Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

Ray was supposed to be happy that the man who stole his bride and assisted her to humiliate him in public was not wealthier than him but that wasn’t the case. All he felt was a burning rage to destroy the man.

"Christine, your sister is something. Not only did she humiliate my brother and my entire family, she also became a murderer and now, she has the guts to bring that wild man here. Wow, just wow." Ray’s older sister clapped in mock amazement and sarcasm.

Due to the commotion that just happened, the funeral was concluded quickly and the people appeared to be upset, except the reporters and media personnel that were present– The day’s events would serve as enough food for the gossip hungry masses.

...

They arrived at the station, but before the groom could follow them in, his phone rang and he stepped aside to answer it.

"Master, it’s little Valen, his condition has relapsed. Doc Matt needs you to be here, quick." the voice from the other end sounded anxious the whole time.

"Ok," Jeslyn’s husband ended the call and dialed Rex’s number. When he heard the programmed voice of the lady, he pinched the middle of his brows. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

That’s right, he made Rex phoneless a while ago.

When he walked into the station, he saw Jeslyn being taken to the cell. He strode to her and said: "Miss, something came up, I’ll send someone over."

Jeslyn only nodded. She didn’t have much hope that she would be freed from this trial, but she was happy that there was someone who stood by her when her family and friends deserted her. "Thank you," she mouthed wordlessly before she stepped into the cell in her hospital gown.

For some reason, he didn’t feel like leaving but he had to, his son was more important than the woman he just met– his wife now.

He walked out of the station and dialed a number. "Get Jeslyn Lee out of this mess." He said simply before disconnecting the call and got into the car to leave for the airport.

Jeslyn stayed behind bars for two days before she was finally charged to court.

...

In court, she had no lawyer. Her bank account was frozen, so she couldn’t get herself a competent lawyer and had to stick with the garbage of an attorney she was given.

Ever since she was arrested, nobody paid her a visit, not that she was expecting many people, but her sister was the only person she badly wanted to see, but Christine never came. However, to her surprise, Christine came to court to testify against her!

What could be worse than a person you trust so much giving false testimony to a case they knew would ruin your life completely?

Even the lawyer she was given by the court was no good. He sat there and watched as allegations upon allegations were leveled against her by those people she had given her heart to. Like, Ray, Maya, Ray’s sister, Christine, and a few other celebrity friends.

Jeslyn closed her eyes. Her tears had dried off but hearing her sister tell the court that:

"Grandfather loved Jeslyn a lot; however, Jeslyn constantly fought with him, and on that day that grandfather died, I was just coming in as they left me behind at the wedding venue. I saw how Jeslyn pushed our grandfather–"

A teardrop slid from Jeslyn’s eyes and that was the last tear she promised to reveal in front of these people.

She didn’t wait for Christine to tell more lies and opened her mouth. "I’m guilty, please close the case and sentence me accordingly."

She looked at Christine after that, but Christine had her face turned and refused to look at her. Jeslyn smiled bitterly. This was the sister she loved and cherished so dearly.

She looked around the courtroom and saw her father and his wife sneering at her.

Ray had a complicated look on his face and his sister was all smiles. Maya had no visible emotions on her face but she didn’t look like she was being forced.

"Is that your decision?" The judge asked her.

Jeslyn chuckled bitterly. The ’evidence’ that was provided was more than enough to get her a death sentence. Even Nanny Martha and Uncle Wong testified against her, so what else can she do?

"What else can I say or do to prove my innocence? Those who want me to be hanged won’t give up, and neither will you and the court believe that I’m innocent without ’sufficient’ proof.

*The world hates me now and even my fans must have thought I did it too, after all, my dear sister didn’t believe me. To please you all, I’ll take the blame. It’s the death of my grandfather anyway. Since I cannot give him justice, then what good would I be in living freely?"

She threw the questions at the judge who stayed silent for a while before declaring his judgment.

"On the 15th of October, Jeslyn Lee was charged with first-degree murder. The court finds Jeslyn Lee has no prior criminal history and has no health issues. Although there are cases of her taking hard drugs as some leftovers were found in her blood.

"The court finds the evidence presented by the defendant to not hold substantial proof of her innocence and hereby sentence Jeslyn Lee to life imprisonment without parole for the murder of her grandfather, Mr. Lee." The judge struck the gravel to finalize his words– The low sound of the gavel on the table sounded like an atomic explosion to Jeslyn’s ears. That was her life crashing down on her.

Jeslyn looked from the judge to her sister who had a deadpan expression and then, to Ray and everyone else she knew, including her father and stepmother.

"Are you happy now? Of course, you are." Then she looked at the cameras and smiled bitterly. "Thank you everyone for ruining the life of an innocent person. I don’t wish you to be in my shoes one day, but when you eventually do, you will understand how it feels to be condemned when you are innocent."

She doesn’t take drugs, but they were miraculously found in her system. She knew it was from that drink she had before her wedding.

She stretched her hands out to the police officer who was coming towards her with handcuffs.

Once the handcuffs were placed on her, she followed the police officers as they escorted her out of the court and protected her from the angry mob that was standing outside the court, ready to lynch her and tear her into shreds.

Meanwhile, the judge was seen in his office, sitting there in deep thought, wondering if he had wrongfully sentenced a person. Then he shook his head. The evidence against her was too enormous and real.

So many people testified against her, including her family members. From her stepmother to her sister, friends, ex-fiance, assistant, and even her grandfather’s workers, so it couldn’t possibly be a lie, but why was he feeling restless after her parting words?

The judge couldn’t help feeling frustrated with this case he just concluded.