The Substitute Bride: Making Memories Of Us

It was a night of autumn, and the night sky was filled with clouds, almost covering the moon.

Tonight was a busy night for the Hyatt Hotel, which was the most luxurious, six star hotel in the city Antawood. The worldwide famous businessman, Brian Clark had booked the whole hotel for tonight.

Brian, in his black suit, sat in a luxurious room, with a cigarette between his slender, long fingers. The smoke curling up from the burning cigarette had created a mysterious aura around him.

"Brian, we all had a good time tonight. But it's late now," the man next to him exclaimed. He had dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes.

"I've heard that Miss Woodsen is a social butterfly. She's well known for sleeping with a lot of men. Are you sure about this?" Someone else added.

From the tone of their voices, you could tell that they had their doubts about this marriage. However, since Brian had made his decision, there's nothing much others can do.

Some discussions can only happen after consumption of alcohol.

"Clayton Woodsen owes me a huge amount of money. Giving me his precious daughter is not going to cut it," Brian Clark said matter-of-factly.

"Are you saying that Clayton Woodsen trying to buy time? How much does he think his daughter is worth?" This time it was Jaime Turner, Brian's right hand man who spoke.

Brian still wore his usual stony expression. Taking a drag of his cigarette, he said, "Keep a close eye on Clayton Woodsen. I will make his life a living hell!"

"Is that what you're going to do to your bride tonight as well?" The person who asked this had a sly smirk on his face. "Or... have you other plans for her?" He had only heard of the beloved daughter of the Woodsen family, but never had the chance of meeting her. In fact, there were very few people who had seen her before.

"I've heard that she's a beauty. She has the curves that all men desires. She might be a tough one."

The men sitting around the sofa participated in the conversation actively about the bride who was yet to show up.

However, the woman standing beside Brian had a bitter expression on her face. She obviously hated the woman they were talking about.

"Enough!" when she couldn't stand it anymore, she blurted.

"Oh! Miss Anna is angry." It was so obvious to everyone who had discerning eyes that Anna, who had been following Brian her whole life, had a special place for him in her heart.

The relationship between the two of them was ambiguous. She had failed to become Mrs. Clark, which was all because of a woman named Arlene Woodsen. To Anna, Arlene didn't even deserve Brian.

"Angry?" Brian put out his cigarette and glanced at her. Though very subtle, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Brian," Anna called out his name and said nothing else. She knew her place. No matter how close she had been to him, she would have to stick to her duties and would never cross the line between them.

"Brian, why don't you introduce your new bride to us?" a follower of Brian asked with others agreeing.

Brian raised his glass gracefully and gulped down the drink in one go. Putting down the glass on the table, he nodded his approval.

Meanwhile, Ayla Woodsen was waiting anxiously in a deluxe presidential suite. She was wearing a luxurious wedding dress specially customized in Paris with delicate makeup. Today was her wedding day, but there were no relatives present. She just signed her name on a piece of paper and sold the rest of her life to a man that she had never met.

Despite her unwillingness, for the sake of her father and to support her family, she became the substitute for the so called "sister" she had and had to marry a devil named Brian Clark.

She was squatting in the corner of the room, trembling. She was only twenty-two years old. Her life had only just begun. But now she was forced married to a man six years older than her. Though the room was luxurious and brightly lit, she was still scared.

She was terrified, but had no choice.

She had not eaten anything since yesterday, and now she was very dizzy. There was no food in the room except for the wine bottles and glasses on the table. She had never drank alcohol in her life and she had always been her teachers' favorite student.

She knew that since the moment she promised to be the substitute, her old life was behind her and her future was filled with uncertainties.

Her stomach growled. She was starving. Her glossy lips were drying out. She bit on her lower lip trying to keep herself concious. She had been waiting for the man that everyone called a devil to show up.

The door opened suddenly and two strangers entered. Both men were rough looking and neither of them was Brian.

"Mrs. Clark, Mr. Clark wants to see you," one of them spoke coarsely, rather disrespectfully.

"Where is he?" Ayla stuttered and scooted back like a frightened little bunny.

The two men didn't answer. Instead, they pulled her up rudely and dragged her out of the room.

She resisted and struggled to free herself, but all went in vain.

"Ouch!" Before Ayla knew what was going on, she was thrown hastily to the ground. Even though the ground was covered with carpet, she was still badly hurt.

"Arlene, look at me!" Brian spoke with a steady but domineering tone.

'Arlene! That's right! I'm Arlene Woodsen now, not Ayla Woodsen,' Ayla thought inwardly.

