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.

open up to her. The pain he was hiding in

me! What kind of a child would she expect to see.” Valen bit his lower

that.

didn’t understand why he felt her pain, but the boy tried to fight against himself. He tried all he could

very compromising situation-” Jeslyn tried to

man in the Country. What could she possibly be scared of? My father can protect

running down his cheek. He

hand

would help lighten your

you more than I hate that

holding back for

fountain.

“Oh, child,”

pulled him forward and hugged him, allowing him to cry without resolve. Hearing the child’s crying voice made Jeslyn’s eyes tear up, but it wasn’t

hardship, and on the day she gave birth to you, she saw hell. I believe she took care of you for a while before she left.

little ones. Your mother

called ‘conscience’. It follows the bad people and haunts them for the rest of their

lot of people don’t have a conscience, but I tell you, child, they do. Just that they choose to not

your mother can’t be one of those without a conscience. She’ll return to

talked, the

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

also be suffering right now,” Jeslyn said while stroking his