Her Substitute Husband

Chapter one

Charmiene

He had no business being here , not in my life, not in my heart and definitely not tonight on my wedding eve.

What are you doing here Malihor. I say to him grabbing my crimson satin robe from my bed. Longing and petulance neatly mixed in my voice.

As I dress myself I feel his intense gaze on me. I look up to meet that gaze and I see that his bambi eyes are teary and he is biting his lower lip. He looks like a child ,one that had finally found what he had been searching for.

He ignores my question and instead he walks close to me. His steps are refined and deliberate. And his eyes never leave mine. As he covers the space between us I can't control the desires that are eminent in my heart. I want to hug him, kiss him. I want him to touch me ,feel me. I want him to do whatever he wants to me .I want to yield to him if he would do the same for me.

I've come to get my bride. He says to me, His rich baritone voice fills my ears ,his breath is cold and minty and I want to taste his tongue.

We're no longer betrothed to each other. Ammitel Aetheris is my soon to be husband. Please leave Malihor. I say to him,

It was only right for me to send him away now before things escalated. Although sick with resistant tuberculosis, Ammitel Aetheris held the whole of New York. He was the political God and true ruler of New York. Every politician answered to him , even the president. He was a formidable force we couldn't fight against. Eloping with Malihor was all my heart wanted but I knew better. Ammitel would find us and kill us ,then my father and my whole family. I won't let my passion stop me from fulfilling my duty.

Look me in the eye and tell me you want me to leave and I will. He says.

I try as hard as I can but I can't look him in the eye. Tears well up in my eyes and before I know what's happening he pulls me in a forced embrace. I try to fight him as well as myself. I try to talk morality into my wild heart but none of that works. I long for him. My whole being acknowledges that.

What are we going to do? They'll kill us. I say to him in-between sobs. He holds me firmer, pressing my head against his heart. I hear it beating loud and hard. He's afraid and so am I.

I was about to start a propaganda,a little disobedience to my father for us but your mother gave me a better idea. I have everything sorted out. We will travel to Malaysia and lie low for a bit.

What do you mean my mother?. I ask him looking up to meet his gaze.

Diana called me here , she's how I could evade your father's men and come right here for you. He says

Joy fills my heart, since the marriage proposal came my mother had been quiet she stopped coming out of her room and was practically invisible. I didn't know what she thought about all of it. But now hearing she wanted me to elope with the love of my life gave me hope. She was the best step mother I could ever ask for.

I have a car parked close to the old oak tree adjacent to your house. Your mother will show us the way to get out of here. He continues. I nod happy tears rolling down my face.

Kiss me please. I say to him impulsively.He doesn't hesitate he kisses me. It's long , passionate and beautiful. Tears are streaming down my eyes and so are his.

Oh for fuck sakes Santo boy you don't come into my property to harass my daughter. An old croaky voice says. Fear fills my heart and a thick lump appears in my throat. What was my father doing here?.

Malihor turns to him sharply hiding me behind him. I clench tightly to the sleeves of his suit. Praying that this is all a dream.

She was mine from the beginning you don't have any fucking right to sell her off to another man. For fucks sake sham she's your daughter not some property you sell when things are tough.

Malihor says anger evident in his voice. The harshness of his words hit me. That was all I was a tool to move up politically. A property to be sold off to the highest bidder when things were tough. I was sold off to Malihor too when we were little but we fell in love. Now that Ammitel Aetheris was oddly interested in me he called off our alliance and decided to marry me off to Ammitel instead.

Shove that half arsed advice down your fucking gut. She's my daughter and I do whatever the fuck I want with her. Charmiene come here now!!!. My father bellowed. My legs start to move on their own but Malihor stops me

Trust me your father can't harm you not when I'm with you. I'm sure he remembers who my father is. Malihor says reassuring me. I choose to trust him to listen to him over my father.

I won't repeat myself again come here !!!. My father thunders I ignore him clinging tightly to Malihor.

She stays with me. You rather marry off your daughter to a sick man, a man with resistant tuberculosis than me. Where the fuck is your loyalty Sham. Malihor says to my father.

He's silent for a while before he starts to speak again.

You leave me no choice Charmaine

My father says digging his hands into his pocket and retrieving a revolver

I'll kill this fucker if that's what it takes. He continues.

You don't have the guts Sham. Malihor replies calmly to my father unafraid. His charisma was one of the things I loved about him. Even now when there was tension in the room he remained calm and collected.

You're right I don't have the guts but Ammitel's buddy here has it all from guts to brutality. He says a wild smirk on his face.

Just then a tall formidable man appears. His face is covered with a balaclava and his body is covered in tattoos. He is wearing a black singlet and black sweats. He is terrifying and just the sight of him made me feel something sinister in the deep of my stomach. He pulls out his gun and pulls the trigger. The echoes of the gunshot resounds in my ears. Suddenly I feel cold air brush against my face followed by a loud thud. I look down and horror fills my soul.

