The Substitute Bride Saga

Carol stood in front of the mirror in the room that she and her sister shared, preening and admiring herself. She turned this way and then that way, craning her head as far as it would go to see if her butt looked as big as she hoped. Her sister was sitting on their queen size mattress and looking at her with what looked like disdain. She shook her head, sighed, and got up to come and stand beside Carol, fluffing her hair and pouting in the mirror while using her considerably bigger body to push Carol to the side. “Hey! Why’d you do that?” Carol bristled, quickly grabbing and holding on to the edge of the dresser to steady herself. “I did that because I was saving you from wasting your time. What on earth are you checking out? You look like a fly.” Victoria replied, dragging her hands down her body to show her sister that she wa

By the time it was noon that day, Carol was dead tired and totally swamped with work, so much that she could not even afford to take a lunch break. To worsen situations, the bakery where she worked was unusually busy today, with customers streaming in and out and hardly giving the workers any breathing space. Deciding that she was going to take a break even if it was for five minutes to gobble something down, considering that she had not had anything to eat that morning, she quickly headed out of the restaurant. No sooner had she stepped out of the restaurant than she sighted Victoria, armed with both their parents and heading towards her.Carol sent a short prayer of thanks upwards that she had decided to step out of the restaurant when she did, otherwise they would have made a scene right in there in front of the customers and everyone else. Her sister was wearing a smug grin while her parents wore the somber and disappointed look that she had come to know so well.“If you’r

“I kid you not.” She was saying as Carol came into the room. “He’s so generous. I mean, just look at this pendant. He got it for me, he did…or rather, his father did. That man is sooooo generous. Supposing I was still single, I wouldn’t have wasted any second getting into his bed.” She confided in a whisper to her enraptured audience of about seven women, but Carol heard her.”Mom!”“Oh dear, there you are. Now, do hurry to your sister’s room if you do have any plans of still being her chief bridesmaid. You must be careful though, I must say she is in such a mood and we do not want to upset her further. Wedding jitters, I suppose, although why she should be having wedding jitters or second thoughts when she’s getting to such a fine man as he to be her husband is beyond me.”“Um, mum. Do you even know the name of the man your beloved daughter is getting married to?” Carol asked in shock and watched as her mother’s cheek turned bright pink in embarrassment.“What a ridicul

"Um, I'm sorry everyone, but may I have your attention please?" Once everyone was quiet, Belinda continued, hardly able to hide the tremor or uncertainty in her voice. "I'm sorry, but we would have to have dinner without my daughter, Victoria. I'm afraid that she's indisposed at the moment, but is recuperating. She's asleep now and we do not want to wake her up so that she will be well-rested for the wedding tomorrow.""Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that. I wish her a speedy recovery." A middle-aged woman said, placing her hand above her chest dramatically. The other people around the table muttered their condolences and wished Victoria well, asking her to give Victoria their best wishes. Carol noticed one man in particular who looked to be in his sixties and was sitting next to Sebastian who was seated across from her. At Belinda's announcement, the man's eyes narrowed, but he did not say anything. He didn't offer any condolences as the others did, but took up his cutlery and began t

Even before she got downstairs, Carol could hear the strong voice of Mr. James raised in utter displeasure. She could not hear what her parents were saying, but even without hearing them, she knew that they were trying to pacify him. It seemed they succeeded in doing that because he stopped shouting. Carol hurried toward the study and put her ear to the door, trying to hear what they were saying inside the room.“We can postpone the wedding though. We’ll find and convince her. I’m sure of it. All this is just cold feet, which is not a surprise considering the circumstances. Once she calms down, she’ll see reason.” Carol heard her mother say.“I don’t have the time or the patience for that. It was difficult enough convincing Sebastian to agree to this in the first place. He’ll gladly back out of the whole thing if he finds out that his bride has absconded. Are you absolutely sure that your daughter has run away?”“Yes. She left a note for us.”“Well, in that case, I’m afraid that there