Her Substitute Groom

Connor Hughes

“The fuck! What is she doing here?” I mumbled and scoffed unbelievably. I told her before I left that she shouldn’t wait up for me, so how come she’s still here?

“Is she crazy or what?” Again, I mumbled and shook my head before I went to wake her up.

“Where are you coming from?” Her voice was filled with rage as soon as she was sober, and I had to ask myself if she wasn’t the same person who was sleeping deeply here just now.

“I went out. Why are you here? I told you I was going to come back home late. Why did you wait up for me?” I was a bit mad at her for being this stupid.

“Where the hell did you go to and didn’t even think that it was time for you to come back home?” She snapped at me, her eyes filled with rage, and I flinched.

“Hey! What’s up with that…”

“You went to hang out with your numerous flings, yeah?” She scoffed and bit her bottom lip. Every action 9f hers confuses me so much and always leaves me asking myself several questions.

“Janice… I’m tired. Can you go to bed so I can go get some rest?” I tried to sound as calm as I could, but she scoffed.

“I asked where the hell you are coming from, you jerk! How could you? I told you to stop seeing those women. I told you that for as long as we are married, you are not allowed to spend time with any other woman. How could you?” Her voice was insanely loud this time, not giving a damn about the maids that may probably be asleep by now. The living room is not soundproofed for goodness sake.

“What is wrong with you, Janice? I thought I made it clear to you that I can’t stop this… I won’t stop doing it. It’s not that we are married for love or something. We don’t have feelings for each other… I don’t know for you, but I don’t feel anything for you…”

“You are the last man I would allow myself to fall in love with. The most horrible bastard I would never trust my heart with…”

“Then why the fuck are you being like this? I told you to leave me the hell alone. I won’t sleep with you… I won’t do it, so why can’t I do it with another woman?” I couldn’t take it anymore, so I ended up yelling at her, expecting her to at least flinch, but she just stared back at me with a blank expression on her face.

“Because we are married. Even if we don’t have feelings for each other, what about respect? Imagine going out there and introducing me as your wife to one of your flings. What do you think she will…”

“There’s never going to be a scenario like that, so quit being annoying and clingy. You are starting to get on my nerves, so you better stop,” I didn’t mean to be harsh on her, but she was pushing me so hard that I couldn’t hold back my anger.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Is it sex you want? I will give it to you… I’m on my period now… I will give it to you after I finish it,” She held my hand and uttered, her lips trembled, and I scoffed.

“Janice… Quit this annoying…”

“You want it now? My period won’t stop us from doing it. We can do it now,” I would’ve concluded that she was just messing with me, but seeing the seriousness and desperation in her eyes made me realize that she meant business.

“You are crazy, Janice,” I stepped away from her and shook my head slowly. I watched as her eyes glistened with tears, and before I could come up with anything to say to her, she turned and walked away, leaving me even more confused.

“What is wrong with her?” I mumbled confusingly, trying to think about the possible reason behind her action, but no matter how much I thought about it, nothing seemed to be coming through for me.

“Maybe she lost her mind for a moment. She will surely come around tomorrow,” I mumbled and ruffled my hair before I headed to my room.

My legs felt stiffened, so I dragged them up the stairs and headed to my room. I slumped on the bed tiredly as soon as I walked inside my room.

“Why was she like that? It’s not that we are in love or something,” I sat up on the bed and sank my fingers into my hair. It felt like I was losing my mind. No, thinking about what happened earlier and the act she put up there. The thought of it was driving me crazy.

“Janice is crazy. Maybe she was just doing that to relieve stress,” I muttered, but deep inside me, I knew that conclusion didn’t make any sense.

The sound of my ringing phone pulled my attention, so I sat up on the bed.

“Shit! I didn’t take my phone along earlier?” I mumbled and reached for the phone that was lying on the nightstand, but the call already ended by the time I took it.

“Let’s see who…” I paused when I unlocked the phone and was met with fifteen missed calls from Claire. My heart dropped for a moment.

“Shit!” I cursed silently and dialed her number, but it rang and she didn’t answer the call.

“What happened to her? How could I forget my phone at home?” My heart pounded hard against my chest, and many thoughts ran through my mind as I dialed her number again, but it didn’t go through. Did something happen to her? What if she got into an accident? Those awful thoughts clouded my mind, but I quickly dismissed them, telling myself that it wasn’t the case.

“Who should I call?” I mumbled, scrolling through my phone. I would’ve called Chase, but he hasn’t been in contact with Claire and the family since Dad sent us away, so there was no point in doing that.

“Khan!” I mumbled and quickly searched his number and dialed it.

“Do you not have a clock over there? It’s late for fuck’s sake!” He groaned over the phone when he answered the call. I guess he was sleeping before I called him.

“Khan, I need your help, please. I went out and left my phone at home so I missed Claire’s calls. I can’t reach anyone over there. Can you help me check on her and tell me if she’s fine?” I asked him worriedly.

“It’s midnight, dude?” He groaned.

“Please, do this for me. You are the only one I can reach,” I pleaded with him.

“Alright. I will do that,” He mumbled and the call disconnected immediately. I just pray nothing happened to her…