CHAPTER 1
1050 Words
Like all calamities, mine came to me at a low point. I stared in astonishment as Ariana took more pictures with her phone while my husband stood by the door, his expressionless face fixed on me.
This isn't right.
My gaze moved to the stranger in my bed… our bed. What's happening? How did he get here? I stared at his naked chest before lifting the duvet and my jaw dropped.
I'm naked.
Maybe this is a dream I need to wake up from. But when I bit the insides of my mouth, I felt the pain. I grabbed the duvet, watching as the man stood up in panic.
I stood up too, almost falling back to the bed as I hurriedly covered my body with the duvet.
“Albert. See, it's not what you are thinking, I swear on my life.”
Ariana, my step sister, snickered. “What do you mean it's not what he's thinking b***h? You were cheating on your honeymoon!”
“I… please hear me out…” I pleaded, tears pricking at my eyes. I turned to the man who was hurriedly grabbing his discarded clothes. “Ehmmm, I–”
He spared me one last glance, his mouth opening wordlessly before hurrying out of the door as Albert moved away from it for him to pass.
I hopped off the bed, hurrying towards Albert, tears trickling down my face. “Please believe me. I don't know him, I swear. I was just wai–”
“Get back.” Ariana said, stepping between us. She lifted her phone. “Proof. We have proof.”
“Albert, please –”
“Get back Camilla. I’m warning you”
I watched as Albert moved back and turned the key, locking the door. Then, he turned back and placed his palm on Ariana's shoulder.
“Let's drop the act now.” He said in that deep voice which I'd come to love. He shifted his gaze to me. “I'm sorry Camilla.”
“What's going on?” I whispered, my heart thumping in my chest.
Ariana smirked, her eyes gleaming with malice as her gaze raked my body and I cower under her intense gaze. “We knew you'd take the bait.”
I felt my mouth running dry as I shifted my gaze to Albert who had his teeth clenched.
“What's going on?” I whispered again.
Albert shrugged. “You are just a means to an end. We need to make it look like you were cheating and that guy was more than happy to play along.”
“I…” I clear my throat, gathering my emotions as it's all over the place. “I… I don't understand you, Albert. We had our wedding and we consummated it two days ago. Why… I…”
“You are so gullible.” Ariana snickered.
My eyes widened, the truth dawning on me. I walked closer to Albert, pulling him away from Ariana. “Please don't do this to me, Albert.”
His expression turned cold as he yanked his arm away from me and walked back towards Ariana. “We are done here.” He said, his hand latching to her wrists. “You will hear from my lawyers soon.”
Then, he walked back towards the door with Ariana.
“Albert.” I called, my voice shaky.
He glanced at me over his shoulders.
“We had s*x. You should have told me if–”
Ariana shot him a glare and he sighed before opening the door. They stepped out, leaving me alone.
Minutes passed, but I stood at the spot they'd left me, my eyes fixed on the door in disbelief. The door opened again and Ariana peeked at me.
“Next time, you'll know not to take what's mine. Brace yourself Camilla.”
She shut the door.
My hands fell lax beside me and the duvet fell with it, exposing my nakedness. Then, another fresh wave of tears slipped out. I turned to the bed where I'd lost my virginity to my new husband two days ago.
Our marriage was arranged by our families. He was Ariana’s friend. When we found out, I was confused but we'd six months to work things out. We dated and I fell deeply in love with him. He was charming, handsome, and seemed to care for me.
We got married and consummated our union. The following day, Albert told me he'd an emergency to attend to at the office because of his new boss and left. I didn't see him the next day and I automatically assumed he was busy with work. I knew it wasn't easy managing a multi billion dollar company.
I'd fallen asleep, exhausted and bored, waiting for him. When I woke up, I was shocked to find a stranger beside me. I almost shouted but Ariana and Albert burst into the room, taking pictures.
I wiped the tears but more drops just stream down my face as I stared at the ceiling, my heart throbbing painfully.
What's happening, God? Are you on vacation?
I could hear nothing except the sound of the ticking clock and my loud heartbeats.
A means to an end.
A substitute.
That's what he said I am.
He promised. He did. Was everything false? The late night texts, the walks and drives, the stolen glances, touches, the kisses, the gifts. Was it all fake?
Anger coursed through my veins as my eyes darted to the ring on my finger and my heart ached at the thought of pulling it off.
I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to.
Or, maybe it's a prank.
Yes, it must be a prank.
I need to reach him.
I stood up and hurried to the bed, flinging away pillows after pillows, searching for my phone. When my eyes landed on it, I picked it with shaky hands.
It was as if I was being expected to connect my phone to the WiFi as my phone dinged ridiculously with various messages and notifications. However, one stood out.
My gram page was tagged to a picture posted by an anonymous account.
Tears blurred my eyes as I tapped the post with shaky hands.
It was the picture.
The one Ariana had taken.
- Writer
