The Contract Bride’s Secret Baby

Lily If I could turn back the hands of time, I would beg Maddy, my best friend not to send me the invite to her wedding. I would have screamed if I had to. A gorgeous smile stretched across my lips as I watched Maddy, my best friend since we were in high school have her veil pinned to her hair. “You’re so gorgeous!” I screamed in excitement but her face refused to lift up in a smile. You would think that a bride on her own wedding would be bursting with laughter and excitement. The dressers noticed her solemn mood and gave a look to each other. I knew Maddy wasn’t happy today of all days because her parents had arranged a wedding with a stranger. She didn’t even know who he was and neither did I. “Can you give us the room?” I asked politely and the dressers obeyed. The moment the soft click of the door echoed, Maddy unlined the veil and threw it across the bed. “I can’t do this!” She clawed desperately at the zipper of the gown. I rushed towards her, stopping her from achieving the goal of getting out of the dress. “Maddy. Maddy!” I called hastily. She stopped moving and paused and that’s when I saw it. Fresh tears flowing down from her eyes. “I can’t marry a man I don’t know, Lily,” she whispered. Her sobs were brutal this time. “My parents don’t even want to hear my opinion. So far it’s good for the family, everything has to go my father’s way. I don’t know him and I don’t love him,” she confessed and I cooed. I didn’t know what to do. Maddy has always told me how being rich had its ups and downs but I refused to accept that because I was poor. She sometimes even told me that she envied my simple life but I didn’t believe that. Who wouldn’t want to be a business tycoon’s only child? A woman all the magazines were in love with from her first steps as a child? Maddy was beautiful and sexy, she was born for that role but seeing her break down like this, I knew her parents had gone too far. I let her rest on me. She couldn’t go out looking as miserable as she felt. “If you don’t want to marry him then maybe you shouldn’t,” I adviced and she slowly lifted her chin from my shoulder. “I can’t,” she breathed out shakily and I frowned. Surely she had some form of authority over her own life…right? I raised a brow in question and her face crumpled into more sadness. My chest tightened and anger bubbled. “Maddy?” I called softly, pulling her away from me and tipping her chin to look at me. “What do you mean by you can’t?” I questioned and she squeezed her eyes then took in a few more breaths. “It will cause a huge scandal and my father will be sued. It will ruin us, Lily. Completely,” she finished and my heart stopped. Oh. No. “Also, I can’t marry him because…” Her words were cut as a harsh knock echoed from the other side of the room. We both gasped in shock. I was ready to ignore the knock until it turned demanding. She pleaded with me with her eyes and I got the message. Even if she didn’t want to do it, it would be suicidal if the public knew this information or worse saw her like this. In Maddy’s family, image was next to everything. It was life itself. I stood up, a cool breeze blowing from the open window of Maddy’s castle-like bedroom and walked to the door. The designer scent of roses hit me squarely and I instantly recognized who it was. Maddy’s mother. A soft tongued manipulative specimen of a woman. I took one last look at Maddy but her eyes had grown still. “I’m sorry,” Maddy whispered just before I cracked the door open and slipped outside. Maddy’s mother was standing at the other end of the door, her face red and angry. “How long does it take a woman to wear a white dress!?” She scolded and I shrank. Maddy’s mother had always scared me but I regained my composure and tried to smile but gave an awkward chuckle instead. “Maddy wants to look perfect, it won’t take so much time,” I lied but Maddy’s mother suddenly squinted at my shoulders. Self consciousness overwhelmed me and I looked at my shoulders in response. I bit my lip as my eyes caught the distinct stain of mascara and before I could brace myself, she grabbed me forcefully. I opened my mouth to speak but Maddy’s mother pushed me out of the way and stormed into the room. A shrill scream left her lips and I rolled my eyes. Maddy only had tear streaked mascara lining her face. Why was she so dramatic? It was only when Mrs. Croft ran out of the room, her face ashen like someone who wanted to faint, that my brain stopped working. I didn’t wait for her