Her Substitute Groom

Connor Hughes

“I must’ve gone crazy for a moment. I must’ve really lost it for a minute,” I cursed for the umpteenth time as the image from earlier kept popping in my head. The thought of how angry I was earlier made things even more complicated for me. I mean, why the fuck was I so angry?

I checked the wall clock and realized that it was past 4pm and the stylist must be on his way now or maybe he was already here, who knows?

“Forget it, Connor. You have no business with him,” I told myself, trying to get my head off the thought of the stylist, but it didn’t seem like it was going to work, so I found myself leaving my room and strolling down the hallway. Since we no longer sleep in the same room, I checked her supposed room but didn’t find her inside, so I proceeded to the living room knowing she would be there.

The sound of the laughter coming from the living room as I descended the staircase made me wonder what the heck was going on there. I didn’t remember having a male maid at home, and even if I did, they wouldn’t be so loud.

My jaw dropped when I spotted that bastard from earlier sitting on my couch comfortably and even crossing his legs. He had the guts to even touch my magazine. The anger that struck me at that moment felt like a thunderstorm, and I was going to unleash my demon on him.

“Hey! Who asked you to sit on my couch?” I asked when I arrived at the living room, and he dared to smile at me.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Hi! I didn’t know you were inside,” He grinned from ear to ear as he rose to his feet and extended his hand to me for a handshake, and seeing his painted nails made me want to puke. Why on earth would a man act feminine and think that it’s not enough, but still go ahead and paint his nails? Is he mad?

“I asked you a question. What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped at him, furious.

“I have an appointment with Ms. Janice. I’m sure you heard that when I came here earlier,” He smirked at me and then winked. The way he was acting made me doubt if he was here just as a stylist or maybe if he had another motive. The latter might be the case.

I was about to say something when I heard Janice’s footsteps, so I turned and found her walking into the living room with a small tray that had a tall glass filled to the brim with orange juice.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Mr. Nick,” She smiled widely at him like she was in love with him, and even though I didn’t want her action to get to me, I couldn’t deny that it was really getting to me for no reason.

“Don’t you think you are being jealous?” My subconscious mind asked me, but that was the last thing I would think. Me? In love with Janice? That is like asking like poles to attract each other. I don’t do love, and even if I did, Janice would be the last person I would think of falling in love with.

“Then what is the meaning of this recent attitude of yours? Why do you care if she smiles with a man or not? Why are you so angry?” I was patient enough to ask myself that question that I couldn’t even come up with an answer to.

“It’s my house, so it’s only fine I’m acting like this,” Deep inside me I knew that was all lies.

“It’s fine,”

“Here, I got this for you. You should feel refreshed before we start the makeup,” She smiled and spoke in the sexiest voice as she handed him the glass of juice, and when I saw his finger brush her hand, something sparked in me. Slowly, I clenched my fingers into tight fists and clenched my teeth until my mouth hurt, but I still didn’t stop. I tried to hold back the anger that was trying to consume me, knowing that it would be a disaster if I allowed it to have its way. Of course, I didn’t want to be jailed for murdering this bastard.

“This is so sweet, but not as sweet as you are, Ms. Janice,” He spoke to her seductively, and as usual, winked at her, and I couldn’t help but scoff at him.

“Hey! Do you want to die? Do you have a death wish?” I yelled at the top of my voice and both him and Janice flinched, spilling the drink on his body.

“Gosh! You startled me. What the hell was that, Connor?” Janice faced me and frowned.

“Tell him to leave. Like right now! I want him out of my house,” I retorted, pointing toward the door.

“We have not done what he came here for, so why should he leave?” She asked me, and I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just sighed.

“I’m sorry about that, Mr. Nick. My housemate is just being nosy,” She turned to him and smiled, sitting on the couch comfortably, and I scoffed unbelievably.

“Your housemate? Is that what you told him?” I huffed and turned to the bastard.

“Did she tell you that I’m her housemate?” I asked him like the lunatic I’ve become. Well, all thanks to Janice, she has successfully turned me into a maniac or a psychopath, who knows?

“I’m done here, Ms. Janice. Shall we proceed to the room for the makeup?” He stood up and asked, and my eyes slowly narrowed in shock.

“Yes, sure,” I was still trying to process what in actual fuck he just spilled when she stood up and nodded.

“Inside the room? He is following you into the room?” I asked Janice to be sure I heard her right, and she shrugged.

“Yes. You weren’t expecting us to do makeup in the living room, were you?” She raised her eyebrows, and I scoffed. It felt like I was going crazy.

“You heard when he said earlier that he was straight, right?” I blurted out before I could hold the words back, but she only rolled her eyes and turned to face the Nick guy.

“This way, Mr. Nick,” She gestured for him to follow her as she headed toward the staircase, and the annoying jerk smirked at me before he followed her, and I huffed yet again.

I watched until they were out of my sight, and it felt like I was going to burst as a result of anger. I slumped on the couch hopelessly and sank my fingers into my hair while burying my face between my palms.

“Just let her do whatever she likes to do. She’s just your employee. You don’t even love her, so why be disturbed about how she chooses to live her life?” I tried to convince myself, but my head was messed up. Having her image popping up in my head every damn time, the thought of the dude being alone inside the room with her, the imagination of the bastard probably touching her and all that was so frustrating and driving me crazy.

“She’s still in my house, so I can’t possibly allow someone to come in here and do shit to her, right?” I mumbled, then stood up and rushed to the staircase. I climbed the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, and I was soon sprinting toward her room. I pushed the door open and barged in once I got to her doorstep. I found him sitting on the bed when I walked inside. From the sound of the water shower in the bathroom, I knew Janice was in there.

“What are you doing here?” He had the guts to ask me, and I scoffed.

“I don’t trust you, so I’m here to keep an eye on you. Is there anything wrong with that?” I smirked at him, and he shook his head.

“Do you love her?” He asked me out of the blue moon, and my jaw dropped as I stared down at him.

“You look so jealous like I’m taking your woman away from you. If you love her, you should tell her before someone else takes her away from you,” He further said, but I just rolled my eyes and went to sit on the chair inside the room.

“Am I in love with her?” I asked myself the same question, and even if I wanted to deny it, there was no explanation for the feelings I’ve been having since. Could it be that I’m really in love with her? I was yet to answer the question before the bathroom door opened, and she walked in fully cladded in a white robe. She stopped when she saw me inside the room, her eyes dilated in shock, but that wasn’t my concern at that moment. I wasn’t just knowing for the first time that she was cute, but I couldn’t deny that my heart fluttered seeing her body dripping wet, and the white towel wrapped around her hair made her even more beautiful.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice brought me back to reality…