Her Substitute Groom

“Are you going to keep being like this, Connor?” Chase asked as he walked into Connor’s room and snatched the pack of cigarettes he was about to take out from. Connor’s room was in a mess and littered with five cigarette butt. He was about to go for the sixth stick when his brother walked inside just now.

“Give that back to me, Chase,” He rose up and reached for the pack of cigarettes, but Chase squeezed it and threw it on the floor.

“What is the meaning of this?” Connor asked angrily.

“You are hurting yourself, Connor. I know you are pained, but trust me, this is not the best way to go about it. You are not doing the right thing…”

“What do you want me to do? I can’t even reach her. I can’t fucking reach her, so what do you want me to do?” Connor yelled at the top of his voice then ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly. He had been like this ever since Janice left him, and it only got worse with each day that passed by.

“You are not hurting just yourself, but…”

“What do you care, huh?”

“I fucking care, Connor. You are going to give yourself lung cancer at this point, and you think it’s only you it’s going to affect? Can you fucking pull yourself together and think of a solution instead of being like this?” Chase couldn’t hold his anger anymore, so he burst.

“And you think I haven’t fucking tried to? What do you want me to do? Her number is not going through. Her location is turned off, and I’ve been trying to find her to no avail, what the fuck do you want me to do?” Connor yelled at his brother again, and Chase sighed briefly.

“Connor, I know you…” Chase was still talking when Connor walked out of the room and slammed it behind him.

Connor walked inside the elevator which took him to the first floor of his penthouse, and when he stepped out of the elevator, he headed into the living room, but he stopped on his track at the sight that welcomed him. It was Claire.

“Connor…” Tears streamed down Claire’s cheeks as she ran into his arms and hugged him tightly like her life depended on it.Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Claire?” He called surprisingly as he returned the hug. It was late in the night, so what was she doing at his house by this time of the night?

“I’ve missed you so much, Connor. I’ve missed you like crazy,” Tears streamed down Claire’s cheeks as she tightened her arms around his neck like she’d never want to let go.

“I missed you too,” Connor stroked her hair and finally pulled away from her.

“Are you ok? What are you doing here at this time of the night?” He held her shoulders and asked her as he looked at her keenly. It was past 9pm for fuck’s sake.

“I just came to say hi to you. Where is Chase?” She replied to him, holding back herself from bursting into tears. She had come here from Khan’s house since she didn’t want to go cry at home so her parents wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Are you ok? Did something happen? You don’t look fine,” He cupped her cheeks in his palms and tried to convince her to talk, but she just forced a smile and shook her head.

“I’m fine. Where is Chase and Janice?” She asked again, and his face dropped sadly.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Claire asked worriedly.

“Not really. Chase is inside. Janice left yesterday to see her family. She’ll be back in a couple of days,” He replied to her, and she nodded.

“Wait… Have you been smoking? Your mouth is a bit…” She paused then pulled stepped away from him and looked at him suspiciously.

“Are you sure nothing really happened?” She asked, pushing her problems aside.

“Hmm. I’m really fine… Let’s stop talking about me. Are you sleeping over?” He asked as he tucked his hands inside his pockets, doing his best to pretend everything was fine even though he was bleeding inside.

“No, I’m not. I’ll be…” Her voice trailed off when her phone started to ring, and she sighed when she checked the caller.

“Mom is calling. I didn’t tell anyone before I left the house. They must be looking for me,” She stated.

“It’s dangerous out here. You shouldn’t have come out at this time of the night. You are so clumsy,” He rolled his eyes, and she forced a smile.

“Connor… I’ll be leaving for college tomorrow. That’s why I came here. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to you,” She said to him, and he smiled.

“Congratulations, baby girl. I’m happy for you. Come here,” He held her hand and pulled her in for a warm embrace, his eyes glistening with tears as he hugged her tightly. This was the time he needed his family the most, but sadly, his parents had abandoned him and he was left all alone if not for his siblings.

“Hmm. I’m going to miss you,” She whispered.

He disengaged from the hug then held her shoulders and smiled at him.

“Be a good girl, and don’t do something stupid over there, okay?” He stated, and she nodded.

“Your school is nearby, so I will always come over to say hi, ok?” She nodded with an excited smile.

“I love you,” He kissed her hair and hugged her again.

Claire finally said goodbye to Chase too, and Connor followed her out of the penthouse.

“I’ll drive you home,” He offered as they walked out of the house.

“It’s late. Don’t worry about that. I’ll just book Uber,” She quickly declined.

“Come on, get in the car. I’ll drop you off. It’s dangerous trusting you with some stranger Uber driver,” He insisted as he held her hand and led her to the parking lot.

“Thank you, and sorry for bothering you this night,” She apologized as she hopped inside the car, and he just forced a smile. He was going to step out of the house for fresh air if not that she came, anyway.

Silence assumed the atmosphere as Connor drove down the driveway. It was late in the night, but the street light and vehicles passing made the night still young.

Claire rested her head on the window and stared outside, feeding her eyes with nothing while a lot of things were going on in her mind. Her eyes glistened with tears that she couldn’t hold back and they ended up falling down her cheeks.

“You are a fool, Claire. You are a shameless cheap slut,” She said to herself, disgusted by her actions and everything. Now she regretted everything. She shouldn’t have seduced him in the first place, but she did, anyway.

Her phone beeped and she checked to see that it was a text from Khan.

‘Did you get home safely?’ she was expecting at least a call from him to make sure she got home safely. Well, that was fair enough. Maybe it would’ve felt more horrible if he had not texted her.

“Are you ok?” Connor glanced at her and asked, and she quickly nodded.

‘Where the hell are you, Claire? We’ve been looking for you’ A text from her Mom popped on the screen, and she sighed after she checked it.

“I think you should just find somewhere and drop me when we are close to the house. I don’t want Mom and Dad to be mad at you,” She uttered after a few minutes of silence, and he nodded.

Connor finally approached their house, and just when he was about to pull over, the street light went off, leaving the area in a state of darkness.

“Shit!” She cursed silently and sighed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” He assured her and drove toward their compound, and when he arrived at the front of their gate, he stopped the car.

“I won’t be able to come to the airport tomorrow, but not to worry, I’ll come to check up on you soon, I promise,” He hugged her again before she alighted from the car.

“Where the hell are you coming from?” She flinched when she stepped out of the car and saw her Mom standing in front of the gate.

“Mom?” She called surprisingly.

“Who the heck did you go to see? Who is that bastard?” Her Mom snapped at her angrily, and she bit her bottom lip.

“I’m sorry for making you worried about me, Mom. Come on, let’s go inside…”

“I’m not leaving here until I see the bastard you went to see,” Her Mom insisted, raising her voice.

“I am the bastard she came to see, Mom,” Connor spoke up as he stepped out of the car, and Mrs. Hughes’ jaw dropped to the ground, shocked…