Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

67 Opening up

“Jeslyn, you. are. my, father’s. wife!” He spelled it out for her. “You are almost like those girls running after my father and we both know the reason.” He smirked, hoping to see her raging like usual. 1 However, Jeslyn smiled bitterly and brushed his hair with her fingers, careful enough not to ruin it. “Your father and I are in this marriage for a reason and…” she thought against telling him. “I don’t necessarily have to be your blood sister for you to see me as one. Besides, how many stepmothers do you see running around the house with their stepson? How many stepmothers and stepsons can you point out do what we both do?”

She watched as his brows furrowed. “None,” she answered herself.

“That’s because I don’t see you as a stepson. You are like a little brother I don’t have…”

The thought of Christine swept through her mind. How they used to play when they were kids, how she protected Christine like a mother hen when they grew up, how she went out of her way to make Christine feel among, and also the times she spoke to her grandfather to try harder than he already was, to make his heart accept Christine.

The memories were too deep that a tear leaked from her left eye. (1)

Jeslyn smiled embarrassingly at Valen and slowly wiped her tear with the back of her index finger. “You see, that’s the difference between you and me. You don’t shed your tears, but I do and that’s why I can be whatever character I want to be in public without anyone knowing that I’m hurt.

But in your case, you are not your father who can conceal his pain extremely well. Putting your personality together, I can say that you hide your pain by hurting others.

Valen… that’s wrong…” she pulled his left hand and placed it on her palm.

“You are still very young. What character do you want your mother to see when she returns?… I heard she’s not dea-”

“She left me!” Valen screamed in his cute childish voice.

her. The pain he was hiding in his eyes was slowly starting to

would she expect to see.” Valen

that.

also didn’t understand why he felt her pain,

situation-” Jeslyn tried to reason with him but Valen was too bitter to

in the Country. What could she possibly be scared of?

his cheek. He raised his left hand to touch it.

Jeslyn grabbed the hand and

them flow, it would help lighten

his voice broke.”I hate you more than I

he had been holding back for so long

fountain.

“Oh, child,”

hugged him, allowing him to cry without resolve. Hearing the child’s crying voice made Jeslyn’s eyes tear up, but it wasn’t right for her to also be crying when the child was, so she composed herself.

cannot hate your mother, she carried you through 9 months of hardship, and on the day she gave birth to you, she

feel an attachment to their little ones. Your mother is just like the strong-willed women fighting for survival in their

called ‘conscience’.

they do. Just that they choose to not be bothered by it. And when it gets

a conscience. She’ll return to

the louder Valen cried.

She left because she doesn’t want me,” Valen mumbled

dear, she must also be suffering right now,” Jeslyn said