to speak as I moved past her into the room. The same one I had just seen Maddy sitting at seconds ago. Maddy was nowhere to be found! Panic instantly set in as I raced towards the windows. A piece of her wedding gown torn off, flowed with the wind. A subtle hint of the worst. Maddy had run away. I turned back the instant I heard footsteps behind only to be taken aback by a lightening force across my cheeks. “You stupid girl!” Mrs.Croft spat. My eyes flinched, my body jumped at her high pitched voice. My heartbeat had turned to a race. What just happened? The room was still spinning while I held my face in shock. “Is this what you were only good for!?” She questioned, her head tilted back just enough to glare down her nose at me. “Is this how you allow your betters disappear under your nose?!” She screamed at my face as guards tried to refrain her from strangling me. Tears burned behind my eyes but they refused to fall. “After everything Maddy had done, bringing a disgusting stray like you to our home. Feeding you, helping a rat like you…is this how you repay us?” She spat. I was stunned into silence at her words. If Maddy was here, she would never say this to me. Suddenly as though she didn’t just rip my world apart, she turned. “What are we going to do!?” She suddenly spoke to a new figure. It wasn’t till he stepped closer that I realized that that was Mr Croft. Maddy’s father. “The guests will be arriving anytime from now. He will be here soon. He can’t marry air!!” She shouted. I suddenly realized with horror that all the dressers and the outside help were nowhere to be found. Mr Croft was pacing now, his hands on his waist, his face redder than a tomato as he breathed harshly. I have never seen Maddy’s parents affected by anything and yet somehow it didn’t feel like Maddy’s disappearance was the main issue. I looked out of the window one more time and decided that if perhaps I went in search for her, I would find her. She couldn’t have gotten far. Unless… My breathing turned shaky. It wasn’t possible. There was no way Maddy planned this whole thing. She was going to come back. I made a move to leave the room only to be instantly blocked by a fierce looking guard. My brows raised in question. I wasn’t a prisoner. Right? I turned to Mrs. Croft only to see a sneer on her lips. “And where do you think you’re going?” Mrs. Croft spat. I flinched. Her eyes held a suspicious glare to it and my insides burned with realization. “I didn’t do it!” I instantly defended myself. “I didn’t even know her plan!” I shouted but Mrs. Croft only shook her head with a disbelieving scoff leaving her lips. “You expect us to believe that nonsense? You stepped out of the room to give her time to escape!” She accused and my eyes went wide. “No! I didn’t” “Yes you did! Yes! And you knew I’d be coming to check which is why you came out of the room. You aided and abetted her. I’m going to make sure you rot in prison,” she threatened and instantly my life flashed before my eyes. The crofts had power. If I was convicted, What would happen to my mother, my home and my whole life? I shook my head vigorously, my lips opened to give an explanation of any kind. To show them that I didn’t know of any plan when Mr Croft suddenly clapped his hand viciously. All heads turned to him as he pointed at me. “I know how to fix this,” he said with a smirk that matched Mrs. Croft. Instantly, my blood ran cold when his gaze held mine. Goosebumps covered my naked flesh. Why was he staring at me like a predator? “Lily will stand in for Maddy,” he declared and my throat went dry. I didn’t understand at first. Then Mrs. Croft’s lips curved into a devilish smile. My eyes flickered to the guards, they were unmoving. My guts turned to ice. They weren’t waiting for an answer because they already had it! This couldn’t be real. What!? “No…” I breathed out. “Or…you pay the 40 million dollars Maddy gave for your mother’s brain surgery. In full. Right now.” He didn’t stutter. He didn’t blink. “Do it!” Mrs. Croft crooned, instantly catching my attention. “That’s the least you could do after all this is all your fault,” she hissed before turning to her husband “As if looking exactly like Maddy wasn’t embarrassing enough. We have to deal with this rubbish,” she swept me over with her eyes. “Thank God for the veil. We can hide the differences,” she said. I blinked back tears of shock. “Your choice,” Mr Croft said, but even that was a lie. A scream rose in my throat. This wasn’t a solution, it was blackmail!