Marriage gone wrong

Chapter 1

Rush Hour

Celine's POV

"Wow!" I said, yawning. "It's 4am already".

I stretched my hand to stop the alarm and rushed out of bed quickly to prepare breakfast for Steve and prepare for work as well. This was my usual routine.

"Steve, it's 5:30am, you need to get ready." I tapped him.

"What is wrong with you, Celine? How many times have I told you not to wake me up until 6am after you have prepared my bath and ironed my clothes?", He said in an angry tone.

"I'm sorry but it's 5:30am already and I don't want you to be late for work. You know how aggressive your boss can be. I don't want you to be in trouble. Before you are done having your bath, I will be done with ironing your clothes." I responded apologetically.

Steve got up angrily, brushed his shoulder against mine as he walked passed me, almost pushing me to the ground, went to the restroom to ease himself, then came back to lie down.

“Steve, I'm sorry but...." I took a deep breath and decided to just let him be.

* * *

Derrick's POV

"I hope no one is watching us. Nate, are you sure this is the best option?" I asked, feeling really tensed.

"Calm down, It's 4am. People are rarely out here at this odd hour plus it's a lonely path. No one is watching. Would you rather we leave the corpse in your house until the police find you?" Nate asked sarcastically.

"Of course not. Please don't say that again."

"You see! This is the only option we have to keep this a secret." Nate shrouded.

I kept driving as Nate directed until we got to a thick , quiet forest. We could only hear the sound of bats and rodents. I wondered how Nate knew this place but that wasn't as much of a concern as the body of my fiancee I have in my bonnet.

I packed my car carefully and turned the engine off, came out and looked around to be sure no one was watching.

"We'll have to carry the body in. I can't drive past this place."

"Yeah, sure. I'll help you take it deep into the forest." Nate responded.

At that point, I was so grateful that I had him as a best friend but Nate never helps without wanting something in return. I knew this help comes with a price.

I quickly brought out the digger, put it on my shoulders and pulled out the corpse with the other hand, Nate carried the weight from her waist level down. As we walked in, the fear was gone and I didn't feel any remorse. We placed her gently on the floor, where we wanted to bury her.

"Nate, nobody must know about this." I said, looking into his eyes so he knows how serious I am.

He didn't say a word. I came closer, grabbed his shirt tightly to his neck and warned sternly.

"Nobody must know"

"Okay, Okay, nobody will, I promise ." Nate said, chokingly. I expected him to say something else but he didn't. That raised my suspicion as I kept looking at him.

"You know these things Derrick. Do we always have to go back and forth? To help keep my mouth shut, I must receive constant bank alerts, huge amounts, weekly." He finally spoke up as though he read my thoughts.

I nodded, unable to say a word. I took up the digger and began digging to cover my secret.

"You'll need to dig that deeper," Nate advised.

"Come on, take this and dig on". I commanded, wiping my mouth to take off the sweat that has dropped

He kept digging and I stood wondering what my day would be like at work after such hard work.

"That would do." He finally said and we gently lowered the corpse in. She was wrapped in dark clothes so I couldn't look into her face to say my final goodbye. Linda was dead!

The moment we were done, we hurriedly entered my car and sped off.

I got home at 6am, rushed to the bathroom and quickly got dressed for work. As CEO, I could decide not to be at work but I tried to avoid anything that raised any suspicion or led to what had happened. So I was going to get to work and act like all was well .

The moment I got in, I was surprised by my workers. My office was decorated with balloons, flowers, drinks and cakes and a big CONGRATULATION was written with cards on my wall.

"Congratulations Sir", "I'm happy for you Sir", "When will the wedding be announced", " What's her name?", " You didn't post her picture."

All these questions filled the air with a mix of excitement and anticipation. It felt so good that I wished that Linda hadn't died. As soon as all of the brief celebration was over, I sat in my office, worried about how to break the news to them and the whole world that my fiance is missing. The media has captured the celebration and everyone is eagerly waiting to see who the lady is as I just posted her finger with the engagement ring before her death.

I picked up my phone to call my assistant so that the work for the day can begin and I can get my mind out of this place for some time .

"Hello Steve, Where are you? I need you to come and clean up this mess in my office right away!"

"I'll be there shortly, Sir" , Steve replied.

"Do you not understand the language I spoke or are you dull from hearing? The first question was "Where are You?" , I was losing my patience already, everything was upsetting me

"I'm sorry ,Sir. I'm on my way." He replied.

"You must be out of your mind." I angrily ended the call and started pulling every decoration down with anger.

Few minutes later, Nate walked in to see the mess I had made of the decorations my workers did their best to put up.

"What's up man? You need to take it easy. If you begin to act strangely, it may just raise suspicion so breathe and don't let any of these overwhelm you, ok?"

"I can't explain how I feel right now. I'm doing my best to be normal, to feel good but the media ain't helping. How do I come up with a disappearance story for Linda? It will make them inquisitive and investigation may begin which will lead them directly to me." I said in frustration.

There was a knock on the door and it was Steve, rushing in looking unkempt even though his clothes were neatly ironed.

"Why are you just coming?" I asked in anger.

"I apologize Sir, hmm...It was..., Sorry I was..." He began to stutter.

" My mind is not in a place to listen to rubbish. Just get ready for your punishment. In the meantime, clean up this mess."

" Yes Sir", he quickly responded as began to clear the office.

"So what do I do now?" I continued my conversation with Nate, not minding Steve's presence.

"You cannot tell the media that your fiance is missing. That's not a good one. I'm thinking, since they haven't actually seen her, you can get someone to play the role until we figure out what next to do." He replied.

"Oh Nate, what can I do without you?" This sounded like the perfect idea.

" Hahaha ", Nate laughed. "Nothing much", he teased.

"So how do we go about it?" I asked .

" It's simple. Go in search of a girl who will be willing to play the role, promise to reward her handsomely and get her contract signed." He responded intelligently.

"I like that, but..." Just as I was about to say something else, Steve interrupted.

"Excuse Sir, I apologize for listening to your conversation but I have someone."

"Keep quiet and get out!" I shouted furiously. "How dare he? Why didn't I realize you are such a fool that doesn't know how not to get into other people's business? Get out!"

Steve rushed out quickly with the trash he had gathered.

"Derrick, that wasn't a good one. What if he goes out and spreads the news that he heard you saying your fiancée is missing?” Nate asked concerned.

"No one will believe him especially if I get a girl soon enough to pose as my fiancée". I responded feeling great about the whole idea.

"You don't know how to get one yet and this information cannot go out to anyone. I suggest we go with Steve's offer. At least , it'll limit the number of people who will have information about your missing fiancée." Nate advised.

I trusted Nate so much that anything he said was a great idea. I picked up my phone and called Steve to return to my office.

"This is the picture of Linda. I need someone this weight, height and stature." I said, showing Steve the picture from my phone.

"Wow. What a coincidence! I have exactly who you need." Steve responded, pulling out his phone to show me the picture of the girl is was willing to give me.

"They sure do look alike. and even chubby” i replied, nodding my head. The girl looked really beautiful and I couldn't wait to pose with her.

"So, who is she?" I asked.

"Celine, my girlfriend. You'll have to pay us a very huge amount for us to carry on with this."

"Deal. Name your price, let's get started!"