Chapter two

Charmiene

Malihor I call out almost in whispers.

Blood seeps through his cream latte suit and covers my hands. His body grows colder by the minute I try to feel his pulse but I can't feel anything. I place my fingers waiting for him to breathe out but he doesn't. Is he dead? Is the love of my life dead?

You monster ,you monster how dare you how dare you?. I scream at my father scratching his face and kicking him as hard as I can.

He is laughing and signals to the man who just killed my Malihor to take me away. I scream hard, biting and scratching him but he doesn't flinch. If he feels pain I don't know. As he carries me through the corridor I catch a glimpse of my mother's room. The door is slightly ajar. I see her , she's sitting on the floor crying, her face covered in bruises , her nose bleeding. My father must have found out that she helped Malihor into the Mansion and as usual he hit her for her ' disloyalty '.My throat tightens and I feel so sorry for her. I stop fighting against the man carrying me. I settle in and even when he drops me forcefully on the car seat I don't react. I just lie there helpless crying myself to blindness.

The man drives for a long time. We make many cuts and pass many streets before we arrive at a big church. He stops the car there and steps out to make a call. He comes back into the car and hands me something. It's a wedding veil and a box containing a silver ring.

Boss will soon be here you're getting married. He says to me.

What do you mean I'm getting married. The wedding is supposed to be tomorrow,what about the guests. I say to him frantic. He doesn't utter another word and we wait in silence for his boss, Ammitel Aetheris to arrive.

I hate everyone my father , Ammitel Aetheris and this unknown man wearing a balaclava. They're all responsible for the death of my love , they all killed him and I will never forget that.

Soon another car comes into view and a tall handsome man alights from it. He's dressed in a big thick white T-shirt and wide legged pants. His ears are pierced and his smoking a pipe. He comes close to our car and the balaclava man comes down to meet him. They say something for a while and then the balaclava man comes to get me. I kick, push and bite him but just like before he doesn't show he feels pain. He pulls me out of the car effortlessly despite my attempts to evade him.

She's the girl. The balaclava man says

I know I know her all too well. The man who cannot be the sickly Ammitel Aetheris says. Close up he's a god. He's the most handsome man I've ever seen. Unlike Malihor's eyes his are inexpressive and chatoyant. When he looks at me his gaze is intense and in sharp contrast with his playboy features. His gaze tells me one thing he loathes me and the off feeling in the pit of my stomach confirms it all. I want to run away to scream for help but I know it's futile. Nobody is coming to save me.

How have you been Charlotte? Ammitel says. Grinning slightly revealing his pearly whites.

Who is Charlotte I think to myself

My name is Charmaine I say to him.

Hmm so you lied to him then?. He says.

I don't understand what he is saying. Lied to who?.

We're getting married now put on that veil the priest is waiting for us.

He says walking to the church

I'm not getting married in my nightgown Ammitel.

Oh? What makes you think you have a say Lottie?. Don't be a bad girl wear that veil and walk your ass down that Church. He says to me, His voice is wicked and filled with meanance. I'm terrified and involuntarily I start to wear the veil.

This man was not Ammitel Aetheris. Although I had never seen my husband to be in person, I had seen his pictures. True he was the spitting image of the man before me but he appeared more polished and civilized. Most importantly he looked sick, he was thinner and his hair was sparse and short, not long and full like the man before me.

You're not Ammitel are you?. I say to him apprehensive

Smart girl , no I'm not let's not keep the priest waiting. I may be a rascal but I respect God. He says.

I don't move if he is not Ammitel then I wouldn't get married to an imposter.

I'm not getting married to an imposter the deal was Ammitel not you.

Well Ammitel is not here and you'll have to marry me Lottie, I'm not a patient man don't test me. He growls.

We're far apart but I can feel the intensity of his tone. I want to do what he says but I remember Malihor and what they did to him and I become defiant.

I won't get into the church until you tell me who you're are. I say he lets out an irritated sigh.

Aeshuma Aetheris I'm his brother

Why am I getting married to you instead of him? Did he Chicken out? I mock. My jest doesn't sit well with him and before long he's In Front of me choking me with his hands.

He is dead killed himself for you Charlotte the least you and your godforsaken family can do is pretend to be mournful.

Hot tears fall from my eyes. I try to speak but he's pressing hard against my throat. I can't breathe and I start to feel dizzy.

Boss, you'll kill her. Someone says and he loosens his grip pushing me to the floor.

I take in air and I swear I've never been more grateful for oxygen as I was in this moment. After taking full breaths the balaclava man picks me from the floor and drags me into the church. The frantic priest officiates our wedding. The vows are rushed, many formalities skipped and before long I was bride to the devil.

