Her Substitute Groom

Khan POV

“What the heck are you doing?” Even though he wanted this so badly, he had to push her away for the sake of his friendship with her brother. He had been friends with Connor for so many years to separate from him now because of this. That was the last thing he wanted. Not ever.

“Khan…” Disappointed, Claire tried to go close to him, but he stepped away from her and shook his head slowly, but deep inside him, he badly wanted to do this. This girl in front of him had stolen his heart and messed with his mental health. Thinking about her every damn time makes him think he was going to lose his mind.

“Why? Why are you pushing me away? Am I not beautiful enough?” Claire knew she was being crazy, but still couldn’t help herself as she was already helpless. She was madly in love with this man and it wasn’t something she could deny when it was already messing her up.

“Are you crazy?” He scoffed and turned his face away, doing everything he could not to get swayed but it didn’t seem like it was working. His heart was getting weak and waves of guilt spurred through him when he saw the pain in her eyes.

“Yes, I am crazy. I am fucking crazy, so you can think that. Why? Do you already have a girlfriend or maybe you’re in love with someone?” Tears brimmed in her eyes as she took a few steps close to him, excited that he didn’t distance himself this time but only stared back at her unbelievably. Here he was, thinking he was the only one having this feeling, but it now occurred to him that he was mistaken. The feeling was mutual.

“Khan… I love you…” Her lips trembled as he cupped his cheek in her palm, staring into his eyes like he wanted to see through him. His heart melted in his chest when he heard her confession, so he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. The excitement in his heart was something he could never deny, but it saddened him, knowing that this could never work between them. Connor would never allow that, and getting on his bad side was the last thing he wanted.

“I love you with everything in me. Call me crazy or whatever, but I really love you…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Claire. What’s wrong with you?” He scoffed as he held her hand and pushed her away gently, maintaining a distance between them. He tucked his hands inside his pockets and stared at her, his face was void of emotions.

“What do you think of me? A pedophile? Are you kidding me?” He scoffed and threw his head back, biting his bottom lip.

“You are eighteen for fuck’s sake. What do you know about love?” Those words pierced through her heart like a dagger, and she slowly clenched her fingers into a tight fist and bit her bottom lip.

“Look at me, Claire…” He paused and then leaned forward, his eyes piercing into hers.

“You are not my style. You are still a kid… Do you know the age difference? I’m fourteen years older than you… I don’t do girls, so you should focus on your studies for now…” He paused then straightened his back and flipped his hair behind his ear.

“Don’t bring this up again, and you need to get rid of whatever shits you are making up in your head,” He smiled at her widely, then ruffled her hair and walked away, leaving her standing there, stunned.

Claire turned and stared at him until he was out of her sight. She clenched her teeth tightly until they started to hurt. Tears brimmed in her eyes and slowly found their way down her cheeks. Her chest burned in rage and pain that she could barely breathe. Her legs wobbled until they couldn’t carry her anymore, so she sank into the couch and burst into tears.

Khan stood on the staircase and slowly clenched his fingers into a tight fist as he watched her from there, broken. He never meant any of those words, she was his fucking style. He was madly in love with her and would’ve loved to embrace that with everything in him, but then betraying his friendship with Connor by getting into a relationship with his sister was the last thing he wanted.

He sighed briefly then turned and headed up to his room.

He threw his phone and car keys on the bed as soon as he got inside, then stripped out of his clothes and threw himself tiredly on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Ugh! Was I too mean?” He mumbled and sat up on the bed, recounting the words he said to her earlier.

“I don’t think I was. I was just trying to make her stay away from me… I didn’t do anything wrong,” He replied to himself like a lunatic, shaking his head.

“What the fuck am I doing?” He whined, burying his face between his palms while sinking his fingers into his hair.

“What do I do? She must be hurt. Maybe I shouldn’t have said those words to her,” He mumbled sadly, then raised his head and stared into space.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Should I just go and apologize to him for being like that earlier?” He mumbled while staring into space.

“No, don’t do that. You are going to give her hope if you do that. Just have a bath and sleep. You’ll be fine by the time you wake up tomorrow,” He mumbled again, then stood up and dragged himself into the bathroom.

Seconds ticked into minutes and after about twenty-five minutes of being in the bathroom and bathing, he finally grabbed the towel from the rack and tied it around his waist, leaving a small budge between his legs.

Reaching for the door, he pulled it open and stepped out of the bathroom into the room, but his jaw dropped at the sight that welcomed him inside. Claire was sitting right there on his bed with just a towel wrapped around her chest, revealing her sexy body.

“Ce… Celine?” His voice was so low that he could barely hear himself, and for a second, he scrutinized her body with his eyes. It was the first time he had seen her half-naked with only a towel on, and he couldn’t deny that he was mesmerized by the perfection of her body.

“Wh… what are you doing here?” He stuttered, his heart pumping hard against his chest, and Claire stood up to her feet, revealing her long straight legs, and he couldn’t help but check them out.

“I’m not giving up,” She shrugged as she bit her bottom lip seductively, and he swallowed nothing, taking a step back.

“Wh… what do you mean?” He stuttered.

“You said that I was not your style, yeah?” She asked, her voice came out huskily. So husky that the sound of it made him think of something crazy for a moment. What if she moans his name with that sexy voice? He thought for a second but quickly dismissed the thought. Having sex with Connor’s sister even though he was madly in love with her, was the last thing he would think of. Not when he wasn’t ready to be dead.

“What is your ideal woman? Heard birds of the same feathers flock together, and since you are friends with Connor, then I would assume that you two are the same,” She stated seductively as she took a slow and steady step toward him until she covered the distance between them. Slowly, she placed her hand on his chest, sending waves of spark through his body, and he couldn’t even push her away. Of course, he was enjoying every bit of it.

“Cl… aire…” His heart was beating so fast and loudly to his hearing, he was already under her spell and couldn’t resist her at that moment even if he wanted to, so he just stood there like a log of wood.

“If you are not going to seduce me, then I’m going to do it. My brother likes crazy women in bed. I could be that crazy girl for you,” She winked at him, her voice low, husky, and seductive.

“Ce… line, you need to…” His voice trailed off as she grabbed the towel and ripped it off his waist in a second, leaving him standing naked. His heart sank into his stomach knowing that there was no turning back for him at that moment…