The CEO’s Second Choice

Sebastian

Elena Dumont has died, perished in the hospital after not waking from her coma. Well, that’s what we paid the press to report. We needed to weed Robert and Eliana out and think this would be the best way to do it. After Isaac’s confession, we decided to work together and concluded that the only way to get them out of France was to pretend Elena had died. A funeral was scheduled the day after tomorrow and the ‘will’ would be read this afternoon.

Francis, the driver has confessed his role in the attempted murder of Elena and my son and said that Robert paid him close to 2 million to do it. We handed him over to the police and Isaac let them know about NCA’s involvement. Isaac has found the reason for Robert and Eliana’s actions and concluded that it was all for greed Eliana grew jealous of my and Elena’s love and hated that she gave up the chance to be the Dumont Matriarch. Robert, who was stupidly in love with her, started killing off the family to gain the Dumont wealth. My father was on to him and advised my aunt Elise to change the beneficiary of her will to both of her children and hand her shares in Dumont Enterprises over to my father. Not soon after and she was murdered, my parents’ death followed after that, with threats to my life and Elena’s as well.

Money, the root of all evil.

The front door banged open. “Sebastian!” came the put-on voice of Eliana and I got up to meet her. “Showtime,” I murmured to Elijah, and the woman who looked like my wife engulfed me in a hug. “I am so sorry I couldn’t be here sooner! Elena! My Elena is gone!” She exclaims and clings to me while sinking to the floor dramatically. Elijah rolls his eyes and walks over to the window while sipping on his whiskey. “I thought she was recovering?” Came the voice of the man I wished to strangle but kept my cool. I shake my head. “She grew too weak after the baby died in her womb and just never woke up. The trauma to her brain was too much. She would have been in a vegetative state all her life so I made the decision I never would have dreamed to make.” I say, forcing myself to look miserable, but I think I sold my performance because Eliana wrapped me in another hug.

“Elena would have wanted you to make the right choice, Sebastian. That would not have been her lying there, only her body and her spirit would have left her body.” She says while rubbing my arms and it took everything in me not to show how disgusted I felt. I hate how this snake of a woman had my Elena’s face but none of her traits. She made my skin crawl. How I pretended to be in love with her for so long, I would never know. “You’re absolutely right, Eliana. Come, let us get this reading of her will over and done with.” I say and lead the two of them to the living room area where the ‘attorney’ waited for us.

30 minutes later, Eliana was under the impression that she was wealthier than Robert. She thanked us and took her leave, promising to be at the funeral later this week. We knew they would show up only to show their faces, but hopefully, there would be no funeral display because we had listening devices implanted inside their vehicles and a bracelet Elena ‘gifted’ to Eliana.

“Now we wait,” Isaac proclaimed, and this was the worst part, but luckily for us, greedy people boast.

It wasn’t even a few hours, and we had them hook, line and sinker. Robert accused Eliana of wanting me now that I had all the Dumont wealth. Eliana readily admitted to this. “I killed for you!” Robert had exclaimed but Eliana said she never asked him to murder his family when she was already planning her parent’s and sister’s deaths. Susanna and William lay dead in Walthamstow Marshes, courtesy of Francis as well.

Robert and Eliana were unaware of the world of trouble they were in, but finally, my family would be safe. And instead of attending Elena’s funeral, the police and NCA pulled them in for questioning, with Eliana singing like a bird but confessing to nothing that would make her look guilty. Until her tapes were played. Robert, of course, admitted to everything, saying he was sick of this cat-and-mouse game Eliana was playing with him.

It has been close to two weeks since this occurred, and Elena has been deathly quiet. Her light that I used to love so much was slowly diminishing and nothing I did seemed to be helping. She spends all her free time staring at Aaron and just laying in bed half in a daze. I know the quick succession of betrayal has hurt her to her core, but she refused to speak to me about it. What could I do? How do I help my wife out of this darkness that was slowly creeping into her heart?

I sigh, picking up my phone and thinking of the only thing that would help.

Elena

Curled up on my side and wished I could feel happiness again.

Elena Wiltshire died the day she buried her parents who were killed by their own child and Elena Dumont stood in her place a darker person at heart. How much more of this could I take? How many more betrayals until I become a jaded hermit? My own sister tried to kill me and my unborn child because of jealousy. Anabelle tried to kill me because of jealousy. What is it about me that attracts these people? I have absolutely nothing that would warrant their jealousy. I was flawed, full of faults and had a big mouth with no filter. There was no lady-like bone in me and I speak up when I am being insulted. I have curves, huge boobs, am a brat and rebel against social norms; please explain to me how anyone could be jealous of me!

I needed my Isaac; I needed my best friend so badly right now, but I know we could never be that close again. He lied to me I know it was for all the right reasons, but I still felt deeply betrayed. There was a hollowness in my heart after the truth came out love alone could never fill the emptiness. Isaac was the one person I trusted after Sebastian. Would I ever be able to forgive him?

