The Substitute Bride Of Jared Martinez

“Why me?” Saanvi asked while pointing at herself. “Why not? You also need to contribute to this family, Saanvi,” her stepmother said. “Someday you have to do something for this family, Saanvi.” “Dad?” She looked at her father who just sat there and didn’t speak. They are now in the living room talking about her getting married to a man she doesn’t even know and has never seen in person. She didn’t even know if he was a good or a bad person. She looks at her stepmom when her father didn’t say anything. “I thought Ashley was going to marry him? Isn’t she Jared’s fiancee?” Jared Martinez is the fiancee of her half-sister Ashley. She had never met this Jared except by his name. Because whenever he comes to their house, she is always in her room and her stepmom doesn’t let her go out. She is just an illegitimate child of her father from a prostitute. Yes, her mother is a prostitute. She wouldn’t be here in this house if her mother hadn’t died. So her father couldn’t do anything if he didn’t take care of her, especially since she was still his daughter. “Don’t talk like you don’t know anything. You know that your Sister Ashley left and until now we have not been able to find her. We don’t even know either where she is.” Matilda touched her forehead and went back and forth. Matilda was frustrated because her daughter went missing. Her half-sister, Ashley, has been missing since yesterday and they don’t know where she is right now. The wedding is next week and, so far, her sister is still missing. Her stepmom suggests that she will be the one to marry Jared, to replace her sister. “Will Jared agree with what you want when he knows that Ashley is the one he will marry?” “There’s nothing that Jared can do. What is important to his grandfather is that one of our family marries into their family. Besides, you are still your father’s daughter even though you’re just an illegitimate child. “ “Matilda, stop that!” Her father shouted at his wife for saying that. “What?” Matilda shouted back at him while putting her eyes wide. “What are you mad for? What I said is true. If you hadn’t cheated on me, went to that bar and had s*x with that b***h, this girl wouldn’t have been born,” Matilda said while pointing at Saanvi. Saanvi just bowed down her head because whenever this couple had a fight, she was always the reason. She was born in this world. Sometimes she thought she wished she had never lived. She wouldn’t have to break up this family. What was her mother thinking? Why did she choose to give birth to her when she knew that her father already had a family? This family is in chaos, and she is the reason. Because of her mother’s decision, she had to suffer like this all her life. “I raised your bastard in my own house. I forgave you and accepted your daughter even though it hurts me to see her every day, because every time I see her, I always see your mistake with that woman. I have been cheated by you!” Matilda pointed angrily at her husband. Saanvi seems to just want to leave this house for life. If her father and her sister Ashley had been kind to her, she would have left this house a long time ago, because there is no day that Matilda does not remind her that she is a big mistake and that she is the reason why her family is broken. As if she wanted this to happen too. Matilda looked at her again.”This is the day you have to pay for what we spent on you, Saanvi. Be grateful. Don’t make me disappointed.” Matilda pointed at her. She looked at her father, asking for help, but he just shook his head. However, when it comes to his wife, he cannot defend her because if he defends her, it will turn into a fight between the husband and wife. Her half-sister, Ashley, is the only one who defends her from Matilda. Ashley never treated her as her half-sister, she always loved her like a sister would do. Saanvi fell down on the bed and took the picture frame of her and her sister. “Where did you go, Ashley? Why did you leave? Why did you leave me in this house?” She couldn’t stop crying. She was in pain right now. “I don’t have any allies at home anymore. No one defends me anymore because you’re not here with me.” She didn’t know where her sister had gone and she had no idea that she had a plan to leave. If only she had known, maybe she would have come with her. The next day she wore a maroon dress. Her skin color is white, well, thanks to her father’s genes. She took a deep breath when she saw herself. Her face also has make-up on her face that she is not used to putting on. She had to dress up because today she was going to meet Jared. Today is the day that they will talk about changing the bride. She was a substitute bride for Jared Martinez. “You look great.” She looked at Matilda, who was in the doorway. She approached her, then grabbed her shoulder and looked at her in the mirror. “You should be a good wife to Jared, Saanvi. You have to win his heart so that you don’t get into trouble in his family, but you should not fall in love with him. He is still your sister’s husband to be. You will be the bride to replace her while she’s gone. When she comes back, you and Jared will also break up and he and Ashley will get married like the original plan and you,” she caressed her shoulder. “You can do whatever you want when your sister is back. I will not stop you from what you want to do in your life. Just do this favor for me, Dear, and you will gain your freedom.” She stared at Matilda’s face from the mirror. “I’ll gain my freedom when I do this, and when Ashley comes back?” Matilda nodded in response. She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror with her serious face. “I will do my best not to break the agreement between our family and the Martinez.” Matilda smiled at her answer and hugged her, causing her to be surprised. “That’s my girl.” Saanvi seemed to want to cry, not because she