Her Substitute Groom

Three days later

Janice POV

This would’ve been my chance to leave Connor forever as I’ve always dreamt, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. He is at his lowest now, and leaving him is going to be bad, so I’ve decided to stick around him at least until he is back on his feet again before I make my decision.

It was still hard to believe that Carl was dead, but the most unbelievable part was how Connor has been down and full of guilt from that day. If you ask me, then I would say that Connor would do anything to get rid of his brother, Carl, but after his demise, it occurred to me that he never wanted that. Maybe he thought Carl’s death was all he needed to heal, but now it didn’t seem like it was what he wanted. Being cast away from the family was also a nightmare he has been battling for a few days now.

The last few days have just been Connor and Chase acting boring at home. The two brothers have been depressed, if you ask me.

The day was normal like every other day that have passed, and I was getting ready to go to bed.

The bathroom door opened and Connor walked inside. He was cladded in a white robe. He dragged his feet toward the bed and sank into it even though his body was wet.

Silence assumed the atmosphere, and I was forced to look at him. He was staring at me with an unreasonable expression on his face which had me asking myself what the heck was going on with him.

“Why are you…”

“Do you think I’m a monster?” He cuts me off before I could finish my statement, and my jaw dropped at the question. At a point, I thought he was a monster. What did his brother do so bad to him that would make him treat him like that? I was wondering about that and concluded he was heartless, but I think all that has changed now. The fact that he was always saying back then that he would kill Carl didn’t turn out that he meant all that.

“It’s my fault, don’t you think so?” He scoffed. The pain was written all over him even though he was doing everything possible to hide it from me.

“Maybe I should’ve just forgiven her. Maybe this would’ve been avoided if I wasn’t so mad at him for years. Do you think I’m a monster?” He asked me for the second time, but I could only open my mouth without any words coming out because I couldn’t make up what to say to him.

“You don’t need to answer me, anyway…” He paused, then took a deep breath and shrugged.

“Two months… Just two months is what I need with you, and let’s get a divorce after then…” My eyes dilated in shock.

“I know this is selfish of me to ask. I’m not asking for myself, but I need someone here with Chase. He is just acting strong, he is not fine. I just need you to help me keep him company for some time, and when he gets used to being alone, you can leave then…” He paused, then stood up.

“I already talked to my lawyer, and he is currently working on preparing the divorce papers. We are going to sign it as soon as two months have passed,” He said to me, and I slowly nodded my head.

“In the meantime, I will try to stay away from you. You were never mine in the first place, so it’ll be unfair for me to go close to you,” he further said, and I nodded my head.

“You can go to bed without me. I’m passing the night in Chase’s room,” he uttered, then picked up his phone from the nightstand, walking out of the room afterward.

This was going to be tough for me to take, but I would try as much as I could to be here for them until we get a divorce.

After I was done getting ready for bed, I picked up my phone and set to distract myself with some books on reading apps. After scrolling through the app for some minutes, I finally found the one that piqued my interest, so I began to read.

Reading was really helpful because I soon fell asleep, and before I knew it, morning was already here.

After my usual morning routine, I headed out of the room and to the dining room where the maids were already setting breakfast.

“Good morning, Mistress,” The three maids greeted me with respect, and I slowly nodded my head. Connor has a total of fifteen maids in his penthouse, although I had no idea why he had them in such huge numbers.

“Where is Connor?” I asked one of the maids.

“Master went out early. He said to tell you to have breakfast alone. He may not come back anytime soon,” she replied to me, and I nodded.

“Did he leave with Chase?” I asked, and just then, thick footsteps sounded behind me and the maids bowed. I turned to find Chase walking in. He was cladded in black long trousers and a purple shirt, and his hands were tucked inside his pockets. He seemed like he was heading out.

“Good morning, sister-in-law,” he smiled at me. A forced smile.

“Good morning. I was just asking of you. Are you going out?” I asked him, and he nodded his head.

“Yes. I need to go somewhere,” he replied to me, and I had to glance at the table that was already set.

“Are you not going to have breakfast before you leave? They’ve set it,” I pointed to the dining room.

“I will eat something on my way out. I will be back,” he patted my shoulders and sauntered toward the door, while I stood with my mouth hanging open in awe. Is the food meant for only me? I asked myself even though it looked impossible for me to finish the food on the dining table.

“The food is ready, mistress,” The woman in her late forties whom I assumed to be the headmaid said to me, and I scoffed silently.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Just call me Janice, please,” I flashed her a smile and headed to the dining room. That name sounded weird and made me feel old. I mean, why the hell would she call me that?

My phone beeped barely five minutes into eating, and I stopped to check the message that just popped on the screen. It was a text from my brother.

‘Sis, I hope you have not forgotten about the balance of our rent. It’s going to be the end of next month. Also, my tuition fee is due. Hoping to hear from you soon’ I sighed after reading through the text. Messages like this always had me frustrated. Well, I guess I would have to talk to Connor to employ me real quick so I cant ake care of the choking bills…