THE SUBSTITUTE WIFE

NIGHT OF PASSION

Ana nearly burst into tears right there.

"Everything has an explanation, Bemus," Pietro tried to explain, but Bemus raised a hand with great authority, silencing Miller in an instant.

"I believe fate does not make mistakes, it never does... If it's the younger one, then it shall be the younger one," the elder said decisively, leaving Pietro astonished. "But no one can know about this change... Knowing my grandson, he'll grasp onto any excuse to get out of this, but I won't allow it. I do everything for his own good," he muttered, turning his attention back to Anastasia. "You remind me of my wife, what's your name, dear?" he asked in a gentle tone, and Anastasia noticed that whenever he addressed her, it was with softness... She dared to venture that it was even with tenderness.

That made her feel awful.

She was a liar.

"Anastasia," she whispered, suddenly feeling ashamed.

She was a vile woman lying to an elderly man, pretending to be a pure maiden, she thought... Hopefully, she wouldn't end up in the depths of Tartarus for eternity because of her lies.

"Good. Anastasia, a name with character for a very beautiful young lady... Welcome to the Vills family," he said lovingly, gently patting her hands, and stood up, facing Pietro. "We can't have an engagement party. I had already spoken to Kellan about your daughter, specifically mentioning the eldest. I'm sure he's already taken care of his investigations," he explained, and Ana became frightened.

If Kellan was like most Greeks (authoritarian, controlling), he already knew who she was and who her sister was.

"Do you want us to deceive your grandson?" her father asked, astonished.

"If you put it that way, it sounds horrible... But yes, that's the reason why we'll go straight to the wedding, I'll come up with something to convince him," Bemus indicated with a hand gesture that he would think of something.

Suddenly, Kal returned to the room and cast his frigid gaze on Anastasia.

"You are not Eloise," he said, tossing a tablet onto the table in front of his grandfather and Anastasia. "Are you trying to deceive us?" he asked, anger gleaming in his eyes as he looked at Pietro.

The younger Miller was terrified by Kal's words.

She supposed he was Bemus's eldest grandson, as he spoke with such authority that he seemed willing to derail any of his grandfather's plans, and that wasn't common in Greek families. No one refuted what the head of the family ordered or decided.

She remained still in her place, trying to make herself invisible while Bemus Vills took a breath and looked intensely at his eldest grandson.

She glanced at her father and was even more stunned to see the expression on his face. He was furious at Kal's words, and the last thing he wanted was for that fury to turn against her.

Things were going very wrong, and that made her aware of many things; her sister had left. She was the daughter promised to be married the next day, not Anastasia. They were betraying what had been agreed upon.

That cold man had noticed, and he didn't seem willing to let it pass.

"Kal Vills, did I ask you to meddle in this matter as well?" Bemus asked in a tone so soft and calm that it worried Anastasia. With her eyes filled with amazement, she watched as the younger man cleared his throat and loosened his tie a bit, without saying a word. "That's what I thought. Then I expect the least you can do is remain completely silent until I speak with your brother. And if I don't speak with him, it will be my decision. Stay out of it," he added in a tone of voice that made it clear he wouldn't accept any objections from his grandson.

Anastasia and her father couldn't hide their surprise as Kal Vills (tall, intimidating, and looking more than lethal) bowed in a small reverence to his grandfather and left the room without saying another word.

Not far from there, Kellan Vills couldn't believe his bad luck.

The girl had left while he was showering, and he wasn't stupid; he knew any other man in his place would feel more than lucky at that turn of events, but not him.

Not when the girl had seen his bachelor pad. Now a stranger knew the location, and they hadn't even talked about how she shouldn't tell anyone about their affair.

Kellan finished getting ready; he had to go see his grandfather and push a little more for him to change his mind. He didn't want to marry under pressure from a money issue. In fact, he didn't want to marry at all.

He knew what love could do to a person, and he wasn't willing to be a puppet of his feelings.

Just as he was about to put on his shoes, he noticed something.

A red stain on the gray sheets of his bed.

He blinked, trying to clear his vision, but he still saw the same stain.

"No, no, no! Damn it!" he shouted, feeling his anger explode.

It couldn't be.

He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

He had always been careful in choosing his bed partners, always opting for bold and uninhibited women with experience.

No inexperienced girls who might misinterpret his intentions... But the night before, he had made an unforgivable mistake.

He had slept with a virgin!

And to top it off, he had given her a drawer that didn't close properly... Throughout the whole night.

He was an idiot... How could he not have noticed?

Kellan felt cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He was days away from getting married (if his grandfather's plans went through), he couldn't afford to have a newly deflowered girl fall in love with him and start talking about what had happened between them.

And boy, had things happened! He thought with irony. He didn't remember much about what had happened or how they had ended up in his apartment, but he was very aware of how they had connected like crazy the night before.

Her moans replayed in his mind.

He could vividly remember how he had gripped her wide hips in his hands to keep her in a position where he could enter her faster.

Her screams.

The way she clung to him, as if she didn't want the moment to end.

It had been an incredible night.

How was it possible that this woman was a virgin and hadn't complained at all?

He knew he had acted like a caveman.

Damn it, they had been a bit rough, but she never complained.

What if she sued him for hurting her on her first time?

He felt like he was going crazy.

His mind raced through all the possibilities, and unable to bear to look at his sheets any longer, he tore them off in one swift motion, stripping his bed.

Kellan didn't know what the hell to think, let alone what to do.

He took the sheets to the apartment's laundry room and returned to his room.

Was it possible that the girl had left something behind that identified her?

Kellan meant something besides her blood, of course.

He searched tirelessly and found nothing.

Frustrated, he sat on the edge of his bed and tried to think.

He tried to remember any detail from the previous night that might help him locate the girl.

He just needed to offer her money in exchange for her silence, and then each could go on with their lives, no matter how stupid he felt about it, it was the best thing to do.

"Once the deal is done, there will be nothing to tie us together," he muttered thoughtfully.

Kellan said this to himself like a mantra, trying to silence his battered conscience, but he knew there was a slight possibility that something would bind them in the future.

The reality was that he had made two unforgivable mistakes, and that weighed heavily on his shoulders, making him feel more than worried.

It was very possible that this girl had taken more than just one night of passion and deflowering with her... He knew because in his exhaustive search for evidence, he found no signs that they had used protection during their encounter.