Page 3 of The Wife Deception
Subconsciously, my hand reached my nose. I've had it for nine weeks now, but it still felt like a foreign limb, despite simple cartilage removal. "But what if she comes back?"
He whipped around to face me. This was the first time I had said the thought aloud. Pretending to be Aelin, someone who didn't know what we were doing, was bound to backfire. We had gone too far. Deceiving Nolan hadn't been pleasant. I was sick to my stomach, stumbling over mythoughts as I tried to pretend to be someone more interesting than me. If Aelin were ever to find out, she would kill me.
Grandfather dismissed my concerns. "I'll worry about that. And besides. Aelin would be happy to find out she got married to a billionaire."
But it wouldn't be her who would get married. It would be me. Her name would be on the marriage certificate. "What about me?"
"What else do you want? You'll get more than you could ever imagine!" he gasped as we entered the house. His bodyguard hovered at the entrance. He waved over two nurses who came running with a wheelchair. Grandfather swatted them away when they tried to place him in the chair; however, his inability to hold himself up steadily forced him to ungraciously accept the wheelchair. The two nurses wheeled him away to his bedroom, ignoring the multiple slurs he hurled their way.His bodyguard lingered behind them. A chill ran down my spine. I’ve always found my grandfather’s man unnerving. His steely silence combined with his size made him scary, but I guess that was the point.
I climbed the grand staircase and proceeded to my bedroom. It was close to dinnertime, but food was the last thing on my mind. I was screwed. My chest tightened at the mere thought of what I had put myself in. When grandfather first came up with the idea, I thought he was joking. Learninghow much I would be paid to impersonate someone else made it seem like a good idea. If only that's what all of this was about. The more I learned about his plan, the more I realized his scheme was bigger than pretending to be my cousin at a party. At a gala. He wanted more. And by that point, he had more leverage over me than mere finances. By the time he asked me to pretend to be my cousin so I can marry some stranger, he knew I would not say no.
I was fucked. Deeply fucking fucked.
3
Aire
I've always dreamed about my wedding ever since I was a kid. The details were always the same. Big wedding. Plenty of guests. Everyone's invited. A forest wedding with an aisle of white rose petals. My husband-to-be waiting for me. Over the years, that face has changed, plenty of times, but the wedding has always remained the same. Beautiful. Ethereal. Timeless.
I got married in a courthouse. The groom was late, and I had to wait for him in my embroidered lace wedding dress, while all the other couples darted their gazes at me, probably wondering why I was alone. He held it on a Wednesday, verybusinesslike of him. And including our first meeting, today would be the third time I would see him in person.
"What is that?" I turned around, bouquet in hand, to see Nolan marching up to me. He had a blue suit, light blue shirt, and gray tie. If I had to guess, I would say he was coming from a meeting. And probably returning to it after this was done.
"What?" I blinked, feeling like I had a booger on my nose.
"You didn't have to dress up," he said as he came to stand beside me. A man and woman trailed behind him, also dressed in similar business attire. When he saw my gaze going to them, he clarified. "My assistants. They'll be acting as witnesses."
I looked down at my dress, blushing. It was not that grand. It was a mermaid style dress with a short train. Nothing insane but unmistakably a wedding dress. I stiffened my chin and stared right back at him. "It's my wedding day. I thought brides wore wedding dresses on their special occasion."
"Come on, Aelin. This is hardly a special occasion."
I jerked my head away from him as tears threatened to flood my eyes. He had no idea how much I wanted it to be one. What did he know about me except for the few lies I told him? I blinked my tears away. Aelin would never cry infront of a man. She talks back. Stands her ground and lets no one bully her. I straightened my back and put on my best 'don't give a fuck face.'
"I wanna look good for the paps." I plucked my bouquet nonchalantly. "You never know who might be watching."
Nolan's eyes narrowed. "Please don't tell me you called the paparazzi on yourself."
"Why are you asking me?" I jerked my head to his assistants. "I'm not the only one who knows we're getting married. I just like to be prepared at all times, that's all."
He scoffed.
Before I could formulate another retort, a black man with a head shaved clean and with papers in hand came over and told us the judge was ready.
"Thanks Kelly," Nolan said.
I picked up my skirts and followed Nolan, who was following Kelly while the two assistants trailed behind us. We marched past a column of waiting couples and wondered if Nolan made it so we could get a convenient appointment. If Nolan was anything like my grandfather, it honestly wouldn't surprise me.
"Are we getting married already?" I asked as I trotted, trying to keep up with his giant paces. We turned around a corner and entered a small room with a podium, plain wooden walls, and a small, smiling woman.
"That's why we are here." Nolan said, taking my hand and bringing me forward.
"Of course." I wasn't as confident as I sounded. My chest constricted. The air felt thin. This is wrong. I should say no. Ditch this stupid little plan and end this farce.Grandfather would have your head. He wouldn't, though. He would do much worse. I braced myself for the inevitable.
A few minutes later, we were married and leaving the courthouse. It was over. The thing I was dreading for weeks was over in a matter of minutes. We passed by a few happy couples taking photos on the courthouse steps. There were no paparazzi waiting for us outside, or any I could see, thank god. Or the person I was dreading the most, Aelin. I expected her to jump out of a corner so much so it made me nervous. Grandfather said not to worry about her, he knew where she was and was dealing with her. But his vague answers to my questions didn't help. I knew her better than he did, and Aelin loved playing with people.
My phone vibrated in my bejeweled white purse and I checked to see a text coming in.
Grandfather:
