ANNAMy eyes sprung open, only then did I realize it was a dream. Although the chances of this dream coming to pass are high. I yawned as I rolled over to the edge of the bed and I picked up my phone, I had gotten a message that gave me clarity that my nightmare would soon come to pass. The message was from the loan sharks my mother had borrowed money from, a threatening message at that, the content of the message contained things they would do to me if I didn't meet the deadline. I dropped my phone, cupped my face in my hands and I let out a loud sigh. What did I ever do to be birthed to someone like my mother? I have always felt out of place and unlucky ever since I was born. My father worked as a security guard, he lived his life as best as he could, although he had his faults. He sometimes came home drunk or ran into debts sometimes, only later did I realise it was to keep up with the mounting bills. He died in a motorbike hit-and-run accident, an autopsy proved he was drunk
DANIELI returned the picture frame to the drawer, locked it in and reached out for my suit blazer. I sent a quick text to Anthony to get the car ready outside, I haven't been to work in a week now, nothing beats appearing out of the blue to your workers once in a while. I built Matt's investments from sweat, I wouldn't allow any worker to mismanage it for me. According to Anthony, the workers nicknamed me Cold Matt, I do agree and I don't find it offensive either. I went downstairs, and my chef, Ray made pancakes for breakfast. I took the one with syrup toppings, ate half and walked out. I checked my Hublot wristwatch as Anthony drove inside the company, it's a few minutes past 8 a.m. Immediately I entered the building, I noticed my employees started running helter-skelter. I had always been seen in the light of a dreadful boss, I come off as an arrogant man because I sack workers for the slightest mistakes, I wouldn't be where I am if I made mistakes constantly. I walked towards
ANNATears welled up in my eyes immediately, my hands shook uncontrollably from fear. I put my phone in my bag, wiped my face and hastened my steps towards the bus stop. I had just two weeks to come up with fifty thousand dollars, I felt devastated. I opened the door to my house with full alertness in case I was being traced to where I lived, I locked the door behind me immediately after I entered. I took a sit, unlocked my phone and searched for who I could call for help, the only contact that stared at me was Cassie's. I couldn't bring myself to call her to lend me money, after all, it wasn't like the regular two hundred dollars she would lend me. I met Cassie in high school, she was transferred because her parents relocated to our town, Aurora. We clicked pretty well and we have been friends, she often came through for me whenever I needed help. I was able to get my current job through her, I could say she was the only person who truly cared about me and I couldn't ruin everythin
ANNAI repeated after her, "Sixty thousand dollars?" Perhaps I didn't hear her right, and she confirmed it to me again. "You will be given half payment upfront and it will be completed when you carry it out successfully", Pamela added. I needed time to think about the offer which she accepted and left. I sat on the bed, folded my legs and gave the offer a deep thought. I'd be able to pay off the loan sharks and still have more than enough. Yes, this was the only way I could pay the debt and settle other important bills. At exactly 8 a.m. the next day, I called Pamela to let her know I would do what she asked, I felt the excitement in her voice while I hung up. I felt like a huge burden was about to be lifted from my shoulders. As the day got nearer, I started meeting with Pamela and Daisy more often for the preparation. The plan was to wear two-inch heels to match Daisy's height and to have my hair styled exactly as hers.I also trained my voice and walking steps to fit into Daisy
ANNAI took a step back, I tried to think of what to say while twisting my fingers. It didn't stop him from getting closer to me and before I could say, Jack, he removed the veil and tossed it on the floor. He lifted my face and asked, "Who the hell are you?"I went mute and shaky, Daisy didn't prepare me for this stage. Daniel had a terrifying look on his face which made my mouth dry up immediately. "Answer me!" he yelled at me. I lost my composure and I blurted out the words without giving it a thought, "Who are you and why are you here?" I yelled back at him but he didn't move, he kept the furious face. Without hesitation, "I am betrothed to someone who I assume is not you, you wouldn't be asking me such a question of it were you" I added. He looked at me and laughed wickedly, "You're trying to play smart, I'm not dumb little miss", he grabbed me by the arm. "I think we both got the wrong partners, we can't keep going back and forth. Let's annul this mismatch tomorrow" I fire
DANIELI watched her pretend she was okay with what I just said. She dared to deceive me, nobody gets away with deceiving me, not now or ever. I would never fall for such a clumsy trick, I pondered hard on why I fell for it but I couldn't hold on to a strong reason. "Could it be the stress from work?" I asked myself. My normal self would have caught on to such a trick even before it started. I didn't rise to this level by being so clumsy. I admit I let my guards down due to mental stress and I ended up with a stranger posing as my wife. But I will not just let it go like it never happened. I will make sure they all pay for what they did and I am starting with the fake wife herself. FEW HOURS EARLIERIt's only a matter of time before Anthony reports his findings to me. I had asked him to find everything there was about her and report it to me. I want to know who dared to play a fast one on me. They might have thought I'm as dumb as they
ANNAHe just asked me to sign a contract and work for him. I don't know anything about this man and I started to feel I made a great mistake by agreeing to replace Daisy on her wedding day. I was starting to see Daisy could have used me as a bulletproof to avoid an aggressive man. He's been blowing up since he found out, he wasn't having any of my excuses. I cursed at my mother inside of me, I would not be stuck with this total stranger not agreed to be a fake bride if she hadn't filled me as a guarantor and fled. Daniel is an intelligent man, no doubt about that. He already knew I wouldn't have a choice. He found out I had a debt dangling around my neck, he knew why I did this fake bride thing. He was trying so hard to make me regret my decision and punish me for it. I haven't been able to reach Daisy or Pamela, if I want to make things easier for myself, I need to concur with this man. I have been through a lot of things ever since my mother left and I learnt everything is time-
ANNA"What?!" I exclaimed. I choked on my water and started coughing. "Why would she be travelling?" I asked confusingly. He retorted, "That is for you to worry about", he passed me the napkin to wipe my mouth. I was not expecting him to know the exact reason, I just needed an answer from someone. A stupid reason would work on me at that point. The person I risked to do this for deserted me and is planning to flee. I sat up from the chair slowly, I struggled to find my footing and I left the dining table, dragging my feet slowly. I sank into my bed, and hot tears rolled down my face. The only solution was to do according to what Daniel said, be on my best behaviour and hope he will keep on to his promise. ….I realized I slept when I suddenly jacked up to life, the emotions flowed through me so much as I stared at the room ceiling. I heard my phone buzzed and sluggishly picked it up. An unknown number had called me about five times and now left a message that said "Hello Anna,