She didn't dare raise her head to look at Brian. If he realized that she was just a substitute then her life would be in grave danger!

"Arlene, why are you pretending to be all innocent?" Brian was still sitting on the sofa. He threw an unrelenting stare at her.

When she didn't responded after a while, a man shouted aloud, "Didn't you hear what Mr. Clark said?" His voice boomed across the room, making her jump in fear. The next moment, he was in front of her, roughly raising her chin. Everyone present in the room now could clearly see her face. Ayla also settled her eyes on the man sitting in the center for the first time.

'It's him! Brian Clark! The man who is to be my husband.'

"Well Brian, looks like your bride really is a beauty. No wonder she's so popular amongst men."

Ayla was indeed a real beauty. She had a delicate figure with doe-like eyes which were as black as kohl. However, due to panic, her eyebrows were knitted together.

She had the aura of attractiveness around her that any men could fall for her easily. She could make a man be obsessed with her in just one glance.

"Are you afraid?" Brian stared down at her and asked in a menacing tone.

Afraid? Yes, she was indeed.

"Say something! Don't play dumb with me!" He yelled at her angrily.

"I... I..." She stuttered. She wanted to say something but no words came out. She didn't know what exactly to say. Especially in front of someone like Brian.

"As per your previous reputation, you've dated a lot of men. Then, what are you playing at today?" Brian hated women who changed color like a chameleon. Especially the woman in front of him. If he hadn't heard about her past, she'd have actually deceived him.

"Teach her a lesson Brian, so that she will be obedient and won't dare cheat on you," one of Brian's men said with contempt.

"I'm not pretending. And I won't cheat on you." Ayla finally opened her mouth to speak.

"I sure hope so! Otherwise, the Woodsen family will be no more!" Brian warned her with a harsh voice.

"All right, all right. Let's go! Let's not disturb Brian." Although it was a wedding without a ceremony. All she did was sign her name, but this meant that she had sold the rest of her life to this devil.

All the people left the room when they saw the look in Brian's eyes. The originally lively room instantly became empty, leaving only the two of them, with the smell of cigarette and alcohol that had not yet dissipated.

"Get up!" Brian was still sitting on the sofa with his legs gracefully crossed.

Regardless of the pain in her body, Ayla finally managed to stand up. The wedding dress was a little burdensome. It had a long tail. She pulled the dress tightly with her hands, revealing the white high heels on her feet.

"Come, sit by my side." Looking at her coldly, Brian wondered why she was so pretentious tonight. She used to be bold.

As soon as she sat down, Brian handed her a cigarette. "I don't smoke," she said in a low voice.

"You don't?" Brian snorted. The famous girl of Woodsen family didn't smoke?

Brian then immediately forced a wine glass in her hand. "Drink it!"

"I don't drink either." Ayla refused again. She was afraid that she would pass out if she drank what's in the glass.

Brian frowned. But, this time he didn't let her off so easily. He cupped her face with his big hand and poured the wine in the glass into her mouth.

Ayla choked on the wine. She coughed. The strong taste of alcohol made her tear up.

"Arlene, are you kidding me?" Brian burst into laughter.

"From now on, you are Mrs. Clark. Such a title is not something ordinary people can have." Brian wanted to make it clear from the very beginning that he wouldn't tolerate her bad behaviors.

'I don't want that title at all,' Ayla almost said that aloud but refrained herself.

Mrs. Clark? She didn't care about it at all. She just wanted a normal life. She wanted to wait for her beloved Toby to return. But all her dreams had been shattered.

"What's wrong? You don't like the title?" Seeing the displeasure in her eyes, Brian said, "Oh yes. You are Miss Woodsen, you can have any kind of man you want. Am I right?"

Ayla pursed her lips and didn't say anything. It was not that she didn't want to speak, but her stomach was aching. She covered her mouth and saw a glass of water on the table.

To soothe the uncomfortableness in her stomach, she reached forward and took the glass and gulped it down. But, she couldn't swallow it. She sputtered it out. Because, it wasn't water, it was Spirytus.

"Oh! So, this is what you like." Brian was starting to believe maybe she was telling the truth. But maybe she was just putting on a good act.

"No. I just..." Before she could finish her words, she clutched the sofa beside her and threw up. As she didn't have anything to eat, all that came out was stomach acid.

Brian helped her up after that and threw her on the king-sized bed in the room.

Ayla's head was already heavy and Brian's actions made her hit her head on the bedside table. Her forehead immediately swelled up. She felt dizzier as the pain made her wince.

Brian, however, didn't show any mercy for the woman in front of him. He just stared at her with a fierce look.

