymore, Sebastian.” She informed him, her eyes pleading with him to let her be.“You know that you’re just recuperating from an illness. You should eat so that you can get your strength back. It’s okay, though. I did not know that you would even be able to eat this much. What do you want to do today?” He asked, taking away the tray of food and keeping it aside.“I don’t even kno
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The flight to the hospital in Sacramento was a short one, considering that it was not that far from Napa. Throughout the flight and even on the drive to the hospital in which Jessica was admitted, Sebastian’s mind was preoccupied, as it had recently been, with thoughts of Jessica, his uncle, and even Carol. Never in his life had he been so unsure of how he felt, what the future held, or where it was leading.He did not know why, but he found it difficult to stay away from Jessica, especially as she was so vulnerable at the moment. He lived in daily fear of what would happen to her, and each time his phone rang, his mind always started beating, thinking that he was about to get the horrible news that she had died. This irrational fear that somehow, the people who had kidnapped her would get to her refused to leave him, no matter how many times he assured himself that she was well guarded. He had given the police, both here and over there where she was shot the last name she had sa
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Mr. James did not speak for a long time after Sebastian said this, but remained in the same position. Then he let go of Jessica’s hand gently and walked slowly and stiffly to stand by the window, looking out of it as though there, he would find the answer to all the secrets of the universe.“How did you come by such a theory?” He asked, at last, the pain in his voice too much for Sebastian to bear, but he couldn’t feel sorry for him, or rather, he tried really hard not to feel sorry for him. His uncle had brought this upon himself.“Jessica told me.”“Hmm. Is that why you’ve been acting so strangely?”“Can you listen to yourself? You’re not even showing remorse for what you did.”“That’s because I did not do anything. How do you expect me to show remorse for something I did not do? Why will Jessica tell you that I did such a thing? How can you even stand there and accuse me of such a thing?” Mr. James asked, his voice trembling with barely concealed fury and disappoin
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As soon as Sebastian’s aunt heard the news that her husband had been admitted to the hospital because of a heart attack, she burst into tears and rushed down to the hospital in no time to lay an accusing glance at Sebastian who was still sitting in tense silence with Frank as they waited for the doctors to come and give them an update on his uncle’s condition. Sebastian looked up at her, feeling so guilty for causing so much pain to this woman, who had loved and raised him as dearly as though she had birthed him herself.“You know you did this to him, don’t you?” she accused, sitting beside him heavily. He had been focused only on his uncle in recent times, but now that he looked at her, he could see the huge impact that her husband’s sickness was having on her, and resolved not to add to it. He would do as his uncle had asked and would not inform his wife, although he had not planned to tell her before anyway.“I’m sorry, aunty.” He said, giving her a side hug.“What are the doctors s
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The funeral was a somber, quiet, and quick affair. In all, there were not more than twenty people present as they stood under the scorching sun that late afternoon at the burial ground to bury Victoria. Carol stood beside her father and Belinda, who had not acknowledged her presence since she arrived at the house this morning. She had also not acknowledged the money that Carol had sent to her, not that Carol cared one bit. She had done her part and that was that. There was a tension between the three of them, Carol, her father, and Belinda that kept mounting until it threatened to burst. Her father was supporting Belinda, who did not look like she needed any support at all. She stood stoically beside Donald, her face impassive, all but looking like a dam about ready to burst. Carol stole glances at her warily, wondering if she was mentally fit to be attending the burial.A few paparazzi were lurking around the graveyard while the ceremony was going on. Carol glanced at them and s
The Substitute Bride Saga Going back home
Later that night, it began to rain very heavily. Donald came into Carol’s room, where she was just laying down, and doing nothing in particular. He sat heavily on the bed, grief lining his weathered features, and shook his head.“I’m so sorry about Belinda, Carol. I’ll like to think that she’s just grieving, but we both know that that is not the case. She’s just an evil person. Don’t let her get to you. I don’t let her get to me anymore.”“It’s okay, dad. I’m already used to it. You’re the only one who would have to cope with her craziness from now on, I’m afraid.” Carol said smiling at him. He did not smile back.“She served me divorce papers this evening.”“What? Wow. Anyway … um, I don’t know what to say. Is that good or bad? For you, I mean.”“I don’t know. It’s good, I guess. We’re practically strangers. She blames me for everything single thing that goes wrong in her life. I’m fed up with the marriage and I guess that she is too.”“Well, that’s good then. Are
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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,
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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
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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
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“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
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“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
