Chapter 5
Janice POV
I got dressed for the date I'm having with Carl tonight. After the incident that day, me and Carl have kept in touch, and we've hung out for some time. I was able to take care of Connor, and I know if I continue to deny knowing him, everything will be cool.
My phone beeped, and I checked to see that it was a text from Carl.
'I'm waiting for you outside' After reading his message, I checked myself out in the mirror one more time to be sure I was good to go, leaving my apartment afterward. I live in a one-room flat apartment since I lived alone.
I soon got outside where I met his car parked at the front of my house, and I got in.
"Did I keep you waiting?" I asked him as I fastened my seatbelt, but he shook his head as he smiled at me.
"Not really. You look gorgeous," He complimented me, and I smiled at him.
"Thank you," I replied to him before the drive started. The drive to the fancy restaurant was peaceful and silent, and we soon arrived. Since the reservation has already been done before we came, we just went to sit at the spot that was reserved for us. The table was filled with varieties of food, and they all looked so expensive and delicious that I found myself salivating at the sight of them. You wouldn't blame me, right? Where would I have money to afford such? So, it was my first time eating such food.
We ate silently, and I tried to caution myself while eating. We were soon done with eating, and we started chatting.
"We've known each other for some time now, Janice. Uhm... I don't like beating around the bush, since I'm always straightforward..." He paused and took a deep breath before he took my hand, and I raised my eyebrows, wondering what he was on about.
"Let's get married," He said after a long silence, and my eyes slowly narrowed in shock.
"Huh?" I blinked my eyes rapidly, and he sighed.
"I know this is so sudden, and it doesn't make sense, but it's what I want. Can you give us a chance, please?" This was like a dream come true for me as it has always been what I ever wanted. Getting married into a real wealthy family has always been my dream, regardless of how I feel about the man. You can call me a gold digger, I wouldn't mind. Besides, that is who I have always been. What would you call someone that loves money so much more than herself, and would even do the unthinkable because of money? I am a gold digger.
"Can you give us a chance, please?" He asked for the second time as he squeezed my hands gently, but I was far gone. Thought of how I would finally get to live the luxurious life I've always dreamt of, how I would buy expensive things and live in a beautiful mansion. I couldn't help the excitement that filled my heart, but showing him that I'd been waiting for this, was the last thing on my mind.
"What about Connor?" My subconscious mind asked me, and I scoffed silently as I rolled my eyes mentally. It's going to be difficult, especially going to live under the same roof with him as his brother's wife, but that family seemed to like me, so I would be favored. All I had to do later is keep denying knowing him no matter the amount of pressure he puts on me.
"I will give you some time to think about it," He said when I didn't reply to him, and I slowly nodded my head. I wanted to tell him right away that I would marry him, but that would only make me look stupid.
The date was finally over, and he went to drop me off at home.
"I will be expecting to hear from you," He said to me before he finally hopped inside his car and drove off after I nodded my head.
"Yes!" I couldn't hold in my excitement anymore, so I jumped out and did some dancing before I finally headed to my apartment, throwing myself on the bed tiredly as soon as I walked in.
"I'm so excited. This is a dream come true for me," I giggled excitedly one more time before I finally stood up and stripped out of my clothes, heading to the bathroom to have a long and relaxing bath.
As I walked back into my room minutes later, I met my phone screen light on, and I picked it up, unlocking it. A message from Mrs. Hughes popped on the screen, and I was a bit nervous as I opened it, but my face however beamed at the sight that welcomed me.
'Hey, dear. I was going to meet you earlier to talk to you, but he said he wanted to do it instead so it won't look awkward. I would be glad to have you in my family, and I hope you would give him a positive reply. You can come over to the mansion tomorrow to have lunch with us' I felt on top of the world as I read the message over and over again, and I didn't need to be told that my prayers for years has just been answered. I just won a jackpot.
'I've thought about it, ma'am. I will marry him' This is way too fast, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. What if he changed his mind? I would be the one at a loss, you know?