Chapter three

Charmiene

My heart beats faster than it had ever done since this unfortunate night. It has all come back to me. I now know why the name Aeshuma was particularly striking. Aeshuma Aetheris was the delinquent son of the billionaire family 'The Aetheris.' He was a criminal and notorious Mafia boss in Italy.

What was he doing here in New York? Wasn't he locked in an unknown government facility in Italy where he was serving his 20-year sentence with no patrol? Why was he here?. Was it all a rumor?

But I saw it on the news. I say to myself, contemplating.

The announcement of his arrest by the Italian government went down in history as the Aetheris family's greatest scandal. I gulp hard. I was dealing with a ruthless devil.I don't know what he's going to do to me. Just thinking about the eternity I had to spend with him corrodes my insides. I steal glances at him, and I can't make out a standard emotion from him. What was his goal in marrying me?. What was going on in his mind? What evil things did he have in store for me?.

You keep looking at me like that, and you'd be inviting something crazy your way, Lottie. He says cutting me from my thoughts. I sense the warning in his voice and look away. I make pathetic efforts to widen the distance between us, pushing my body against the car door. He notices it and pulls me close to himself, firming his grip on my waist the more I struggle to escape him. His unsteady breath falls on my face, and his eyes grow darker as he looks at me. I'm terrified. Every rumor I had heard of him replayed in my head. I heard he had a body count of almost five hundred men and was ruthless to women and children alike. He had no regard for humans, and he was a psychopath with a strong knack for killing.

Are you afraid of me, Lottie? He says to me indignantly.

Yes, I say without hesitation.

He lets out a guttural, sinister laugh.

Good, very good. You should always be scared of me, terrified even.

The moon's timing is bad; it shines on his face, unmasking his brutality. He looks everything like they said he was. He is a psychopath. My substitute husband is a psychopath!!. His hands don't leave my waist, and occasionally his fingers dance on them. I wish I were more clad; I wish I wore my pj's instead of my short silk gown, and more than anything, I wish Abel Sham wasn't my father.

We soon approach the Ammitel mansion, and I dare argue it should be called a museum. It was large, and it reminded me of the Taj Mahal. I remember now Anjeli Aetheris, Aeshuma's grandmother, was Indian, and she requested her husband to build her a replica of the Taj Mahal, and he did. The Ammitel's lived in the Taj Mahal.

The grounds are vast, and the very meticulous decorations are enough to momentarily distract me from my ordeal. The car comes to a halt, and Aeshuma drags me by hand into the mansion. The interior is paradise. And if things were different, I would've stopped to take in the scenery. We walk past corridors and doors to the far end of the mansion, a cold, dark, secluded area. Aeshuma works the door with a key, and before I realize it, he pushes me into the dark, cold room and locks it. I scream, pounding the door with my fist. I pound till I'm exhausted, and my fingers bear the brunt of my actions and start to bleed. I slouch to the floor, resting my back against the door. My tears are expended by now, and my whole body aches. I'm shivering in this cold, dark room. The air is painful to breathe, and I can feel my lungs struggling. If I'm going to die tonight, this was the perfect time.

At least I get to meet Malihor, and we would get to live in our own world; maybe we would get married and have many spirit babies. I close my eyes and lie on the cold floor, immersed in my fantasy. I hope I'll open my eyes to see Malihor waiting for me on the other side. I mutter underneath my breath. Suddenly a sharp light hits my eyelids; I struggle a bit against the light until my eyes get used to it. The floor starts to get warm. Did I die?.Is this the afterlife? I look around and I find out I'm still in the room Aeshuma had pushed me into. He had turned on the heater and the lights. I scamper to the bed and cover myself with the white duvet on it, and I soon doze off. My rest is cut short by a nightmare.

My body jolts to a supine position, and sweat pours from me like water. I'm drenched, and if you didn't know, you'd think I had gone for a swim. I saw Malihor in my dream; he was holding his stomach, and his beautiful Bambi eyes were filled with horror and despair. He tried to reach for me, but my father shot him again and again, laughing hysterically as he did it. The image of his body going limp and falling flat on the floor, his cold skin and his open eyes stained with horror, replay callously in my head. I stand from the bed and stagger to the bathroom. The cream latte jacuzzi reminds me of his suit, and I walk to it, running my hands through it. I'm sure I look like a mad lover, but I don't care. I kiss it and rest my body on it. I'm imagining it's Malihor holding me. I wish time had stopped when he kissed me. I pull my nightgown on and soak myself in the Jacuzzi, but I don't stay long. The warm water did little to soothe me. I walk out naked, and just then the door to the room opens, and Aeshuma is standing before me, a wicked grin plastered across his hard face.