Her Substitute Groom

Janice POV

My vision was blurry, my eyes were covered with tears that wouldn’t stop coming no matter how much I tried to stop them. My legs felt so weak that they could barely carry me, but still, I managed to walk to the spot where I parked earlier. I helped myself into the car and drove off the premises.

My heart was burdened, it felt like the weight of the whole world was being placed on my shoulders, but one thing I knew was that I needed to get home no matter what. My life was already messed up yet I couldn’t die. My parents and brother were going to live the rest of their lives in pain if anything should happen to me.

It’s as if Mom knew that I was in pain because my phone started to ring at that moment and when I checked it, I saw Mom’s name displayed on the screen. I pulled over at the side of the road then reached for the phone and slid the answer button.

“Janice, dear,” Her sweet and ever-calming voice sounded from the other end, and as if it triggered my pain, more tears streamed down my cheeks. I wanted to be in her arms while she embraced me and gave me the comfort and warmth I needed at that moment, I needed to lean on her shoulder and cry on her, but I couldn’t do it. I needed to be strong because I didn’t want to break my family. I didn’t want the poor woman to be worried about me.

“Mom,” I tried to sound normal like nothing happened.

“I’ve missed you so much. How have you been?” She asked, and I shut my eyes as I rested my head on the headrest.

“I’m not fine, Mom. I want to disappear. I just want to get out of here. He is going to kill me, Mom,” I needed to say those words to feel better, yet I had to take all the pain alone and pretend everything was fine while I was dying and bleeding inside.

“I’m fine, Mom. I’ve missed you too,” I managed to reply to her.

“How is Dad? What about Jeff?” I asked her.

“They are all fine. When are you coming over to say hi to us? It has been a while,” Mom sounded like she was really missing me.

“Soon, Mom… I’m coming there soon,” I replied to her although I wasn’t sure when would the ‘soon’ be. Who knows, maybe I may never get to see them again because I might not make it out of Carl’s den alive.

“Let me know when you are coming, dear. I’m going to make your favorite food,” Those words made my heart wrenched painfully, and more tears streamed down my cheeks. The call finally ended after a few minutes and I tossed my phone on the seat beside me.

“It’s fine, Janice. You can take it all… Everything is going to be fine,” I tried to assure myself even though I was sure that it was just a fake assurance that held no potential or power, rather. Everything was never going to be fine. Not with the monster Carl had turned into now.

My phone started to ring but I ignored the call when I saw that it was from Connor. He must be really worried about me, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him.

My phone beeped after the call ended and I picked it up.

‘Where are you, babe? Why are you not answering my calls?’ I read the text but dropped the phone back on the seat. Going home was the last thing on my mind, so I just drove to the hotel and checked in for the night. I needed some time alone to process everything and figure out what to do about this.

I slumped on the as soon as I walked into the large room that was assigned to me by the receptionist at the hotel. Staring up at the white ceiling, the only thing I could wish for was for everything to turn out to be a dream.

“Should I run away?” I mumbled as I sat up on the bed, but my phone beeped and I hesitantly checked it, but I gasped when I saw the text from Carl.

‘Don’t think something stupid. You’ll be doing yourself and Connor a big harm if you ever think of escaping from me’ I dismissed the thoughts immediately after I read through the text.

“I’m not going to run away… I won’t try to escape,” I muttered as I threw my phone on the bed and sank my fingers into my hair. It suddenly felt like I was losing my mind.

Brushing my thoughts off, I stood up from the bed and dragged myself into the bathroom where I had a long and relaxing bath in a bid to help me feel better, but in the end, it turned out that I only wasted my time. It didn’t help.

My phone’s screen light was on when I walked back into the room and I checked to see five missed calls and eight texts from Connor, and four missed calls and three texts from his brother, Chase. I felt guilty knowing that they were going to be worried about me, but there was also no point calling them back since I would be ending things with him tomorrow. I didn’t want this to happen, but Carl left me with no choice. He meant business. He would not only kill me, but Connor too if I was going to be stubborn.

I grabbed my phone then switched it off and dropped it back on the bed.

I lay on the bed, trying to force myself to sleep but it didn’t work, so I ended up staying up almost all night. It was almost 4am before I finally fell asleep.

I had no idea how long I’d been asleep, but the sound of my ringing phone pulled me out of my deep sleep and the bright sun penetrated my eyes when I forced my eyes open.

I lazily reached for the phone and swiped the answer button without bothering to check who the caller was.

“Have you packed up your things? One of my men is coming over to pick you up in two hours,” I snapped my eyes open when I heard Carl’s cold voice. I quickly sat up on the bed and checked the time. It was past 10am. Wait! Didn’t I switch off my phone before I went to sleep yesterday?

“Maybe I thought I did,” My subconscious reminded me, and I sighed, rubbing my fingers gently on my forehead frustratingly.

“Don’t keep him waiting,” I was still silent, but he said again and the call disconnected immediately.

I hurried out of bed immediately, put on my clothes, and dashed out of the room. I left the hotel after I dropped the pass card at the reception. The ride back home began…