Her Substitute Groom

Claire POV

Being with Khan for the last few days has given me another perspective on him. I thought he was a jerk, but he was actually a sweet soul and someone fun to be with. As much as I wanted to stay away from him, lying to myself that he was not my style, I couldn’t resist the invisible bond that kept drawing me close to him. I couldn’t deny this feeling I was developing for him. This feeling was already getting intense, and I didn’t want anything else more than to stay longer with him here.

‘We are sorry, honey. We’ll be back in a few weeks. There’s something I need to take care of over here’ I was strangely excited when I got that message from Mom last two days. I just wanted to stay longer with him and admire him from afar even though I couldn’t have him.

‘He is dangerous, Claire. Stay away from him’ As Connor’s words replayed in my head, I asked myself what the fuck did his best friend did to him. Connor is one hella crazy jerk and I know once he sets his mind on something, changing it would be difficult.

“Whatever! Don’t think about it,” I mumbled and went ahead to tie a white towel around my chest, leaving the bathroom afterward. It was a Saturday morning, and since Khan wasn’t going anywhere today, I asked that we hang out together.

I took my time to get dressed, choosing the best dress I could lay my hands on because I needed to look pretty today. Just for no reason.

Cladded in a short red gown with a pair of red heels, I smiled at the perfect woman staring back at me from the reflection.

“Should I let my hair down?” I mumbled, leaning forward and getting a better look at myself, and in the end, I felt like letting it down would be perfect, and turned out that I made the right decision.

“Yes! We are good to go,” I couldn’t help the smile that laced up my lips when I saw how beautiful I looked, and after I was done admiring myself, I strode out of the room and closed the door gently behind me.

“Will he like me this way? Am I overdressed? Should I go change?” I stopped in the hallway and checked myself out for the umpteenth time, unable to make a decision. I wanted to look perfect, maybe for him, I don’t know.

“You are perfect, Claire. You should get going already,” My subconscious mind said to me, and that was all I needed before I proceeded down the hallway and soon descended the staircase.

My heart pounded hard in my chest, my palms sweaty as waves of nervousness spurred through me. Many questions ran through my mind as I slowly descended the staircase. What if he thinks that I’m trying to seduce him? What if he thinks that I’m being cheap? What if he doesn’t even look my way? I asked myself nervously, but the latter was my biggest fear. I didn’t want to look this beautiful only to be ignored later.

I got to the living room where I met him sitting on the couch, his gaze strictly on his phone, maybe doing something interesting there, who knows? I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I fondled with my fingers, not knowing how to call his attention since he was so engrossed in his phone and had no idea that I was there.

“Uhm…” I was about to say something when he raised his head, and I could swear I saw his jaw drop as he stared at me. If I was not mistaken, then he was staring at me in admiration, and I didn’t fail to notice how super handsome he looked in that pair of black velvet jeans and a black sweatshirt. He was the definition of perfection.

“Yo… you’re here?” His voice broke as he stood up to his feet, and I slowly nodded. I was expecting him to at least stare at me longer and maybe say something nice about my dress, but I was mistaken because he quickly turned his face away and tucked his hands inside his pockets.

“We should get going,” He uttered as he bent and took his car keys from the center table, then turned and started off to the door.

“Are you kidding me? Are you this arrogant or you’re just clueless?” I sneered at him angrily, and he halted.

“What’s with the insults now?” He turned to face me, his eyes piercing into mine coldly, and I was forced to bite my lip.

“Didn’t you learn to compliment a lady when she’s pretty?” I huffed, and he raised his eyebrows.

“A lady? Where is she? Pretty? Who is that?” His ridiculous question made me clench my fingers into a tight fist. I wanted to throw him a jab, but I held it back.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. I really can’t see a lady. I only see a girl here… A little girl,” He emphasized on ‘little’ and I scoffed.

“Me? Little? Connor was right. I should really stay away from you,” I muttered then pushed him out of my way and dashed out of the house angrily.

“Hey! Careful with that. You are going to break it,” He rushed to pull me away from his car when I tried to open the door angrily.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Do you know how much that costs?” He scoffed as he pulled the door open for me, and I rolled my eyes.

“My Daddy is wealthy and can afford it too. Stop showing off,” I hopped inside the car, expecting him to close the door, but he leaned forward, and my heart skipped.

“Wh… what are you doing?” I stuttered nervously.

“You look gorgeous. Was just teasing you,” He hushed then winked at me, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Hu… huh?”

“I must confess… That dress looks sexy on you,” He uttered, and I blushed. He finally pulled away then closed the door and went to hop in the driver’s seat. The drive began.

I kept stealing glances at him as he drove us down the road minutes later, and I blushed when I thought of how he complimented me earlier.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Is there anything on my face?” His voice pulled me back to reality, realization dawned on me that I’d been drooling at him. Gosh! I might lose my mind.

“Who said I was staring?” I mumbled and bit my lips, throwing my gaze away, and I heard him scoff…

*****

How time flies? It was evening and we were out the whole day, having fun. My day was filled with excitement and I didn’t want the day to be over, but it wasn’t something we had control over.

“Do you want me to get you something to eat before we go home?” He asked me as he drove down the road minutes later.

“I’ll just make noodles when I get home,” I replied to him, and he nodded.

My phone beeped and I checked to see that it was a text from Connor.

‘Hey, sis. Sorry, I’ve not called you in a while. I’ve been busy. Remember what I told you. Stay the hell away from Khan. I know he is not your style, and I trust you. He’s not a good guy. Girls easily get swayed by him, so don’t fall victim no matter what he says to you. I’ll be back soon’ I scoffed and shook my head after I read through the text, and Khan glanced at me.

The drive home was finally over, so he pulled over at the parking lot and came to open the door for me before I could reach for it.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled, stepping out of the car.

“Don’t make things up in your head. I don’t want you to hurt my precious car,” He stated rudely, and I scoffed.

“Whatever!” I rolled my eyes.

He proceeded toward the entrance door, so I trailed behind him until we got to the living room.

“You know where the noodles are. Help yourself,” He stated bluntly when we got to the living room.

“Khan…” He paused and turned to face me.

“Hmm? Is there a problem?” He raised his eyebrows as he stared at me, his eyes demanding an answer, and I bit my bottom lip.

“Uhm… Not really. I just wanted to do something,” I paused and took a deep breath while closing my eyes. What I was thinking of doing was crazy, but I couldn’t help myself. I literally heard my heart pounding hard in my chest as I covered the distance between us.

“Are you ok, Claire?” His voice was laced with worries as he leaned close to me, but I held the back of his head, then stood on my toes, and claimed his lips. He froze…