“Elena,”

Oh, great. Now I am hallucinating his voice. I have dipped further into the madness pool than I originally thought. A shadow falls over me and I look up, only to see red hair and blue eyes that matched mine. “Hey, tart,” Isaac greets me, and all the fight leaves my body when I see his dimpled smile. He gets onto the bed next to me and lies on his side to face me. “What are you doing here, Isaac?” I asked, confused at his sudden appearance, but deep down, I needed to see him. I missed my best friend.

“Your husband called me,” is all he says, and this honestly surprises me. Sebastian called him to come to see me? “Why would he do that if he doesn’t trust you?” I asked, but knew why already. I had been pushing Sebastian away more and more each day without even thinking about what I was doing. I slowly brought my legs closer to my body. The casts have been removed so moving around became a bit easier. “He’s worried about you, thinking you could use a friend.” He says in that unfamiliar Cockney accent.

“I am surprised he called you, to be honest,” I say with a hitch to my voice, but when I look up into his eyes, the dam just broke. I sobbed my darn heart out while he wrapped his arms around me. His familiar scent felt like home, and it just made the crying worse. “I hated lying to you, Elena. But you need to understand that they ordered me to. Every day we spent together, I found it difficult to keep the truth from you until they almost took me off the job. But in all honesty, I am happy that the truth is out in the open, even if it means that you hate me now.”

I looked up at him and sniffed, my eyes wide. “I could never hate you, Isaac! You mean the world to me! It’s just… it’s taking a while for all the lies from every corner of my life to sink in. The past two months have taken everything out of me and I am barely hanging on.” I say then feel my bottom lip tremble. “I’ve missed you so much! You have no idea how lonely I have been without you by my side!” Isaac holds me closer and strokes my hair, but says nothing at all. I think I needed this. The silence that didn’t need to be filled with unnecessary words.

After about an hour, Isaac lets go of me and hands me a tissue so I could clean my nose. It feels like a rift has been closed between the two of us and closure is looming. Isaac lied to me out of duty, not because he was hiding something sinister, and somehow I felt like I could forgive him. My heart was lighter at the sight of him my best friend, my brother. My eyes widen as I finally realise this minor fact. I had an older brother!

“So, my brother, hey?” I say in a shy voice I didn’t recognise, and he chuckles. “Yes, if you would have me, that is.” He responds, and I knew my answer would still be yes. But then something hit me and I sob again. Isaac looked horrified and pulled me closer to him again. But I shook my head. “No… No, it’s just…” I sobbed out, trying to get my sentences coherent. “Your lovely accent is gone!” I wail. I don’t know why but Isaac suddenly burst out laughing, a hearty tummy laugh that stopped my sobbing and caused me to frown. “It’s not funny!” I say and slap his arm, but he nods and tries to get his laughter under control. “I’m sorry but… it is! Out of everything, you’re sad that I’m not Scottish?” He exclaims and laughs again.

I sniff then pout, “Yes! Your accent made you so… Isaac and now you just have a boring old Cockney accent like me.” I say, and he eventually stops laughing and sighs. “Wid ye prefer ah blether lik’ this?” He says, ending off the sentence in the accent I love so much and I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but I shake my head and smile. “No, I need to know this Isaac, my brother, the gay special agent,” I say with a giggle. My brother, the flipping special agent.

He grins proudly, “Before we start you should probably know something else about me.” Oh, no. Not more secrets? Isaac sees my expression but shakes his head. “It’s not bad, I promise.” Then he took something out of his pocket and proudly showed it to me; it was a ring. I frown at this odd display, but then he slides it onto his ring finger and my eyes widen and my heart leapt. “You’re married?!” I exclaim, giddy to my core. My Isaac had a special someone in his life and the thought itself made me so happy. “Yes, his name is Matthew. We’ve been married for three years, together for ten.” He says in a dreamy voice while removing his cell phone. He scrolls for a bit then proudly shows me a picture of a gorgeous dark-skinned man with the brightest green eyes I have ever seen. Isaac had his arms wrapped around him, and they honestly looked so happy and content.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I smile wistfully at this. My Isaac was happy. He had someone to call his own, and he had his own life outside of the heir madness. Then I remembered something he said a long time ago and blushed to my roots. “So that’s what you meant by dark chocolate always fills you up, you tart!” I cry out, red-faced and mortified, but Isaac again bursts out into a fit of giggles. “Well, if you must know-”

“No, please! No sex stories unless I have had alcohol!” I exclaim and clamp my hands over my ears before he spurts an unwanted story.

I loved this, bonding with the only family member I had left and it felt oddly uplifting. At least I had my Isaac back and not only was he my best friend, but he’s come to mean so much more to me.