Chapter 45

"What?!!" Allen yelled. She could not believe what she was hearing. She will have to get married? So the real Joanna is about to get married and now she will be the one who gets married in her place? Just what is going on here? Why didn't Paul tell her about this? Allen just thought that she will have to pretend to be someone else for some months and live her daily life but she never expected that she will have to get married too!
Who will she be getting married to? If she gets married then.... Allen did not want to think about that part. She looked at Paul hoping for an explanation. He did not not tell her about having to get married in Joanna's place at all. She looked at him hoping for an explanation but all that she got was him looking away. "Wait, what is going on here right now? Why do I have to get married? I thought that I just had to pretend to be a celebrity for a few months. How come I'm getting married?" Allen asked.
Paul looked at Lena. She really did not have to spill it out to her like this. But he was still grateful to her. Actually, he had been thinking about this too. How was he going to tell Allen about getting married in the place of Joanna? Seeing the way that Joanna had run away, the marriage must have already been decided on. Joanna is not someone who just runs away from things. But this time, she really decided to run away. It must be because she does not have a choice anymore. But the marriage had to go on.
Raymond Walker definitely won't let her off if she backs out of the marriage now. He will do everything to destroy her career. So even if Allen is pretending to be Joanna, if she does not marry Raymond, her career will still get destroyed. It was unfair for Allen but there was no choice. "Actually, I've been thinking about how I'm going to bring this up to you. That's right. Joanna is getting married. That is the reason she ran away. She does not want to get married to this person but they are forcing her to" Paul said.
Allen did not know what to make of this. So this Joanna is supposed to get married but she does not want to get married so she ran away? If she does not want to get married then she should have just said that she does not want to get married! Why did she have to run away and cause all of this trouble? She really did not understand how rich people worked. From everything Paul had told her on his way, Joanna is an independent woman who worked her way to the top.
If she really is an independent woman who worked her way to the top then why does she need to run away if she does not get married? She could have just said that she does not want to get married and then break off the engagement. Why did she have to go to such lenghts? What is really going on? Allen had to admit, she would never understand how rich people work. "What? She ran away because she did not want to get married? If she does not want to get married she should have said so. Why did she have to run away?" Allen asked.
Paul looked at Lena. She really did not have to spill it out to her like this. But he was still grateful to her. Actually, he had been thinking about this too. How was he going to tell Allen about getting married in the place of Joanna? Seeing the way that Joanna had run away, the marriage must have already been decided on. Joanna is not someone who just runs away from things. But this time, she really decided to run away. It must be because she does not have a choice anymore. But the marriage had to go on.
Paul looked at Allen. She really was not in touch with the rest of the world. It was already weird enough that she does not know Joanna when she is already this popular. But she also does not know Raymond Walker? The CEO of the biggest company in the country right now? He will just have to explain slowly to her. "It's actually quite complicated. Joanna's life hasn't been easy for her at all. She was raised by her Uncle and his family. Well, they have never treated her well. Now they are forcing her to get married because of thier company. Because they want to save thier company that's on the verge of bankruptcy. To do that, Joanna needs to marry Raymond Walker, but she does not want to, so she ran away. But Joanna can't just disappear like this. Raymond won't let it go at all. He already announced that he and Joanna will be getting married. If people know that his wife to be ran away because she did not want to get married, it would be embarrassing for him. He will definitely destroy her career for embarrassing him like that" Paul explained to her.
"This is the reason why we need you. This is the real reason why we need too to pretend to be Joanna for us. Joanna is a celebrity. If she is not here, it would only be a couple of days before people find out that she is missing. If it gets out that she ran away because she did not want to get married, her career will be over. Everything that she has worked for for the past five years will all be destroyed. I can't watch that happen to my friend at all. All you need to do is pretend to be her for six months" Paul said. He really can't watch her career be destroyed.
