Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom novel Chapter 5

At the Lees family mansion…

Grandpa Lee could be seen patting Jeslyn on the back as she cried on his lap. After crying for a long time, she finally raised her head to look at her grandfather.

”W– when did you find out about…sniff, about the poison? ”

The old mans pupil dilated, She knew? he thought.

”Don lie to me, grandfather! ” She yelled, knowing he was about to hide things from her.

She had lived with this man for 5 years after coming back from abroad, so she was very familiar with the expressions he makes when he wants to lie or cover things up.

The old man swallowed and asked: ”How is my health related to you changing grooms at the last minute? ”

”Because someone sent me messages on my phone… ” thats right. Her phone! She searched her body but couldn find her phone. ”Where is my phone? ”

”Your phone hasn been with you since we left the wedding venue, Miss. ” A young lady with her hair made into a ponytail said from where she was standing.

”You said what? ” Jeslyn couldn believe it. Her phone was with her even when she was hugging her grandfather… no, thats not right. There was no phone with her… then where did she drop her phone!?

”Maya, please, search for my phone. The evidence is on my phone. Call the hotel management, do everything you can to search for my phone! ”

”Yes, Miss. ” Maya, who seems to be Jeslyns assistant, walked a little distance from them to place calls to the hotel.

”Child, calm down, breathe in and breathe out…yeah, like that. Calmly tell me what the problem is. I don need evidence to believe you. ” The old man gently rubbed her back to calm her down.

”Grandfather, Ray, hes a bad person. I was in my hotel room… ” her mind flashed back to the event of that morning.

Few hours earlier…

Jeslyn was seen in a grand room getting dressed by two stylists and their assistants. One was applying makeup on her while the other was almost done with her hair.

The bride looked stunning with a beautiful smile on her lips as she imagined herself with Ray on the altar exchanging rings and kissing.

She chuckled to herself, evidence that she couldn contain her happiness.

The stylist left after they were done with her. She stood by the floor to ceiling mirror in the room as she checked herself out. ”Im a beauty goddess. ” She stated with confidence.

Yes, she truly was a beauty goddess, no denying that, however her phone beeped, calling her attention from admiring herself any further.

She picked up the phone and saw a notification message for her email.

She opened it and saw there were a few videos, pictures and a note.

Jeslyn decided to watch the videos first. It might be a crazy fans video of her. She thought.

Some of her enthusiastic fans edit her pictures most times with themselves in it and send them to her email with a love message attached to it, which was why this kind of message didn look weird to her.

She sat on the bed and opened the first video. Instead of her picture, she saw Ray speaking to someone in a car. Somehow, only Rays face was visible and the other persons appearance was blurred.

”Ray, what is wrong with you? Do you have to marry her? I thought the plan was different? ”

”It was but she wanted the marriage and her grandfather approved of it. Also, if I don marry her on her 26th birthday, the properties will be transferred to the orphanage the following day. Its not like you guys don know that. ”

”Young Miss knows, but shes not happy about you getting married to another woman. ”

”I know shes angry, Im also angry too, but what can I do? This whole idea of approaching the Lee family was hers in the first place, so why is she angry at me and not taking my calls? ”

”Young Miss is afraid that you might grow feelings for Jeslyn after you both get married. Shes a woman, so its natural to get jealous and battle insecurities. ”

”Hahaha… how can she think so lowly of me? Jeslyn and I have been together for four years and I didn fall for her. Will a marriage of six months make me start loving her? After our wedding, Ill travel with young Miss for six months and when I return, its to divorce her. Young Miss already knows that, so why is she still upset? I only have my eyes for your young Miss– ”

”And me? ”

”Come on, we both know we don have feelings for each other. We are just f*cking each other and nothing else, so don take it serious. ” He touched the girls face and leaned towards her.

A while later, Jeslyn could hear lewd sounds coming from the video as they kissed.

The girls fingers traveled all over his body as she started to hastily take his clothes off, including his pants.

Jeslyn hurriedly paused the video as she looked at her screen dumbly for a long time. She couldn believe what she just watched.

Tears slowly gathered in her eyes as she felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She slowly swallowed the lump that was forming on her throat and scrolled to the next video with her shaky fingers.

It was in a room, a hotel room. Ray and someone were in bed talking. The girls photo was edited again. Her image was blurred, just like the first one. only Ray could be seen stark naked and standing in front of the bed.

Jeslyn closed her eyes for a moment, prompting the river of tears in her eyes to gush onto her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, there was the determination to watch whatever they would be doing on that bad, after all, she had already heard enough on the first video.

”Ray, I delivered your message. Young Miss isn throwing a tantrum anymore, but she still doesn want to talk to you. ”

”I know. ” He sighed and got onto the bed. ”She knows that if I don marry Jeslyn, the brat won be able to get those properties, and our plans over the years will be for nought. ”

up a while later, the truth she just discovered rushed back into her mind and the first thing she wanted to do at that moment was to call off the wedding.

But what happens to her mothers will? Her grandfathers will can still be changed, but her mothers can ? Will her grandfather even have enough time to change his will before anything happens to him? Because in the video, they didn specify when the poison would ruin her grandfather.

Calling the cops will require enough evidence, but what if they claim the evidence she has was fabricated? Shes a celebrity and has seen lots of such things happen in the entertainment industry.

So the only idea that stuck to her confused brain at that moment was to get married, but definitely not to Ray. Even a janitor, or a waiter would do, until shes able to sort things out.

She picked up her phone and left the room while crying along the way. It was like luck wasn on her side because after walking through the corridors of her hotel room, she didn find anyone until she saw him, that weird man coming out or entering the restroom.

She didn care if her words would sound desperate or if she was making the wrong decision, however all she wanted at that moment was to solve one of the biggest problems, so she shamelessly proposed to him, ignoring the weird air surrounding him.

…

After hearing his granddaughters story, old man Lee was so furious that he yelled. ”That bastard!! I will– ”

The old man frowned in pain and clawed his chest. ”Argh! ” He cried out. ”Puff! ” He coughed out black blood which got onto Jeslyns wedding dress.

”G– grandfather, grandfather! ”

Jeslyn rushed to support the old man who was slowly going down with his side.

”Grandfather, help! ” She screamed while looking around the quiet and empty sitting room.

Her assistant was here a while ago, why isn she here now? She didn have the time to think of why the servants and guards that kept patrolling around the sitting room on other days like they were moths attracted to flame could not be found anywhere today.

”Somebody help me!!! ” She continued to scream but no one came.

The old man kept coughing out black blood. He slowly raised his shaky hands to his granddaughters cheeks and used a finger to wipe her tears. The stubborn old man who had never cried for decades felt hot tears sliding down his cheeks as he looked at his poor granddaughter screaming her lungs out for help.

He knew help won come because the servants and guards in the house have been bought. He just found out a few days ago that he had been living with a deadly poison in his body when he started to cough out black blood.

He called his doctor to the house and his doctor told him he was only stressed and that nothing was wrong with him. The old man didn believe his doctor and that was when he started to suspect that enemies were lurking around them.