As if she has been waiting for my message, her message popped on my phone almost immediately, expressing her gratitude as if I was doing them a favor once again. Well, it didn't matter if I was or not, but what mattered is that my dream has finally come true.
My phone beeped, and a message from my little brother popped on the screen.
'Sis, we haven't heard from you in a while. I'm missing you here. Mom asked to tell you that our house rent is due, and the landlord is threatening to throw us out. Also, the principal talked about our school fees when I went to school earlier today, and he threatened that I won't write exams if I don't bring it within three days' This is the message I get often, which always left me asking myself when all these shits will be over. I have a family out there that depends on me for a living, I provide for them.
I sighed briefly and went ahead to send them the last money in my account which was about twenty thousand dollars, even though it won't be enough to pay their rent for a whole year and still pay for Jack's school fees.
'That is all I have for now. I will try to send more when I raise some money. Take care of Mom and Dad, and be a good boy' I sent him the message before I tossed my phone on the bed and sank my fingers into my hair. It has always been my dream to have my family around me when I'm getting married, but I didn't think it would be a good idea in this case. I wasn't going to marry Carl because I love him, but because of his money, and I plan to get out of there and disappear forever as soon as I get as much money as I want from them. That is the plan, and I just hope it turns out well later...
Chapter 6 Two weeks later Connor Hughes "What do you mean, Mom? How could you even ask me to do that?" I scoffed angrily, and she sighed. "Connor, please you need to do this for my sake. We can't just stand her there and show up for the wedding. It won't make any sense, please," She pleaded with me, trying to sound as convincing as she could, but that was the last thing I would do. How the heck could she ask me to stand in as that bitch's groom because Carl ran away? Well, today was supposed to be Carl and Janice's wedding, but the jerk was nowhere to be found now, and they said that he wrote a letter that he was no longer interested in the wedding. "He shouldn't have started this in the first place if he wasn't interested in marrying her, and besides... I'm not your only son, am I? You can ask Chase to stand in as the groom, mom. I'm not interested in that," I stood my ground as I sat on the bed, but I knew she wouldn't give up no matter how much I tried to make him do it.
Chapter 7 Janice POV My heart pounded hard against my chest as I sat on the edge of the bed while listening to the sound of the running shower. Many thoughts ran through my mind, and I couldn't help but shake nervously. My life took another turn for the worse in a space of seconds. "Ugh! What do I do? I can't stay here. He is going to kill me if I stay here as his wife," I mumbled as I ruffled my hair crazily as I sprang up and paced restlessly in the room, thinking of any possible solution, but I couldn't think straight or come up with anything as my head was blank. I hurried over to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked from inside and the key was not even inside. "Damnit!" I cursed under my breath as my heart sank into my stomach. The shower finally stopped running, and I didn't need anyone to tell me that he would be out soon, and that only made me more terrified. As expected, the bathroom door finally opened, but I turned my back to him s
Chapter 8 Connor Hughes "You bastard!" Carl snapped angrily as he sent a punch hard to my face as soon as I walked into the living room, and I scoffed unbelievably as I rolled my eyes. "How dare you bastard! How dare you!" Be roared again as he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and punched me hard in the face for the second time, but I only smirked at him. "How does it feel, brother? Did you enjoy it, huh?" I smirked at him after I yanked his hands off my collar, adjusting my clothes. "How dare you!" He snapped again as he grabbed my collar again, but this time, I retaliated and punched him hard in the face, sending him staggering back. "What the hell is happening here?" Mom shrieked as she finally showed up with the kids, since Dad traveled immediately after the wedding yesterday. Mom gasped sharply and stopped on her track when she found Carl standing with me. "Carl! Where the hell were you? How dare you run away from your wedding? You were the one that asked her to
