Her Substitute Groom

Janice POV

‘Don’t think of running away, for I will find you wherever you go’ Those words kept driving me nuts that I couldn’t even think of running away. Connor looked like he would be someone dangerous, and I didn’t want him to do something nasty to me if he found out I ran away and managed to get his hands on me.

Sitting on the bed in Connor’s room and trying to think of a way out of this mess I was in, the sound of the knock on the door disrupted my thoughts, and I went to get the door, but I froze on the spot when I pulled it open and found Carl standing there.

“Ca… Carl?” I called surprisingly, but he held my hand and dragged me out of the room.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked as he dragged me down the hallway, but he didn’t even bother to answer me until we got to the garden.

“Janice…” He paused and caught his breath, running his fingers through his hair.

“Why don’t you want to choose between us? We were going to get married before he ruined everything for us. If you are scared of him, don’t worry about that, I’m going to protect you from him,” He uttered as he held my hands and caressed them gently, but I sighed frustratingly.

“Carl…”

“I love you, Janice. I really do, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. Please let’s do something about this,” He uttered as he held my cheeks in his palm, his eyes piercing into mine, and I gulped down the lump that formed in my throat.

“Get a grip on yourself, Carl. I don’t want to get caught up in the mess between you and your brother… I don’t know what happened between you two, and trust me, I don’t want to know, but getting caught between you two is the last thing I want. Even if I manage to get out of this mess, I’m leaving forever,” I have always been a straightforward kind of person, so hiding things from him wasn’t something I thought would be fine.

Hurt and disappointment laced up his face.

“Are you saying we can’t be together?” He asked me.

“Yes, she is saying she won’t be with you even if she manages to leave me, not that it’ll ever happen, anyway,” I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Connor’s voice behind me, and I turned swiftly to find him walking up to us. He got to where I was standing, then held my hand and pulled me away from Carl, shoving me behind him.

“What are you telling my wife, brother?” I could feel the sarcasm in his voice, and I didn’t need anyone to tell me that he was here to get on Carl’s nerves again.

Carl scoffed as he threw his gaze away.

“You really want to keep doing this, huh? Are you going to continue this?” Carl yelled at him, and I flinched fearfully. He was looking so enraged that he could kill with the look in his eyes.

“You two, stop fighting, ok?” I stepped in between them, but Connor scoffed.

“What should I do when he is frustrating me? Do I have any choice? He keeps bugging my woman, so why should I not fight with him, hmm?” He whined as he suddenly hugged me from behind, and my eyes narrowed as I froze on the spot.

“Wh… what are you doing?” I stuttered, trying to free myself from his grasp.

“You won’t ever leave me for him, right? We are married now, and we vowed to be together forever,” He whined as he hugged me tightly, and my jaw dropped. He was being intentionally petty to get Carl angry, and it worked since Carl eventually left the garden angrily.

He quickly let go of me once it was only the two of us in the garden.

“If you don’t want to see the ugly side of me, don’t you ever go anywhere close to him. You wouldn’t want to get on my bad side, right?” He uttered coldly, his eyes boring into mine like he was going to see through me. There was this dark aura surrounding him that got me terrified, and for seconds, I wanted to disappear from this godforsaken place, but I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me.

“Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do? Who are you to tell me who to go close to?” I snapped at him, and he smirked at me, leaning forward afterward.

“If you are curious to know what I will do to you, then try that again. Trust me, you will spend the rest of your life hating yourself for disobeying Connor Hughes. You will see the psychopathic side of me,” He winked at me, picking his words one after the other maybe to tell me how much he meant them, and I could see the seriousness in his eyes as they bore into mine.

I stared back at him, unable to utter a word anymore. Who would’ve ever thought that the crazy Janice would one day be caught up in a situation I would be left handicapped? Who would’ve ever thought that the smart Janice that would always have a way out of the mess was not favored this time?

“You are mine now, and mine alone,” His domineering voice pierced through my ears, and he somehow sounded possessive and dominant now.

“I am not yours, Connor. I will never be!” I managed to snap at him, but he scoffed.

“Meet me in the room and let’s shower together. We have a long night to go,” He winked at me and bit his bottom lip before he turned and walked out of the garden, and I gasped sharply, covering my body with my hands.

I was going to stay in the garden forever, but I eventually left hesitantly. My heart hammered against my chest as I headed back to the room, scared of what he would do to me behind the walls of his room, and recalling that the room was soundproofed made me more scared.

“Hey,” I heard Claire’s voice, and I stopped on my track, turning to face her afterward.

“Hi!” I replied to her, and she nodded her head.

“Are you ok?” She asked me, and I quickly nodded my head.

“Alright. Good night,” She smiled at me, heading to her room afterward.

“Uhm… Can I spend the night with you, please?” I spilled those words before I could hold them back, and she stopped to look at me.

“Sure,” She nodded her head after staring at me for the next few seconds.

Her room was almost as large as Connor’s, and pretty too.

“Welcome to my room. The bathroom is over there. Make yourself comfortable,” She said to me as she sat on the bed, and I nodded my head.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Thank you,” I finally walked into the bathroom where I took my time to bathe, and wore the white robe I found in her bathroom before I walked back into the room.

“So, why do you want to pass the night here? Is Connor giving you a hard time?” She asked out of the blue, and my eyes narrowed. I wasn’t expecting that question, but I was also foolish not to think she would ask me that…