Her Substitute Groom

Janice POV

Carl called me about an hour ago to inform me that he was on his way, and I didn’t wish for anything more than for him to not make it here. Of course, I knew this was extreme, but what was I supposed to wish for when he had made my life into a living hell?

After breakfast with my parents and Jeff, I returned to my room since I couldn’t go anywhere else aside from being here.

Sitting on my bed and just staring into space while wallowing in my own thoughts, a knock sounded on my door, and when I ushered whoever was at the door inside as I was too lazy to go open it myself, the door opened and Jeff walked inside.

“Jeff?” I called surprisingly.

“Someone is here to see you, sis,” My heart skipped when he said that, and immediately, many thoughts came parading my mind. Who could that be? Could it be that it was Connor that came back again? I asked myself and swallowed nothing.

“Who is it?” I asked curiously as I stood from the bed.

“He is outside the gate. I was on my way out when he asked after you and pleaded that he wanted to see you. He mentioned that it’s really important,” I rushed to my window and pushed it open in a bid to check who the person was, but I recalled that I couldn’t see him from there.

“Alright. I’ll be out shortly,” I replied to him, and he nodded and walked out of my room.

Did Connor come back again? I couldn’t help but ask myself as I walked out of my room and sauntered down the walkway.

As I descended the staircase minutes after I left my room, I saw two guards in the living room along with my parents.

“Where are you headed, Janice?” Mom asked me when I walked inside the living room.

“Nowhere, Mom. Jeff told me someone is outside the gate and wants to see me,” I replied to Mom, and one of the guards stepped forward, forcing me to look at him. He looked like he was ready to stop me from going outside.

“Were you expecting someone?” Mom asked me with a curious expression on her face.

“I’ll be back, Mom,” I said to her instead, and just when I was about to leave, the guard came to stand in my way.

“I’m sorry, Miss. But you can’t go outside. Our boss made it strict that you can leave the house for your safety,” The guard said to me, and I scoffed.

“I didn’t remember saying that I wanted to leave the house, did I? Someone is outside to see me, so leave my way,” I said to him coldly even though he was holding a gun. None of the guards here could harm me unless Carl gave them the order, so at least I had the upper hand in that.

“I’m sorry, but…”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want my parents to think your boss is holding us hostage here, right? He won’t spare anyone that makes him get on the bad side of my family,” I whispered to the guard, and he sighed.

“I’m sorry, Miss,” He bowed to me slightly and stepped away from my way. I glared hard at him and finally made my way out of the house. I didn’t think it was going to work so easily.

My heart sank into my stomach when I stepped out of the house and saw Chase waiting outside the gate. Immediately, I regretted coming out to meet him in the first place. I wouldn’t have come outside if I had known he was the one here to see me.

Taking a deep breath, I dragged my feet down the compound to the gate.

“I’m glad you came, Janice. There is an emergency,” He stated as soon as I stopped behind the gate. The gate was locked, so I couldn’t go out to meet him.

“What happened, Chase? Is Connor okay?” Fear gripped me, and my heart hammered against my chest.

“You need to come with me, please,” He pleaded with me, and my eyes narrowed.

“Why?” I asked even though I knew this had something to do with Connor.

“You really need to come with me to see Connor right away, please. I’m not asking you to get back together with him, but please, for the sake of the pain everyone would be through if something should happen to him, please come with me,” He pleaded with me, and I swallowed nothing. Even though he hadn’t mentioned anything to me yet, I was scared. Losing Connor was the last thing I could take.

“I can’t come with you, Chase. You need to…” My voice trailed off when I saw the familiar car driving toward the gate, and I froze on the spot. It was Carl’s car. I didn’t expect him to be back so early.

“You need to leave, Chase. You need to get out of here,” I panicked as I pleaded with Chase because I didn’t want Carl to harm him. He could kill Chase if he found him here.

“Why should I leave? Is your boyfriend here?” Chase asked stubbornly after he glanced at the car that had just pulled over.

“You really need to leave, Chase. Please leave immediately,” I pleaded with him as tears brimmed in my eyes. I couldn’t afford Connor to lose his brother that he loves the most.

“I’m not going to leave here until you agree to come with me to go see Connor,” He insisted.

“And why should my fiance come with you to see… What was the name you called again? Connor?” I saw the shock on Chase’s face when he heard Carl’s voice. The same expression I had that day when I first found out that he was alive. For the next few seconds, Chase stared at me as if he was waiting for my approval to look in the direction of the voice.

Slowly, he turned to face Carl who was standing behind him, and I could swear that Chase’s jaw dropped to the ground as his eyes narrowed in shock.

“Long time no see, brother. Did you miss me?” I could swear that the look on Carl’s face could kill as he smirked at Chase. Even I was scared of what was going to happen next. Will he shoot Chase? Will he abuse me again for seeing Chase? Will he blame me for coming outside to meet him? My heart pounded hard against my chest as I stared in shock, waiting for hell to break loose…