Her Substitute Groom

Janice POV

“Why do I even care if he gets arrested or not?” I mumbled unbelievably as I leaned against the wall, resting my head on it. Have been here for the past one hour and it didn’t seem like this was going to end anytime soon. Earlier, I was worried he would get into trouble, so I had to track down his location to this studio, but it seemed to be the biggest mistake of my life. I wasn’t even allowed to go inside. How could they be so mean?

“Excuse me. I’m not a bodyguard, okay? Are you really not going to allow me inside or better still get me somewhere to sit?” I asked the bouncer, hoping he’d change his mind this time, but he only glanced at me and turned his face away as if I wasn’t even here.

“I told you I’m Mr. Connor’s assistant. Can you let me in, please?” I pleaded with him because my legs were starting to hurt.

“Where is your ID card?” He demanded, and I sighed briefly. How could I have forgotten my ID card at home?

“I didn’t bring it with me… But trust me, I’m not lying. I have no reason to lie to you, OK? Why would I…”

“One more word from you and I won’t hesitate to throw you out of here. Don’t push me,” I didn’t expect less from him with his face looking like a Chimpanzee’s. I knew better to just keep calm until that jerk came outside here. This would’ve been avoided if he hadn’t thrown me out of his car earlier.

Seconds slowly ticked into minutes and it was soon half an hour before the door finally opened and I jerked up to my feet since I’d been sitting at the side of the door. On the freaking floor. I turned and found Connor coming outside, his hands were tucked inside his pockets, and a deep frown on his face as if someone got him pissed in there or maybe he was forced to do the shooting. Well, that’s his business to deal with, anyway.

He stopped when our eyes met, and a shocked expression flashed through his face in a split second.

“What are you doing here?” He asked me when he got to where I was standing.

“I didn’t want to get called to the police station again to come get you. I’m saving myself the stress. Where’s your car keys?” I stretched my palm to him, demanding the keys.

“Move away. I can drive myself,” His cold voice almost sent shivers down my spine, but falling for it was the last thing I would do.

“I’ve been waiting here for you for two hours. Hand me the keys and don’t stress me more,” I demanded, so he sighed.

“I don’t need you to be worried about me…”

“Don’t get it twisted. I’m not worried about you. I’m only saving myself from going to the police station for the second time because of you. I have something to do with my precious time. Are you going to give me the keys now or not?” I tried to sound as calm as I could.

“Ugh!” He groaned frustratingly and finally threw the key to me which I caught in the air.

I was about to head to the car when I heard my name coming from a familiar voice, so I turned and found Ace.

“Ace?” I called to be sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me, and I could swear that I heard Connor hiss loudly.

“Yeah, it’s me. What are you doing here?” Ace asked me as he came to stand in front of me, and I shrugged.

“I’ve been here for the past two hours. I came to wait for my boss,” I replied to him, referring to Connor, and Ace glanced at him.

“Oh. Why didn’t you come inside then?” Ace asked me, tucking his hands inside his pockets now.

“The bouncers won’t let me in because I didn’t bring my ID card with me,” I shrugged, and he pulled a sad look.

“That’s sad…”

“Connor… You’re here? I was looking for you everywhere,” I heard a female voice, so I looked up and saw Liana coming out of the building with a smile lingering on her face. Don’t ask how I knew her. I mean, she’s a famous model known almost around the world so it was difficult for me not to know her, right? It was my first time seeing her in person as I’ve always seen her only in magazines and TV screens, and I must confess that she was pretty. Just as they said, a model’s fame and success depend mostly on his or her looks before talent and skills. Well, I’ll give it to her.

“Yes, I am,” His eyes piercing at me like they wanted to devour me, he replied to her. His eyes were filled with rage and if look could kill, then maybe I would’ve been six feet under the ground by now.

The moment was so awkward, and when I saw Liana locked hands with him romantically, I felt a sting in my heart.

“We should go have lunch together and catch up on old times, don’t you think?” She spoke to him softly, and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t deny the anger that spurred through me seeing them like that, and I found myself praying silently that he turned her down and came home with me.

“Come on, Connor. You can’t say no, okay? Please,” She pouted her lips and even had the guts to act cute in front of him. Does she want to die?

At that moment, I clenched my fingers tightly around the keys, and even as they were piercing into my palm and hurting it, I couldn’t bring myself to stop it. My heart wrenched painfully and whatever pain I was feeling in my hand at that moment was nothing compared to the one I felt in my heart.

“Why the fuck are you angry? You don’t have feelings for him, do you?” My subconscious mind asked me, and I bit my inner lip. I knew for sure that I was jealous. It’s not something I could deny, but do I really love him? Do I feel something for him?

“You must’ve lost your mind completely, Janice. How can you be jealous if you don’t feel anything for him?” Again, I asked myself the question that I couldn’t even come up with an answer to.

“Are you going to keep ignoring me?” She whined and pouted her lips, tugging on his arms, and I huffed angrily, finally turning my face away because I couldn’t stand this disgusting sight anymore. Here I was, thinking Liana would be some responsible lady, but the impression she was giving me now didn’t seem like it. She didn’t look a bit responsible.

“There is nothing wrong with what she’s doing. You are only jealous. If you love him, just tell him and stop being a coward,” My subconscious mind reminded me, and I bit my bottom lip.

“Can you drive me? With my car, actually,” I raised my gaze when I heard his voice, and I found him smiling heartily at her. That seductive smile that wouldn’t fail to sweep any lady off their feet. Must he flirt with her?

“Of course, I can. As long as you will come with me, I will do anything for you,” She squeaked excitedly, and I couldn’t help the scoff that tore through my throat.

“Alright then…” He paused then turned and faced me, holding out his palm to me.

“The car keys,” He demanded with a smirk dancing at the corner of his lips, and I scoffed unbelievably. Did I take a cab here and waited for hours only to be treated like this?Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“Are you…”

“Let’s hang out together, Janice. It’s a good thing someone is going to drive Connor home. We should hang out together,” Ace, who has been quiet since all this drama started, finally spoke up, and I sighed briefly.

“Here,” I threw the keys at Connor, and he caught it in the air.

“I don’t want to get home before you, anyway,” He issued me a warning before he left with Liana who waved at Ace on their way. I watched as they hopped inside the car and drove off.

“You shouldn’t be too obvious with your jealousy,” I turned to face Ace when he spoke to me, and I scoffed.

“Jealous? Who said that I was?” I rolled my eyes at him nervously, but deep inside me I knew that I was.

“Whatever! You should drive us then. You were going to drive him, after all,” He uttered as he threw the keys at me, and I caught it in the air.

“Unless you want us to end up losing our lives, then you should drive,” I threw the keys back at him, and he caught it.

“I’m not ready to die yet,” He winked at me and finally headed toward the parking lot while I trailed behind him.

“Where are they going now?” I mumbled before I hopped inside the car…