His Substitute Bride

The Catholic Church, Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

27th of January, 2022. 10:30am

The church is filled with people, both men and women, all dressed beautifully. The interior is well decorated with balloons and beautiful chandelier lights, hanging on the ceiling. Everyone has smiles on their faces, expressing how they feel about whichever event is going on.

The priest stands on the podium behind the altar, awaiting the arrival of the bride and the groom who are about to get married. The door suddenly opened, and the early morning sun penetrated the church. A beautiful young lady stands at the doorway. She is wearing a beautiful white wedding gown which has the back sweeping the floor, a white veil covering her face, and a bunch of flowers held tightly in her hands.

Standing along the aisle, is a young man dressed in a black suit. He has an exciting smile on his face. He looks like he is the groom.

The crowd cheers and applauds as he strides down to the doorway, holding out his hand to the bride, not letting that sweet smile off his face. It takes a few minutes before the bride finally lifts her hand and places it carefully on his palm.

"You look beautiful, as always," He smiles at her, leading her down the aisle and straight to the altar, where the priest has been waiting for them. The crowds keep clapping and cheering for them.

The marriage rites kick off afterward.

"Do you, Mr. Jeffrey Ramos, take miss Helen Perez as your lovely and legally wedded wife? To love and to hold, to cherish and to care for, in sickness and in health, till death do you apart?" The priest asks with a smile dancing on his lips.

"Yes, priest," The groom replies boldly with a satisfactory smile on his face. Then the priest turns to the bride.

"Do you, Miss Helen Perez, take Mr. Jeffrey Ramos as your lovely and legally wedded husband? To love and to cherish, to hold and to care for, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, till death do you apart?" The priest asks the bride and her grip tightens around the flower she's holding. She looks extremely nervous and it's obvious on her body, even if her face is covered with the veil.

For minutes, silence assumed the air as everyone awaits her reply.

"Helen, why aren't you answering?" Jeffrey leans in on her and whispers in her ear, bringing her back to reality.

"Ye...yes, I do," She replies with a trace of nervousness resounding in her voice.

"By the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," The priest says.

Jeffrey holds the tip of the veil and unveils her face, but he freezes on the spot at the sight he beholds. Standing in front of him is the most beautiful young lady anyone would not get tired of staring at. Her pair of brown round eyes, her soft cheeks, her light skin, and her pink small heart-shaped lips makes her the most perfect woman, but still, Jeffrey looks like he just saw a ghost.

"Who are you?" He asks both in anger and confusion, glaring at her while the congregation wonders what's going on.

"Uhm... I can explain..." She stutters in a low tone. She looks extremely nervous even if she wants to hide how she feels.

"Explain what?" He yells this time around, taking a step from her and shaking his head furiously.

"What's going on here? This...this..." He shakes his head continuously, not knowing what to say. He was supposed to get married to his fiance whom he's been dating for a couple of months now, he was supposed to get married to the only woman he loves, and how everything turns around in a blink of an eye and someone else ended up walking down the aisle with him, is a puzzle he doesn't know how to solve.

"What is the meaning of this?" A middle-aged man asks furiously, marching to the alter with anger written all over him. Anyone would know with just a glance that he has a relationship with Jeffrey, if not his dad. They look very much alike.

"I'm sorry," She quickly bows, and with that, she rushes to the exit door and exits the church immediately, while Jeffrey just watches her leave.

The church lits up in an uproar as everyone exits the church one after the other, still having looks of disappointment, confusion, and anger on their faces.

Jeffrey Ramos is the son of a famous billionaire in Beverly Hills. He's one of the two sons of Mr. Sean Ramos and the heir of the Sean group of company, the most successful skincare company in Los Angeles.

Down the road, the bride keeps running even if she looks exhausted already. She stops to catch her breath. Her phone rings, and she brings it out from her inner pocket and answers the call.

"Hey, Chloe," The feminine voice says from the other end.

"Helen...how're you doing? Are you OK? Where are you now?" She asks, having a worried look on her face.

"Thank you so much, Chloe. I really appreciate what you did for me. This is a lifetime favor you've done for me, and I'll forever be grateful to you. I'm at the airport now, and my flight will take off in ten minutes. I'll call you when I get to Seoul. I love you, best friend," Helen says from the other end.

"I love you too. Take care of yourself, and don't forget to let me know when you get to Seoul. I'll miss you so much, and hoping to see you again," Chloe says as tears well up in her eyes.

"I'll miss you more. Alright, I got to go now. We'll talk later," Helen says and the call ends afterward.

Her name is Chloe Orlando, the only child of her deceased parents. Her parents died a few years ago, leaving her to fend for herself all these years. The cause of their death has always remained a mystery she's yet to know the secret behind it. Her parents were poor before they died, so they left nothing for her. Her friend, Helen has been the only family she has, who has always been there for her.

