Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

On the altar, Ray grabbed Jeslyn by the arm and pulled her roughly to face him after her declaration. "What do you think you are doing?" He stared at her with eyes that were struggling to conceal the rage in them.

She looked at those dark eyes, the straight nose, and the pink lips she had dreamt of kissing but never got the chance to.

She raised her right hand and landed a thunderous and resounding slap across his face.

"Paaah!"

The slap was loud, so loud that the sound reverberated in the noisy hall eliciting a hushed silence from the murmuring crowd.

The slap evidently caught everyone by surprise, including both grooms.

"You don’t hold me like I’m an unfeeling doll!" She spat out, her voice dripping with caustic emotions.

The replacement groom trailed his gaze to her arm and saw the redness from being held too tightly and narrowed his eyes at Ray who had his mouth and eyes widened with his other palm holding his cheek.

He was dazed.

He couldn’t believe she slapped him. Jeslyn slapped him! It had never happened before and never in his wild dreams would he think she could ever lay a hand on him, talk more of slapping him.

He didn’t get to wallow in his self pity for long because Jeslyn’s words snapped him out of his reverie.

"Priest, please start the ceremony," she said hastily.

The priest glanced fixedly at the front audience seat, with the intention of getting Jeslyn’s grandfather’s permission before attempting to start anything. Not until he saw the grandfather give a slight nod, did he start the marriage ritual.

A desire to protest sprouted in Young master Ray mind... he wanted to pull her and probably give her a thunderous and resounding slap to wake her from her sleep or to undo whatever voodoo that had been cast on her to make her act this way, but when he saw the glare from her grandfather, he lowered the hand he had raised to pull her.

Ray could only stand helplessly by the side as he watched his bride get married to another man in front of his eyes. It felt like a dream to him, a nightmare he so badly wanted to wake up from. How could all of the things he would get by marrying her slide away from his fingers like this? Impossible! But what could he do then, other than to watch as the ceremony steadily progressed to the part of exchanging rings.

Time to exchange rings, the bride took the diamond ring that had been prepared for her and handed it to her replacement groom. He placed it on her ring finger and that was when they realized they had no ring for her replacement groom.

Her mascara-ruined eyes swept through the hall for an alternative and they stopped on the ring bearer.

She raised her gown with both hands and rushed to collect Ray’s ring, hoping it would fit her new husband. The ring wasn’t a perfect fit as it was a little too tight, but that would do for now.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!" The priest declared loudly.

The new husband leaned in. Instead of kissing her on the lips, he pecked her on the forehead, surprising the already stunned guests, the priest, and even the Young Miss herself.

After the couple had successfully gotten married, Jeslyn turned around, leaving her husband on the altar and ran to her grandfather with her dress trailing behind her.

The husband chuckled softly at the thought of how he got abandoned in the altar just after getting married.

"G–grandpa," she called with quivering lips as her eyes welled up in tears.

"Child," the old man stood up and pulled his granddaughter into a tight hug. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"I– I’m sorry, grandfather." She broke down in hot tears.

"Silly child, you are a celebrity. What would your fans say when a bad picture of you is published to the world?" He said while patting her hair.

That was the best line for consoling this granddaughter of his who cares about her appearance more than her reputation. She would only laugh if her name is being dragged on the internet, but if her face is being criticized, or an early morning picture of her is leaked to the media, she would cry the house down, yet look at her now, she didn’t even care about her face this time. What must have happened to his dear granddaughter?

The old man was lost In thought when he heard a dangerously calm voice. It was clear that whatever was hidden behind that voice was being suppressed. After all, he had grown to this age, so he had seen more of the world and also met a lot of strange people.

"Grandfather-in-law. Is it right for me to call you that?" The young man asked with a deadpan face... ’this play is fun,’ he thought.

"Of– of course, grandson-in-law." The old man didn’t know how his voice suddenly broke, but looking at this man in front of him that looked harmless with a cold smile in his eyes, he was certain the man was not what he made himself out to be.

"I’m sorry for not bringing a meeting gift. The marriage with your granddaughter just happened.... Suddenly."

"I understand, thank–"

Before grandfather could finish his statement, a voice interrupted him.

"Grandfather, I don’t understand what is happening. Jeslyn and I didn’t have a fight. We were happy together and I even called her this morning while she was getting dressed. How did she suddenly replace me without prior notice?" Ray hurried to Old Man Lee, hoping he would help him talk some sense into Jeslyn.

"That’s right, Old Man Lee, I think our family deserves an explanation for this humiliation." An old man with white hair walked over and stood beside Ray with his eyes on grandpa Lee and Jeslyn who was still hugging her grandfather– she obviously wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

"You want an explanation, even I do. However, my granddaughter is too sad to say anything right now. We will call you over when she’s better to understand what really happened. Until then, I have to take my granddaughter home." Grandpa Lee turned and started walking out of the hall with his granddaughter in his hands.

The new husband didn’t go with them. After his bride went away with her grandfather, he turned around and was about to walk back to his private room when he suddenly felt something whistling towards his face. He subconsciously tilted his head back in time to avoid a punch from Ray.

The new groom turned to look at his assaulter and narrowed his brown eyes at him. "Do I owe you?" He asked calmly, not betraying any hostility that must’ve arisen due to almost being hit by a heartbroken ex– fiance.

"Hah, you still have the effrontery to ask me that?! You just stole my woman!" Ray yelled as he pointed at the entrance. His voice sounded choky as if he was trying to hold back tears.

"Oh?" the new groom smiled faintly.