Her substitute husband

Chapter one

The room was very quiet; the only sound heard was Charmiene's occasional adjustment to the hair clips on her head. She stood facing her reflection in the mirror, her face stoic. She was wearing a wedding gown, and her hair was held in place in a sleek bun. As she brushed tirelessly the creases on her gown, she recalled the conversation she had with her mother the night before.

"You don't have to do this, Cher; you can still make it to Brussels if you leave tonight". Her mother had told her.

"You'll die if Mr. Abel Sham finds out I escaped; we both know what he is capable of, don't we, mom?" She had responded.

"Why would you mortgage your life like this.. and for me?" Her mother continued her voice-breaking with each sentence.

"Because you stayed just for me when you would have left me." She replied calmly,

"But I'm just your stepmother, I...". Her mother continued sad.

"You are more of a mother Diana than my biological mother ever was; you left me the very moment she had a chance to and in the middle of the bustling city of New York. You found me and cared for me. It's my turn to do so; please let me."

Charmiene had said holding her mother's hands

She was determined, and Diana knew there was nothing on earth she could do to change her mind. Abel Sham was a brute; he wouldn't hesitate to kill them both if it meant he would get his way. Both she and Charmiene understood this. But even so, Charmiene had to make it out of here.

" I won't come for your wedding, nor would I help you dress if you insist". Her mother had said as a last resort.

All the better, no need to see me as an unhappy bride then. She had said leaving her mother's room to hers. Today as she dressed herself, she felt agitated and alone.

"Is the bride ready?" a croaky voice asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

The voice belonged to Abel Sham. Charmiene's father. He was dressed in a velvet black suit with a red rose popping out from his left pocket like a jack in the box. He was smoking a vape, and on his left hand was a champagne bottle, half drunk. Charmiene was unphased; he had always been a disappointment to her and her mother.

"Yes" . She replied, still looking at herself in the mirror. Her wedding gown was her mother's. It would have been upcycled and made more fitting, but she didn't want it altered or helped into shape.

"Then let's go; that old, naggy priest is on my neck; funny enough, he's about the same age as your husband to be." He said cackling.

Charmiene didn't care. She knew he was trying his best to frighten her; she wasn't going to fall for it. When her father came with the marriage proposal from Ammitel Aetheris, she went to investigate him. He was a man in his late forties who was sickly and dying.

Apparently he had resistant tuberculosis and would barely last for a year. She went into the wedding hall with the mindset that it would soon be over. Ammitel had a son; Alaric was his name. He had an estranged relationship with his father and lived in London.

Charmiene didn't care about him nor the past of her husband; all she cared about was about Diana. Although sickly, Ammitel was a Don. He was the richest man in New York, and being wife to someone with so much power was going to be a big breakthrough for her and Diana. When she settled in her marriage before the death of her husband, she would request he save her mother from the beast she was married to. Hand strapped with her father's, she walked down the aisle to meet her dear husband. As she stood face to face with the man she was going to spend at most a year of her life with, she was stunned. The Ammitel Aetheris she had graciously researched looked nothing like the man before her. Sure, they shared similar features, but he was healthier and younger. Ammitel couldn't stand; he was always wheeled around in his wheelchair. She would have said the man before her was his son, but the pictures on the news didn't match with the man standing before her.

"Who are you?". She said apprehensive. Sweat suddenly breaking on her forehead.

"Relax darling, you'll get to know very soon". The man smiled, revealing his pearl teeth. His canine was weirdly pointed, almost like that of a vampire.

She looked over the crowd of seated dignitaries to her father, and she saw him grinning wickedly, obviously intoxicated. Fear crept into her; all the earlier stoicism is gone.

"I want to know now! Who are you?". She asked again, agitated

"And if I don't tell you who I am, what would you do?". The man Said smiling, enjoying the surprise on her face.

" I'll stop this wedding right here and now!!". She retorted.

"You wouldn't dare love, not when the life of your precious mother is on the line. Look around; she's nowhere to be found; don't you wonder why?". He said, grinning.

He looked like a psychopath, like a devil worse than her father.

"She told me she wasn't coming. Answer me, who are you?". She replied unbothered.

The man laughed obnoxiously.

"Your dear mother is In a room with a bomb strapped to her chest". Charmiene looked at him with disgust.

Who was this geezer?

" You don't believe me, I'll show you".

Almost immediately, the unknown man dragged her from the altar out of the wedding hall. The people present murmured inaudible words, and the priest who had been patiently waiting for their conversation to come to an end sighed.

"Another mafia-like marriage.". He thought to himself.

The unknown man dragged her into a black SUV, and together they drove off to a desolate place not far from the church. There she saw her mother unconscious with a bomb strapped around her chest.

"Diana!!" . Charmiene screamed loudly as she saw her lying unconscious.

"Relax, girl; she's not dead". He said to her, laughing.

"Why are you doing this?". She said, suddenly breaking into tears. She couldn't believe her eyes. This strange man was never bluffing

"For this. He said, tilting her chin sharply to his. To see you cry. I didn't like the air of authority you walked into the church with. How dare you ask me questions?. How dare you try to act unterrified of me? I didn't like your attitude, that's all. Your bastard father was right about you. You are fearless, and I hate fearless women".

Charmiene stood in the deserted building, broken. Whatever was happening now couldn't be real.

"Please don't hurt her; she's all I have, sir". She said, trembling.

The mere thought of losing Diana was driving her insane.

"Excellent, this is exactly as I envisioned it-a meek, fearful bride, not the stoic feminist I saw earlier. What do you say we continue the wedding now, Lottie? ". He said it with so much vigor, like a madman.

Charmiene nodded, the assurance that it would be a one-year marriage leaving her. The man before her wouldn't be dying any time soon. In fact, he looked like a god that'd live forever. The thought of spending every day with him disoriented her. He dragged her back into the black SUV, and they returned to the church.