The Bride's Substitute Novels & Stories

Jace pulled away from the kiss after a while of kissing me fervently, and he gazed into my eyes like he already suspected that I wasn't his bride. We took pictures with his parents as they were very happy about the wedding, and also my parents too. I stood there anxiously, taking several photos with the priest, my parents, Jace's parents, the bridesmaid, and best man. Lily, my twin sister's best friend, was the bridesmaid, and I wondered if she knew that I was taking Clara's place. But I was sure that Clara never told anyone of her plans. As Lily hugged me excitedly and squealed, "Congratulations, Clara! I am so happy for you!"

"Thorne-Holdings has been 'Decentralized.' I’ve spent the last decade 'Un-Doing' everything the 'Ice-King' built. But there is one 'Contract' that I can't seem to 'Close'." He reached into the drawer of the obsidian desk and pulled out a single sheet of paper. It was yellowed, the edges frayed. It was the original "Substitute-Bride-Agreement"—the document that had priced Avery’s life at a million dollars for thirty days of her "Presence."

“When we came here…you made me promise to bring you back after we've wedded—and I've fulfilled my promise, yet you act like a different person in the same skin.” A different person in the same skin—the words resounded in her head. Chills swirled down her spine and she shivered. She blinked, inwardly fighting the urge to look away—cheeks burning, blushing pink. That was definitely who she was—a different person in the same skin was an understatement. She was a totally different person, an imposter. Was she ruining this before it even started? Their marriage was barely three days old. And, Pamela had already planned the dinner reservation before the wedding?

Until death do us part. Then it was my turn. I opened my mouth. And for one terrible, stretched-out second, my mind went completely blank. Not because I was nervous. Not because I'd forgotten the words. But because standing there in Vivienne's dress, holding Vivienne's flowers, I suddenly became acutely aware that this entire morning had been designed for someone else. The chair arrangements, the registrar, the seven witnesses, the man beside me, none of it had ever been meant for me. I was a substitute. A stand-in. A clause in a contract.

His words made a smile spread across my lips but I was quick to wipe it off. "Have you gone nuts? We are not even friends, why should I get into a deal with you?" I rolled my eyes in disgust. Ignoring me, he pressed on, “Five million dollars.” “Excuse me?” “I will make it ten, fifteen. Let's settle for twenty, what do you say?" Dumbfounded, I couldn't say a word. My lips were heavy. After what seemed like forever, he pushed his hand into his hair and with a calm tone, he said, “I need a substitute bride.”

She had a pleased smile on her face. “Hmmm, up close, you are even more stunning. Just some proper pampering and you should be the most beautiful bride the world has ever seen. Welcome to the family, child.” “Thank you?” Iris answered, unsure of what else to say. Her eyes returned to Luca nervously and Evelyn laughed. “Forgive me for not making the introductions. This is Luca, I’m sure you already know. He is going to be your husband. Don’t mind him, he doesn’t talk much but he doesn’t object to the wedding so you have nothing to be afraid of”

He left at the wee hours of the morning when she still asleep to get her clean underwear and to also get breakfast but when he returned she was gone. *** sorry for the late update. The Substitute Bride is coming to an end soon and I want to say thank you to all my readers who have stuck with me from the beginning even though I couldn't update as often I'd like to. please hang in there and I hope you'll continue to support Rella and Stefan's journey.

"It was a sham, a mix-up. It was dark, and I couldn't see clearly. That's why I carried off the wrong bride." "The wrong bride?" Brad raised an eyebrow, his gaze settling on Nicholas' face. He said in a measured tone, "Mr. Tanner, our custom of bride heist isn't some brute forcing a woman. "It's an unspoken agreement between two villages and two families. If a woman isn't willing, do you really think she'd let herself be carried off?" Nicholas froze. "If she truly wasn't willing…" Brad paused, his voice softening. "She'd beat the guy so badly that his own mother wouldn't even recognize him."

Actually, I didn't doubt that anything would look good on him. It seemed that the hearsay was true. He was poor and couldn't afford to buy a new suit for the wedding. Or he just thought it wasn't worthy of doing so. The elder interrupted my thoughts, "Bride and groom, for some reason, you can't swear to the Moon Goddess now. As a substitute, you can exchange rings as your proof of oath that you accept each other completely and will never separate." The word "substitute" rang the bell in my mind.