HIS BILLIONAIRE PROXY BRIDE

CH.7

Sandra tossed her head, not showing any concern that they had apparently heard a good part of what she said. As far as she was concerned, that was their goddamn problem.

"Sandra, my dear. You sure have grown

into a fine young woman." Mr. Anderson said, coming over to give her a hug and peck where she was standing. Sandra received them rigidly, her posture giving off, I don't know you're vibes.

"Now, I know you may not remember me,

but I used to be your father's best friend."

Mr. Anderson continued.

"Yes, yes. We are best friends, honey."

Their father put in, a tad too eagerly. Mr.

Anderson put up one finger to silence him

and he snapped his mouth shut as though

someone had used a remote button to

control him. Elise watched in surprise,

wondering what kind of hold this man

had over her family that made everyone,

including her usually feisty mother bend

backward trying to obey him.

"Don't interrupt me, Donald. Now, as I

was saying, your father and I used to be

best friends. That is why I want you to get married to my dear nephew here, so we can all be one big, happy family. That is what my dear sister and brother-in-law

would have wanted, God rest their souls."

"What about what I want? Why is nobody

talking about that?."You' re going to be well taken care of and

be free to do as you like, depending on

what is in the contract."

"Contract? Why is nobody telling me any

of what is going on? Elise quipped,

feeling like an outsider in her own home,

but that was how she had always felt.

Mr. Anderson ignored her and dismissed

everyone. "Get some rest everyone.

Tomorrow is going to be really hectic. My

aunties and sisters are coming in for the

wedding, so everything has to go well." He said and beckoned to his wife and

Bryce who was busy with something

on his phone for them to leave

"I hope you feel better, Sandra,"

Bryce said, the first words he had said

to his supposed wife to be since meeting

her in real life. The words sounded as

though they were coming from a marble

sculpture, totally devoid of emotion or

meaning. Even his face was devoid of the

sincerity that someone who had spoken

words like that should have.

Having said those words, he nodded coolly at the rest

of them and walked out of the house after

his uncle. There was a tense silence after

they left, which was broken by Carolina.

"Alright, dears. Please go to bed now. It's

already late." She said, pointing at the

wall clock to show them how late it was,

as though they did not know how late it

was.

"Is anybody going to tell me what is going on? Elise asked the room at large and

was not at all surprised when they all

walked away without answering her

question.

Deciding that she could not force them to

tell her anything if they did not want to do

so, she went up to her room to sleep.

___________

Elise was shaken roughly awake the next

morning by a frantic Carolina who was

babbling words that Elise could not

understand. Her eyes were wild and her

hair a mess, and she looked like she had

Just gotten out of bed.

"What is it again, mum? It's too early for

you to wake me up. Christ, it's barely even eight and the wedding isn't until eleven."

Elise complained, rubbing her eyes

sleepily. She had found it difficult to sleep

last night, so it wasn't a surprise that she

was still feeling so sleepy.

"I've been cursed with an ungrateful child.

I've been cursed. Carolina cried, sitting on

Elise's bed and giving way to loud,

wracking sobs of self-pity. Elise watched

her for a few minutes, not sure if she

should console her or not. She and

Carolina did not have that kind of

relationship.

"What's going on? She asked finally.

Carolina wailed for some more minutes,

during which her husband came into the

room and stood sheepishly by the door.

Elise raised her eyes at him

questioningly, but he looked away

immediately. After some minutes, Carolina

wiped at her eyes and said.

"Sandra has run away.

"Oh," Elise said, not sure what else to say.

"Yeah. Do you know where she could be?

Did she confide in you or something?

Carolina asked angrily, although her eyes

were still teary.

"No, she didn't. In case you guys failed to

notice, nobody in this house ever confides

in me about anything., so I'm sorry, but I

can't help you. I don't know anything

about her running away."

"Oh, really? You don't know anything?

"Um,yeah!.That's what I just said"Okay, then. Do you care to explain this?"

Carolina asked, flinging a piece of paper at

her. It was a note from Sandra and Elise

read it quickly.

Hey everyone. By the time you'll be

reading this, Ill be long gone. I'm sorry,

but I cannot be the sacrificing lamb for the

family. I have my whole life ahead of me,

so getting married to a stranger and

having a child is not what I want for

myself at all. You guys should sort out

your issues with Bryce's family on

your own and not involve me in any of it.

Also, help me thank Elise for helping me

realize that I don't have to be anyone's

doormat, nor do I have to marry anyone

unless I want to. For now, you won't be

able to reach me, but I'll get in touch once

everything has died down. However, be

rest assured that I'm safe. I'm sorry for

any embarrassment this might cause the

family. I love you all.

Sandra.

"Oh," Carol said after she had finished

reading the message.

"Yeah, oh."

"Well, I don't see what the big deal is.

Sure, it's going to be awfully

embarrassing for both families, but from

what I could see, there is no love lost

between the two people who are supposed

to be getting married. Bryce looked

bored with the whole thing, as though he

was being forced, and so did Sandra So

maybe it is for the best."

"He is a billionaire. No one can force him

to do anything. Sandra just threw away a

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Are you sure about that? Something tells

me there is more to this arranged

marriage than meets the eye."

"The pressing problem now is how we are going to find Sandra. Ralph is not going

to like this one bit." Donald said

nervously, still standing by the door.

As if on cue, someone knocked on the

door of Sandra's room. It was one of the

maids.

"Mr. Ralph Anderson is here." She informed them.

"Oh my God! This is terrible...really

terrible. What on earth are we going to

tell him? This is all your goddamn fault.

Damn you, Donald!" Carolina yelled at her

husband, who cringed and looked away.

"I'll just go and tell him what's going on

myself," Elise said, coming down from

her bed at last and proceeding to walk out of the room in only her night gown"You will do no such thing," Carolina

ordered, wiping at her eyes and

beckoning to her husband for them to go

and meet Mr. Anderson

Once they had left, Elise hurriedly

changed into more presentable clothes

and hurried downstairs to eavesdrop on

them where they were in the study. It was

high time she knew what was going on

once and for all.