Chapter 9 Janice POV I scoffed for the fifth time as I stood in the garden with my hands on my waist. The view here was supposed to be called beautiful, but I couldn't even think of that because of the shit going on in my head. "Ugh! That guy is a real bastard. So this wasn't because of me, but his brother? How could he get me involved, huh?" I mumbled and scoffed because all this doesn't make any sense to me. The sound of the footsteps behind me pulled my attention, and I turned to find the youngest brother. I mean, Chase. We have only talked a few times since I've been coming here even before I moved in yesterday. "Hi, sister-in-law," He smiled at me. I've noticed how different he was from every other person in the family. Unlike Connor, he smiled a lot, much more than Carl does too. "Oh, good evening," I greeted him as he came to stand beside me, and he nodded his head. An awkward silence assumed the atmosphere as we both stared into space. I was nervous and curious ab
Chapter 10 Janice POV 'Don't think of running away, for I will find you wherever you go' Those words kept driving me nuts that I couldn't even think of running away. Connor looked like he would be someone dangerous, and I didn't want him to do something nasty to me if he found out I ran away and managed to get his hands on me. Sitting on the bed in Connor's room and trying to think of a way out of this mess I was in, the sound of the knock on the door disrupted my thoughts, and I went to get the door, but I froze on the spot when I pulled it open and found Carl standing there. "Ca... Carl?" I called surprisingly, but he held my hand and dragged me out of the room. "Where are you taking me?" I asked as he dragged me down the hallway, but he didn't even bother to answer me until we got to the garden. "Janice..." He paused and caught his breath, running his fingers through his hair. "Why don't you want to choose between us? We were going to get married before he ruined every
Chapter 11 Janice POV "Who told you to go spend the night with my sister?" Connor yelled at me angrily as soon as he dragged me into his room and slammed the door behind us. I was still finding what to say to Claire when he barged in and dragged me out of there. "Do I need anybody's permission to do what I want?" I asked him, and he scoffed. "You really want to die, yeah? This is my damn house, my damn family, and everything here belongs to me. You can't act on your own without my orders. How dare you?" He snapped at me, looking like he was going to pounce on me, but raising his hand on me would definitely be the last thing he would want to do. If he dared to hit me, he will surely see the crazy side of Janice. "If you can't tolerate me, then fucking let me go! You can't keep controlling me simply because it's your house. I want to leave your damn house for you, so fucking let me go!" I was already losing it, so I couldn't hold it in anymore. I thought he was going to yell
Chapter 12 Connor Hughes "What did you say?" I pulled away from her and asked, arching my eyebrows, but she rolled her eyes and pushed me off. "I didn't say anything. I'm going to sleep," She muttered, heading to the bed, and I smirked. I watched as she lay on the bed and pulled the duvet to cover herself, facing the other side of the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stared into space. Thinking about Carl made me scoff, the thought of him was driving me nuts that I wanted to strangle him to death instantly. I wanted to make his life miserable like he did mine years ago, I wanted to make him feel the pain I felt. Yes, what I did was extreme, but I would do more if I had to. Pushing all my thoughts away, I lay on the bed and pulled the duvet to cover myself. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, but the sound of my ringing phone pulled me out of my deep slumber, and I reached out lazily for it, answering the call without bothering to check who the caller was. "Hey,
Chapter 13 "Where the hell is that bastard?" I quickly recognized the voice to be Janice's as she barged into my office, and I raised my eyebrows in shock. "What are you doing here, Janice?" I asked her even though it was obvious why she was in my office looking so angry as if she was going to devour me soon. I didn't need anyone to tell me that she was here because of Carl. There was a slim chance of her being here for something else. "What the hell was that? How could you do that to your own brother? Were you trying to kill him, huh?" She yelled at the top of her voice not caring she was in my office. "Hey! You are in my office, so you have to..." "Screw you and your damn office, jerk! I don't care what the fuck is between you and your brother, but doing that to him makes you nothing but a beast. You are nothing, but a monster!" She yelled at me with pure disgust written on her face, and I slowly clenched my fists angrily, glaring hard into space. I wanted to stay calm and not r