She sighs deeply, rubbing her forehead. She flags down a cab and hops in, but a handkerchief suddenly covers her nose, and that's all she remember. She passed out immediately...

Location: Jeffrey's penthouse

Time: 12:30pm

Chloe: Where

I almost jump out of my skin as a chilled liquid substance empties on my body, jolting me back to reality. I look around the almost dark room, and I realize that I am nowhere close to my room. This place is strange and I haven't been here before.

My body is soaked in water and now it's time to check who just poured that on me. I raise my head and behold, it turns out to be my doom, the man I pray to never see in my life, ever again. It's Jeffrey Ramos. Everything starts playing in my head like it's just happening. I remember when I hopped in the taxi, and that's all I can remember.

"H...hi..." How I still dare to smile at him, even after what I did, is the craziest thing I can ever have imagined. He is still wearing the suit he wore earlier for the wedding, and still looks as dashing as always.

"I'll ask you some questions, and I hate repeating myself. Why is it you? Who are you? What do you want? Where's Helen? What did you do to her and why the heck were you the one that showed up for the wedding instead of her? Where did you keep my woman?" He roared and my heart skip like a million times. Now I'm in a deep mess, and I have to clear it all by myself.

"You wouldn't like what'll happen, if I repeat myself, so speak up, now!" He slams his hands on the desk in front of me, and I hold my breath for seconds while closing my eyes.

"Re...relax... I didn't do anything to Helen, OK?" I conserve my nervousness and speak confidently. He leans in on me, his deep blue eyes piercing into mine like they are going to devour me anytime soon.

"Where is she?" He roars again and I gulp down the sudden lump that forms in my throat. My heartbeat increases and I bet that it's going to pop out of my chest anytime soon.

"She...she's not in town," He forces the words out of me. I didn't want to tell him the truth, but what the heck will I do in this situation? This dude looks like he's going to devour me if I don't tell him the truth, and the last thing I'll do now still hides it from him. Not that he can get his hands on my friend again though.

"Wh...what did you say?" He questions with confusion written all over him. Looking into his eyes, all I see is fear and the feeling of rejection and I can't help wondering what's going on.

"She's not in town," I'm sure he heard me the first time, but there's no harm telling him again, right?

"That...that's not true. We were supposed to get married today... That...that's not true. What did you do to her, huh?" His body trembles as he stares at me with an unexplainable expression on his face.

"I didn't do anything to her! Why would I lie to you, huh?" A throaty scoff escapes my lips. Why would he think of that? Why would he even think that I did anything to Helen?

"Isn't it obvious? You're nothing, but a liar and an imposter! You...you...tell me now, where the heck is Helen?" He yells again, slamming his hands hard on the desk while glaring at me with the most detestful look on his face. He looks like he's going to kill me anytime soon.

"I am not a liar, and I won't sit back here and watch you insult me! So what? What were you expecting when you didn't even care to know if she loved you or not? How will you feel if you were forced into marriage with the person you have no feelings for?" I spring up to my feet. I can take anything else, but this is all his fault and he shouldn't dare to blame me for his misfortune.

"That's a lie! Helen loves me, we love each other..."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you. But this is what you get when you think about yourself alone. Or maybe, should I say that you do not know what love is all about? Maybe that's the case. You don't just jump into marriage because you have the money to, how the heck could you still neglect the fact that she never loved you? You knew all along that she had no feelings for you, but your selfishness wouldn't let you see the truth and let her go. This is all your fault, why the heck are you blaming me for your misfortune? I was only trying to help my friend out of the shit you and her parents were trying to suck her into!" He clenches his fist as he watches me vent all my anger.

"One more word from you, and..."

"Does she want to be with you? That's the question you should've asked yourself before you went ahead to plan all this whole shit of a marriage. Do you know what love is? Love is freedom, love is happiness, love is to give and take, and love is protection, but what if the person you love is feeling unprotected around you? I heard that when you love someone, you would do anything to make that person happy. Helen doesn't love you, and she never will. Because of you, she's gone, I lost the only family I have and I don't even know whether she's ever going to come back, ever again. All thanks to your selfishness. You know what? I hate you! You're nothing, but a self-centered greedy jerk," Tears slid down my cheeks uncontrollably.

"Should I say 'sorry about that?' Hell no! Who the heck are you? And what the heck do you mean by she's gone and never coming back? What did you do to her?" His lips tremble as he holds my shoulders and shakes me.

"Helen has moved out of the town to another country. She's never coming back," His hands fall freely beside him upon hearing this from me. He opens his mouth to talk, but his lips only tremble, and slowly, tears well up in his eyes.

"N...no...she can't do that to me... Helen will never leave me alone, she loves me and can't do this. She may just be playing a prank on me," His tears finally find their way out of his eyes as he staggers back.

"You..." He storms out of the room before I could finish my statement...

