Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

"Hmm... that woman, Alice remained a bitch even to her death!" It was clear that the lady on the video was upset about Jeslyn’s mother.

"That’s why her husband hated her... so, why did you call me here? Don’t tell me it’s only to have a taste of me," Ray said with a hint of lasciviousness to his voice.

"That aside. My Miss said that the last dose of the poison has been administered to Old Man Lee and he won’t have much time to live anymore, so our plan to get rid of that idiot after taking the properties from her will be a smooth sailing," The lady replied. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"That’s good, and his properties, did he give a share to young Miss Christine?"

"He willed it all to Jeslyn, just like Alice did, stating Jeslyn can only get the inheritance after she got married."

"Why the f*ck do they all want her to get married before getting the inheritance? I’m so tired of hearing that bullshit! That stupid rule is the reason I’m having issues with the love of my life right now and also, why is that idiot so lucky? She got all her mother’s inheritance and now, her grandfather’s. What about Christine? Is she not their daughter too? How do they expect Jeslyn to manage the empire of the richest man and woman in Rose city? Is that old man senile?"

"As if you don’t know how careless and simple Jeslyn wants to live her life. She thinks she’s a princess, so I bet they were scared that she’ll be cheated out of her properties if she didn’t have a husband to support her...ironic!"

"Ironic indeed. I wonder what her grandfather’s face would look like when he finds out I’m one of those enemies he had been trying to tell Jeslyn about. Hahaha..."

The phone slid off Jeslyn’s hand after watching that video. Her world literally shook and everything in it tumbled. She stood up and tried taking a step to the door but fell against the coffee table. Her head felt heavy and her eyes turned blurry. She could feel her head spinning, her emotions were running rampant and she was feeling as psychotic as a psychedelic.

"No, Ray cannot do this to me. They are lying about everything, it must be a prank... Grandfather, I need to see my grandfather!"

She murmured to herself in disbelief, and even though she was suffering, she wanted to get up and go check on her grandfather. She tried to stand but her legs trembled and threatened to give up on her. She could no longer see clearly as a result of the tears that had welled up in her eyes, she tried to wipe them off but they kept on coming back so she decided to leave them as they blurred her world. It only took a moment for her to realize that what was happening to her was definitely unnatural but she simply waved it off as despair and grief.

Just when she was thinking of calling her assistant or grandfather, the door clicked open and someone walked in. It was a lady, but she couldn’t see her clearly. She was wearing a black off shoulder dress.

The lady with an air of authority, stood In front of her. Jeslyn could only see her mouth moving, but heard no sound. She struggled to stand on her feet with the support of the bed and tried to read the lady’s lips but her unfocused blurry eyes were bastards.

With every passing second, Jeslyn felt her sight get dimmer and dimmer, she didn’t need any doctor at that point to tell her that she was drugged... Probably from the drink she had earlier.

The lady lowered herself and got back up with something like a phone. Yes, that should be her phone, but before she could make sense of what the lady wanted with her phone, her world turned dark and she felt herself falling.

When she woke up a while later, the truth she just discovered rushed back into her mind and the first thing she wanted to do at that moment was to look for her grandfather and call off the wedding.

Although it was unbelievable that Ray would do that to her, the unbearable truth was right in front of her. Pretending it didn’t happen was inconceivable!

But if she called off the wedding, what would happen to her mother’s will? Her grandfather’s will can still be changed, but her mother’s can’t! Will her grandfather even have enough time to change his will before anything happens to him? Because in that video, they didn’t specify when the poison would ruin her grandfather.

Calling the cops will require enough evidence, but what if they claim the evidence she had was fabricated? She was a celebrity and had dozens of similar incidents happen in the entertainment industry.

So the only idea that stuck to her confused brain at that moment was to get married, but definitely not to Ray. Even a janitor, or a waiter would do, until she’s able to sort things out.

She picked up her phone and left the room while crying along the way. It was like luck wasn’t on her side because after walking through the corridors of her hotel room, she didn’t find anyone until she saw him, that weird man coming out or entering the restroom.

She didn’t care if her words would sound desperate or if she was making the wrong decision, all she wanted at that moment was to solve one of her biggest problems, so she shamelessly proposed to him, ignoring the weird and extremely suspicious air surrounding him. Maybe if she was in full control of her senses or if she had taken her time to observe the man, she would’ve realized that the man looked completely unapproachable.

...

After hearing his granddaughter’s story, old man Lee was so furious that he yelled. "That bastard!! I will–"

The old man frowned in pain and clawed his chest. "Argh!" He cried out. "Puff!" He coughed out black blood which got onto Jeslyn’s wedding dress sending the young lady into an unbridled sense of panic.

"G– grandfather, grandfather!"

Jeslyn rushed to support the old man who was slowly going down with his side.

"Grandfather! Somebody help!" She screamed while looking around the quiet and empty sitting room.

Her assistant was here a while ago, why isn’t she here now? She didn’t have the time to think of why the servants and guards that kept patrolling around the sitting room on other days like they were moths attracted to flame could not be found anywhere today.

"Somebody help me!!!" She continued to scream but no one came– no one stirred. Everywhere was oddly quiet– deserted as if the place was a graveyard.

The old man kept coughing out black blood. He slowly raised his shaky hands to his granddaughter’s cheeks and used a finger to wipe her tears. The stubborn old man who had never cried for decades felt hot tears sliding down his cheeks as he looked at his poor granddaughter screaming her lungs out for help.

He knew help wouldn’t come because the servants and guards in the house had been bought. He had just found out a few days ago that he had been living with a deadly poison in his body when he started to cough out black blood.

He called his doctor to the house and his doctor told him he was only stressed and that nothing was wrong with him. The old man didn’t believe his doctor and that was when he started to suspect that enemies were lurking around them.