Things were only just getting interesting.

Seeing that Brian was hovering over her intimidatingly, Ayla instinctively pulled the blanket over herself.

"Miss Woodsen, you've signed the marriage contract. Why are you hiding yourself from your own husband?" he mocked, seeing her hiding under the blanket.

Brian couldn't understand why was she hiding. Anyway, he wouldn't let her off easily tonight. Meanwhile, Ayla was scared of the man in front of her.

"You are my legal wife already." Brian scoffed as he closed the distance between them. "Don't you know how to fulfill your duty as a wife?" He shot a vicious glare at his newly married wife who was curled up in front of him wrapped in a blanket.

"No, I don't!" Ayla cried out. Although she was terrified of this man, she was bold enough to speak up her dissent. She knew her resistance would make no difference, but she still had to give it a try.

"You are just a woman I bought with money. You think you have a choice?" Brian gritted his teeth while staring at her. 'This woman is so ignorant.

Is she trembling? Is she actually scared?' The more she behaved like this, the more he was determined to show her, her place.

Brian climbed onto the bed and grabbed her, pulling her towards him. His muscular arms wrapped around her body, keeping her in his embrace.

"Let go of me!" Ayla struggled to push him away. However, compared to him, she was fragile. Yet, she didn't want to give in so easily.

Brian raised his eyebrow and sneered, "Let you go? Have you forgotten that today is our wedding day? We are going to consummate our marriage tonight."

"No, please, don't! Mr. Clark, please let me go!" Ayla felt humiliated.

"Is this some kind of a joke? Are you trying to play innocent? Don't you think you're being a little too hypocritical?" Brian thought that as the famous girl of the Woodsen family, she would do anything for money. He knew, as long as he had money, she would not refuse him.

However, this woman in front of him had been giving him surprises after surprises.

"Ouch. It hurts. Please..." Ayla cried out in pain as Brian positioned himself between her legs. There was no way back now.

Brian was trying every means to torture her.

She should have known this before she got married. Now it was too late. There was no escape for her.

Looking at the blood stain on the mattress, Brian asked, "How much did it cost to do the hymen repair?"

Ayla felt helpless. She didn't even have the strength to fight back anymore. He wouldn't of believed whatever she said anyway. Nonetheless, isn't her goal was to reassure Brian that she was Arlene.

How could she tell him the truth? She couldn't admit her identity, that she wasn't Arlene.

So she chose to be silent and said nothing.

"Fuck off! Get out of this room!" Brian suddenly yelled out after finishing off. He had prepared two rooms because he didn't want her to stay in his room. He just wanted to humiliate her.

Ayla shook visibly at his command. She quickly pulled a blanket over her before returning to the room she was in before.

She could sleep that night. She spent the night sitting on the ground and looking out of the window. Would she have to face such a life every day in the future?

Being humiliated by a man who didn't even love her, she had lost the most precious thing for a woman.

The next morning, the door was pushed open with a bang as Brian came in with a bottle of medicine in his hand. He threw it at her. "Take it."

He didn't want her to get pregnant, yet. Also, she was a member of the Woodsen family. He would hate it if she got pregnant with his baby.

Although Ayla was inexperienced, but she knew what this medicine was.

He was right. It was necessary. She had to go to school and continue her life.

He was right. It was necessary. She still had to go to college and continue her life.

"You can't get pregnant without my permission. For the sake of Woodsen family's safety, you'd better listen to me!" He opened the bottle, poured out a white pill. He then threw it directly into her mouth and made her swallow it without any water.

She almost choked. Tears brimmed her eyes.

"Get changed. We're going out." Brian sat down on the sofa, took out a cigarette and smoked elegantly.

Ayla arose, struggling a little. "But, I don't have any clothes."

Unlike Arlene who had an endless collection of branded clothes, she only had a few casual clothes she wore in college. She couldn't really go to college in her wedding dress.

"Mrs. Clark, you're my wife now. I'll provide you with everything you need." It was indeed Arlene. Brian was now sure of it. She asked for clothes on the second day of their marriage.

Arlene and her luxurious lifestyle.

He took out his phone and made a call. Within ten minutes, a pile of branded clothes were sent to her room.

Looking at all kinds of clothes and dresses made of excellent and soft fabric in front of her, Ayla was flabbergasted. Although she loved the clothes, but she wasn't a greedy person.

She chose a simple white dress and walked into the bathroom. Sitting on the sofa, Brian was watching her. He frowned slightly when she chose the plain white dress. Sometimes, he couldn't understand what was going on in that mind of hers.