Lena looked at Paul. She just could not help wondering what is up with Paul. She was sure that Joanna was quite happy about the marriage. At least, she had seen her brag about it to Sonia and Jenna. She did not say anything that day because she did not want to get involved in the argument. She just stood where Joanna could not see her and watched her brag about it to Sonia and Jenna. If she does not want to get married and she is being forced, why would she need to do that?
Lena was really tempted to ask Paul if Joanna had told him herself that she does not want to get married but she held herself back. Joanna, she really is a terrible person. Why would she pretend to not like this marriage? Or she really does not like it but was pretending to? How did she come up with running away? What is really going on? Lena could not help asking these questions in her mind. But perhaps, the only person that can give an answer to these questions is Joanna herself. But she is no where to be found.
Allen sat down. She had to process what was going on around her first. So she will be getting married to some guy called Raymond? My, she does not even know what this person looks like! She does not know anything about this person. And if she is getting married does this mean that she will have to become a real wife to him? What if he asks her to...., Allen was scared thinking about it. What did she get herself into? She thought that she would only have to pretend to be someone. She did not think that she would be getting married to someone on top of it all.
She looked at the faces of Paul and Lena and she knew that she could not back out of this. They would not let her. And besides, and can't be so selfish. She also has to think of her grandmother in the hospital. She can't let her grandmother die. She will have to figure out a way to hold on for six months. Then she will disappear from these people's lives for six months. But she getting married to someone, he really won't..do that to her right? "So I have to get married for six months? Really, it's not a big deal...for my grandmother, I can do anything. But, that person, he really, won't do that to me right?" Allen asked shifting her foot from one to another.
Paul and Lena looked at each other. Suddenly the room was uncomfortable. The both of them had not thought about this. Since she is getting married to Raymond Walker then....that..... But no matter what, she is not the real Joanna. She is just a look alike that will be playing her role for six months. She is the nor real at all! Something like that can't happen between them at all! Of course neither one of them had any way of knowing the kind of deal that Joanna and Raymond had. They all thought that it was a real marriage and....
Paul sighed. No matter how much he thought of it, they were problems everywhere. She finally agreed to get married but something like that will be unfair to Allen. She is not the real Joanna. She will go back to her life in six months time. Since he brought her here to do something like this, he should at least protect her last shred of dignity for her right? "Don't worry about that Allen. We will deal with it. You just have to hold on for six months. No matter what, that cannot happen between the both of you" Paul told her.
Allen nodded her head. Six months. She just has to get married for six months. She can sacrifice that for the sake of her grandmother. Her grandmother has done so much. She did not hand her over to an orphanage after she lost her daughter and continued on with her life. She held on to her with everything that she got. Now it's her then to return the favor. Allen remembered something. "alright. But, can I have fifty thousand dollars first? My grandmother....." Her voice trailed off.
Paul looked at her. He could understand what she was saying. She is here because she wants to save her grandmother's life. Of course he will have to do that much for this woman who will be lending him six months of her life. "You don't have to worry about that. I'll transfer that money to the hospital and your grandmother will receive treatment. I think that you should stay here from now on. It will be much more easier for you and Lena" Paul said.
Lena looked at her and nodded her head. It would only be best if she stays here. Then the ruse of her pretending to be Joanna will be much more believeable. "Just stay here. I will come pick you up in the morning" Lena said. Then she exchanged phone numbers with Allen. Paul already had her number. Soon enough, the both of them left the house. No matter how much she tried after they were gone Allen could not fall asleep. She walked around the house and she happened to stumble upon the bedroom
Out of curiosity she opened the closet. Allen could only chuckle to herself. Rich people sure do have it different. How can there be only designer clothes here?
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Allen was still sleeping when she heard the door bell ringing consistently. She thought that it was either Paul or Lena so she went to open the door. But what she saw was a dead drop gorgeous guy staring at her.
For a second, Allen was lost. How can someone be so handsome? What is going on? She was still trying to process this when he grabbed her hand.
"Why haven't you be picking up your phone? Let's go" he said.
Allen was surprised. "Go where?" She asked.
He looked at her. "Where else? To get married of course!" He said.
His substitute bride
Written by authoress Mira