Elsa held her cheeks the slap met her in the face. Ray's jaw dropped as he accessed the damage. He knew they wouldn't take the news lightly. He tried warning Elsa but the stubborn girl wouldn't listen. The glare Larry gave him was enough to make him sink into the ground to hide away from trouble. The man still harbored grudges about him supposedly hitting his wife and now marrying his daughter ahead of her groom was just the last straw. “We're in love, Dad. I don't care what you or your mother think. You can hit me as many times as you want but it won't change my feelings for him. We're married now! The earlier you get used to that, the better for all of us!” Elsa said defiantly. “What did you just say? You're married to this nobody? You think I'm going to stand back and watch you spend the rest of your life with a riffraff? You would have to kill me first,” her mother clapped back. Elsa stepped forward, unafraid and twice as stubborn as she was earlier. “Well get prepared to die
“You need to stop this madness, Ed. Ray is my husband and I would never marry you no matter what,” Elsa yelled, banging against the door.Twenty-four hours after Ray's arrest, Edgar had her locked in his guest room. Even when she was already married, he insisted that the engagement would proceed tomorrow as planned, regardless of what priest or court married them. She tried to argue of course, but trusted Edgar to arrogantly capitalize on his affluence in the city. She didn't know what to do or how Ray was faring. Her heart was heavy with guilt because it was all her fault. He'd warned her about everything that was bound to happen but her adamant self wouldn't pay heed. Now, he was in jail suffering for granting her wish. For wanting to make her happy. Tears stung her eyes. She had to get out of there. There had to be a way. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. “Edgar! Ed!!! You need to let me out! Please let me out!” She pleaded but there was no response
The day she dreaded most was here already. It seemed like only a few hours had passed but it was, in fact, forty-eight hours. She was to accept his ring publicly before two hundred guests and smile like it was a dream come true. The thought of it was horrifying but there was nothing she could do. After Edgar showed her a clip of Ray going through torture, her heart couldn't take it anymore. He had already been through enough, the suffering was totally unnecessary. “Mom,” she tried to reason with her mother one last time. “You look gorgeous sweetheart. Do you know how much this dress is worth?” Mrs Larry asked, her voice pitching with excitement. “I don't care how much the dress costs, ma. I need you to listen to me, please,” Elsa pleaded. Mrs Larry stopped adjusting the ropes. “Fine, I'm listening. Let's hear what you have to say.”“During your time, were you forced to marry Dad?” Elsa asked. Mrs. Larry frowned. She knew the direction it was heading and frankly, she wasn't ready
“No.”It was a reflex. Like her mind was unwilling to be controlled by circumstances but that stubbornness was about to cost a lot.She scanned through the room warily. As expected, their eyes were bulging, lips parted to express their shock. Then her fiance. The man she'd rejected in less than a heartbeat. He didn't seem surprised like the rest. He probably saw it coming, but that wasn't a good thing. He was furious! So furious that he smashed the glass box against the floor, inciting another round of gasps. “What did you just say?” He literally growled at her. Elsa felt so small before his rage. He looked like he was about to crush her into tiny pieces. Cautiously setting a distance between them to avoid a direct impact from any form of attack. “Elsa!” This was her chance. Pretend it was a mistake and marry him. It wouldn't have taken anything from her. It was just a stupid engagement but she'd already said no and somehow, replacing it with a yes became difficult.“I said I c
The last minute was spent staring at the man who looked just like Ray. His primary focus was the family name. “How authentic is this? He could be a doppelganger for all we know,” Edgar said to the man. “That is also a possibility, sir, but what are the chances? According to what we know, he was found in the sea with no memory of where he came from. According to the news, Zade Delamonte had been missing after his car went off the bridge.”“And it brought him all the way from there to here?” Edgar's doubt was evident but it was mostly him trying to erase all possibilities from his mind. If Ray was a Delamonte then he was as good as dead. No way his grandfather would let him get away with hurting his grandson. It wouldn't matter if he knew or not. “I don't know what to say about that, sir but I assure you this information is seventy percent accurate,” the man said.“And the other thirty percent?”“That he might be a doppelganger just as you have said. Only a DNA test can confirm our
“Why'd he change his mind? What did you do?” Ray asked weakly. It came as a surprise when Elsa came to visit. He questioned her about the bruises on her face but she skillfully avoided the question. Now, she was saying that Edgar was fine with them being together. It sounded too good to be true. “I didn't do anything. After I rejected him before his business associates, he just gave up. I guess he's still trying to recover from the shock of being publicly humiliated,” Elsa shrugged. Ray didn't believe her. Edgar was not that simple. There was something more. Something she wasn't telling. Elsa could see the doubt on his face as clear as day. She didn't know what more to say to him. She was just as surprised and suspicious as he was. Edgar had suddenly changed his mind for reasons best for him. The good thing was that they could finally be together. The bad side was that they didn't know his next move so they couldn't prepare for anything. “Will you tell me what happened to your f
The next days were hell for them. When her mother made that threat, she thought nothing of it but now, they were starving. There was barely enough to have a decent meal once a day.Ray had tried virtually everything to make a living but it seemed like the date was against him. No one wanted to employ him even as a servant. All the interviews he was supposed to go for were canceled. Same with Elsa. It felt like fate was punishing her for publicly humiliating Edgar. They couldn't even afford a place to stay. Her parents had given them the barn to manage until they could get a place of their own. It had been before the whole unemployment saga of course. Now, they were on the verge of groveling to her parents for food. Going to Edgar was no option for them. They didn't want to seem like they were leeching off him right after they said they didn't want his wealth. “What are we going to do? It feels like we've been blacklisted in the entire city. No one wants to employ us for some stup
“Raymond! What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you here so soon,” Edgar grinned as soon as he walked through the door. Ray felt uncomfortable with the man's joy. It was as though he knew they were suffering and waited for the right time for them to come begging. Elsa would be so pissed when she heard about it. Ray let out a sigh. Now was not the time for regrets. Whatever he was doing now was for the betterment of their life. Her life. He couldn't continue watching her live miserably because of him.“May I come in?” He asked politely.“Sure! Sure! Sorry about my manners. I am just so excited to see you. I thought you both agreed to stay away from me.” If Ray didn't know better he would say the man was taunting him but that wasn't the point now. Whether Edgar was taunting or not, nothing was going to change. The highest it could do was hurt his pride. “I'm sorry for showing up in your office without an appointment. It was urgent and I just had to see you. I hope you u