was touched by what she called her, but because she found out that she was only kind to her when she needed something or when she followed her will. Her stepmom will never love her as her own daughter. “BE good, they are already here.” Saanvi looked at her stepmom when she elbowed her. She looked where Matilda was looking and saw four people approaching them. A woman who she thought was about the same age as her stepmom, a man the same age as her father. An old man and a young man beside him. She couldn’t help but blush when she saw his handsome face. She didn’t expect that the man her sister, Ashley, was supposed to marry was so handsome that she wondered why she left. Maybe this young man had bad behavior. She could understand her sister if that was the reason. Who wants to marry someone who is handsome, but has a bad attitude? Not her, never. “Good evening, Chairman Martinez,” Matilda greeted the old man when he approached and shook his hand. Chairman Martinez just nodded his head as a response. “Mr. And Mrs. Martinez.” Matilda then extended her hand to the couple. “Good evening, Mr. And Mrs. Divinagracia,” they greeted back. “Looks like you’re not with Jared right now.” She frowned at Matilda’s question. Which Jared is she looking for? Isn’t this young man in front of them, Jared? The couple looked at each other and sighed. “You know, Jared. He is busy with work so he can’t come today. We are sorry for that.” She looked at the young man that is with them. That means this young man is not Jared. Then who is this? Saanvi was surprised when he looked and smiled at her. She doesn’t like to socialize because she’s always just in her room, so she’s shy in front of people she doesn’t know much. “I didn’t know you were hiding a beautiful daughter, Aunt Matilda,” said the young man while still smiling at her, making her feel a little bit awkward. She couldn’t help but blush. Just now someone told her she was beautiful. “Oh, by the way, this is Saanvi, Ashley’s younger sister. She just came back from the States.” She tried to smile. When had she been to the States? Matilda introduced her to the Martinez family. “And this is Casper, Jared’s brother. Casper, this is Saanvi.” She took his hand that was extended to her. She was suddenly agitated when she touched his hand. “Nice meeting you, Saanvi.” She was surprised when he kissed her hand. “Casper,” his mother elbowed him. “Respect your brother’s fiancee.” Casper laughed slightly. “What? Of course I respected her, Mom.” He looked at her again. “If only I had known that Ashley had a sister like this beautiful, I would have dated you.” Her face turned red again. His mother shook her head and looked at her. “Be patient with this my son, Casper, Saanvi. Sometimes he’s really stubborn, and a little naughty.” She stared at Mrs. Martinez faced and smiled. She felt good about her and felt that she was kind, especially with her modest voice. “It’s okay, Mrs. Martinez. I don’t mind.” “See? It’s fine with her.” Mrs. Martinez glared at him. “Behave, Casper.” She looked at her again, then smiled, so she smiled back at her. They all sat down and started eating. Saanvi was eating quietly while others were talking. She has no idea about what they are talking about, especially about business. She is just a bastard in this family. She wouldn’t have come here if her sister hadn’t run away. “Is it okay with you all if Saanvi takes over as Jared’s wife first? Ashley disappeared suddenly and we don’t still know where she is right now,” Matilda said. “Did she run or was she kidnapped?” Mrs. Martinez asked. She could see that the woman was also worried about Ashley. Matilda held her cheek and a look of concern spread across her face. “I don’t know either, because it’s not like Ashley’s doing. I mean, if she really left she would have told me.” Mrs. Martinez nodded. “Yes, of course. I know Ashley. She’s nice and a sweet girl, so I know that there is a reason why she disappeared suddenly. Maybe she is pressured about this wedding.” Matilda sighed. “Maybe, and this is the only way I can think of to continue the marriage and unity of our family. But, I promise you all, when Ashley comes back, Jared and Saanvi can separate. And then Jared and Ashley can get married as the original plan.” “Is that really okay?” “Of course,” Matilda answered quickly. It seems that she will not allow the marriage of the two families to fail or to be delayed. She drank some water and secretly looked at them. As far as she knows, the marriage of the two families was already planned by their grandparents. The story she heard was that her grandfather helped Chairman Martinez before. He saved the old man’s life and became best friends later on. That’s why they agreed that one day, one of their children or grandchildren will get married to unite their families. Their children are both boys, so they waited for a grandchild and here they are. Jared and Ashley set it up. “I mean, is this okay on Saanvi’s part?” She looked at Mrs. Martinez when she heard her name. “Is it okay with you, Hija, to marry Jared and then when Ashley comes, you and Jared break up? You’re gonna be a divorced woman.” She stared at her face and could see that she was worried about her. She looked at Matilda, who secretly widened her eyes, giving her a warning. Even though she didn’t open her eyes wide, she knew what to answer. She looked at Mrs. Martinez again. “Yes, Mrs. Martinez. It’s fine with me. The important thing is to fulfill what our grandfathers promised each other a long time ago.” She looked at Chairman Martinez and was surprised to see that he was staring at her seriously. She smiled at him and she just nodded her head. She swallowed hard because he looked grumpy and she thought that he didn’t like her. “Then the marriage will be held on the day we plan.” The two families agreed and so did her because there was nothing she could do about it.