BECOMING HIS SUBSTITUTE WIFE

The Unraveling

The Unraveling.

HAZEL'S POV.

I couldn't move.

I stood frozen in disbelief, staring in utter shock at the scene in front of me. My legs felt like plastic, and my chest tightened. The wedding ceremony was over already.

The guests were all starting to leave, congratulating and hugging the couple—Donald!—as though nothing had happened. But nothing seemed normal.

Donald was there among all the laughter and smiles. My fiance. Rea was standing next to him so close that it made my stomach turn. He had introduced me to the same Rea as his cousin!

It was as if gravity had abandoned me and the world had swung sideways. It felt strange and heavy like a weight designed to pull me down the ring on my finger. The shock was too great and my mind was too disorganized.

This cannot be happening. He couldn't do this. Not to me. He was there holding Rea's hand, his eyes glimmering with joy and his smile broad. She gazed at him as though he were the only person on the planet.

Her eyes showed absolutely no signs of a cousin's love. It was romantic love. The kind of love I ought to have had.

"Hazel?" I recoiled as I came back to the present. Donald's voice, piercing and full of surprise at seeing me standing there like a ghost, broke through my bewilderment.

I remained silent. I couldn't utter a word. I had a tight throat. As my mind raced to process what I was seeing, I breathed in short gasps.

" Hazel, what are you doing here?" He asked in a bewildered tone as though he had the right to interrogate me.

Since I was the one who had been duped and kept in the dark, what was I doing here? I blinked my eyes watering, the bile in my throat threatening to burst.

I slowly glanced in Rea's direction. She was so conceited as to look at me pityingly. She was aware of what was happening and didn't even bother to warn me, didn't she? I forced the words out and my voice cracked.

" What?... Donald, what did I do wrong?" I asked as though trying to understand the situation, his eyes darted between Rea and me, his face contorted in surprise.

“This is— hazel, please" He stammered

"No…" I stepped back letting the tears fall freely down my cheeks. With my voice raw with betrayal, I was now yelling, "No! Don't try to explain! Why the hell didn't you tell me?" I pointed at Rea, my hand shaking with rage, and asked,"...Why Donald? Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me that you were already engaged to her?"

Then, with a strange calm in her eyes, Rea moved forward and touched Donald's arm. She sounded almost too sweet.

"We've been engaged for a long time, Hazel. I thought you were aware. I'm sorry you found out this way."

I felt my blood boiling. I was unable to understand the concept of engagement. His fiancé was the same woman I was made to believe was his cousin—the one who had shown me such kindness while posing as nothing more than family.

I turned back to Donald and searched his face for a glimmer of truth. My head was pounding so loudly that I could hardly hear myself speak.

"You lied to me." I said my voice was now broken and quieter "How could you?"

Donald started to say something but I interrupted him. Whatever excuse he had in store for me I didn't want to hear it.

He had given me false information and nothing could make up for it. Before I knew it, I reached out and slapped him. Everything froze for a second as the sound of my palm brushing against his cheek reverberated through the chilly air.

Donald looked shocked and his hand reached up to touch his face where the stinging pain of my slap was. I pulled out the ring off my finger in anger and threw it at his feet. Although it landed with a gentle clink it seemed like the loudest sound in the world to me.

"You're not worth it," I muttered, my face reddened in tears, and I turned and ran away.

My mind was a jumble of pain and rage as I ran through the street, my legs moving mindlessly. Even though the cool air whipped around me, tossing my hair into my face, I didn't care; the fire inside of me remained unquenchable.

I was shocked that I had fallen for him, shocked that I had believed all his lies and deceit. I had allowed myself to be duped by both of them. My vision was clouded by tears, and as I ran, I stumbled, and the surroundings vanished into thin air.

I turned and ran away with my legs feeling like jellyfish. The sound of a car horn pierced into my ears, jolting me out of my confused mind.

It was almost too late when I finally noticed a sleek car approaching. I stood wide-eyed and breathing heavily as I came to a sharp halt, too.

With my breath ragged and shaky I barely made it back before my heart slammed into my throat.

When I looked up, I saw the car screech to a stop, and the driver's eyes widened in surprise at seeing me. I was too shocked to think straight as I stared at him, my heart racing and my legs wobbly.

The driver was looking at me with a ghostly expression. But the weight of the world pressing down on my chest caused my mind to scream at me to turn on my heel and run before I could process any more.

I was unable to think. Breathing was becoming difficult too. I have to run away, run away to get away from everything

The driver's face ashed as he stared at me in shock " Fiona?"