Chloe

Messing with the most handsome and popular billionaire in town seems to be one of the worst mistakes anyone will ever think of making. After the incident days ago, I've received so many insults both on social media and a lot of people insult me to my face. They've been saying that I just wanted to impose myself as Jeffrey's bride because of his money, and some said that I just wanted to be famous. I don't care about everything they're saying though, they can slander me all they want.

I've been sacked from the bar I worked as a waitress because the manager couldn't stand the numerous paparazzi that keep frequenting the bar, in the name of having an interview with me. That sucks. I've been at home for the past few days not doing anything, I can't even go out of this room for the fear of running into those crazy reporters. Everyone has been haunting me, especially Helen's parents.

Jeffrey seemed to be in pain, he looked like he truly loves Helen, but it's quite unfortunate that my friend doesn't have the same feeling. I've not heard from him since I left his penthouse that day and he hasn't posted on either Instagram or any social media like he used to do. Don't blame me for stalking his media accounts. I also heard rumors that he hasn't left his mansion since the incident. He seems to be down.

"Come out of that room, Chloe! Do you think you can hide from me forever?" That's Mr. Casper, Helen's dad. My blood stops moving as soon as I hear his voice and I gulp down nothing nervously.

"Are you planning to avoid me forever?" He bangs his hand on the door again, and I flinch. Don't tell me he's trying to break down the door.

"Uhm...Sir, I'm coming," I stutter nervously, going to open the door. I peep through the hole in the door and seeing the anger on his face, I feel sudden goosebumps on my body. I've been avoiding him after the incident and it seems like I can't do that anymore.

"Good morn...." My words are cut in my mouth as he drags me out of the room as soon as I open the door.

"Where is my daughter?" He yells, dragging my hair roughly while I wince painfully.

"Sir...ah! That hurts! You have to please take it easy," I cry out in pain, but he keeps dragging me till we get to the exit door, and he throws me out of the house.

"How dare you! I allowed you to stay with my daughter in this apartment, I pay the rent and make sure that I feed you, but you think the best way to pay me back is to humiliate me and my family? You're so miserable," He curses while I just stand watching him.

"Sir, you have to listen to me," I try to get his attention, but it only worsens the situation.

"Do I have you to blame? I blame Helen for bringing such an ungrateful lowlife wretched church rat that doesn't even know how it feels like to have a family, into our home," His words pierce my heart like a dagger is thrust deep into my heart. Tears well up in my eyes and my cheeks wet afterward. His words hurt me a lot. It wasn't my fault that I grew up without a family, right? It wasn't my fault that they died and left me in this cruel world, right?

"I'll take anything from you, but do not involve my family in this, papa," I yell at him, and he only scoffs as if I'm playing around. This is what I always call him right from time. I regarded him as my dad since I have no one and because he has been kind to me, but he just proved to me that I mean nothing to him.

"So what? Go ahead and do your worse! Helen is my child and I want the best for her, but what the heck did you do? You sabotaged everything and messed things up for me!" He yells and I scoff. This is the height of it all, and I can't stand this pain anymore.

"Did you just say you wanted the best for her? That's the height of it all. You're nothing but a self-centered greedy and selfish man. You did everything you did because of your selfish desires and not because of my friend. You used Jeffrey because of the love he has for your daughter, you wanted to use your daughter to acquire more wealth and fame from the hands of the Ramos family..." I pause to watch his reaction, and I can't help feeling satisfied when I see the angry and unbelievable look on his face.

"So tell me, what does this has to do with the betterment of my friend?" His eyes widen upon hearing those words from me. I've been quiet for a whole long time, because of the respect I had for him, but too bad that he just threw everything into the ocean and it has been eaten by the fishes there. And now, I am going to speak up and let him know that what he has been doing is wrong, even if he's going to throw me out of the house because of that. I rather sleep on the street and say the truth, than be a puppy and suffer in silence.

How this man still has the nerves to talk even after everything he has done to my friend is still baffling me. At times I doubt if he is Helen's biological dad, and not the other way round. Wondering why I'm this sad? Well, Mr. Casper always dips his hook in every ocean where there's fish, regardless of the danger of it. Helen has been a victim a couple of times before she finally got the courage to escape from Jeffrey. He has been used by men all because of this disgusting man.

"So what? She's my daughter and I can use her however I want it. What if I did this because of wealth and fame? Do you know what it is like to be an in-law to the prestigious family of Ramos? My dream was almost coming true, but you messed everything up for me! What's your business if I use her? I'm going to make sure that I ruin your life and make you pay for everything, you bastard..." He raises his hand to slap me.

"Touch my woman, and you won't live to tell the story," A voice sound from behind me, and I freeze on the spot. I recognize that voice, it's Jeffrey. Wait! Did he just say 'my woman?' Or am I the one that's hallucinating?...