The CEO’s Second Choice

The Langford sisters were looking at me as I walked up to them, deep frowns etched on their faces. I sat down. Then all hell broke loose.

“Forgive me, MRS DUMONT?!”

“You’re married now, Elena?! Why didn’t you tell us?!”

I sigh, then glance down, “It wasn’t exactly a decision of my own…” I say sadly, then go on to tell them what has been taking place over the past 6 months, but not before swearing them to secrecy about Eliana’s misdeeds.

“Oh my gosh, you’re actually married to the dreamy Sebastian Dumont,” Esme says, swooning and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her. “Dreamy? Really?” I ask her, thinking of my husband as anything but dreamy. I had to admit that he was rather handsome but dreamy? Eh.

“Oh, please Elena. Don’t tell me you have not felt yourself drowning in his gorgeous hazel eyes?” Charlotte asks, also clearly under the spell that was Sebastian Dumont.

I shake my head, “I don’t like the guy, I never have.” I answer honestly. Deciding not to mention what I walked in on during my wedding reception, I swallow my shame down and look at them. Esme raised an eyebrow and sat forward, “So have you two, you know…” she asks with a smirk and I immediately felt myself going blood red. “No! Gosh, Esme, you’re such a perv!” I respond as I smack her on the arm.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

The girls giggle at my mortification, and I mentally will my blush to go away. Damn it, why couldn’t I just be confident about these things?

“I will merely be with him for 5 years anyhow, then I will be able to divorce him and study at Harvard. I have no desire to see him naked, thank you very much.” I add but they both look at me as if I have gone mad.

“Liar,” they say in unison and I am left floundering at my next words. I was not attracted to Sebastian in that way, not at all! I ignored their jests and continued.

“When I told Nicholas about the whole situation, he promised to wait for me,” I conclude, reflecting back to our bittersweet goodbye at the Wiltshire Estate.

The sisters looked at one another, and I realized something was amiss. “Did I say something wrong?” I ask them while a frown crossed my face. Esme cleared her throat and drew my hand in hers, “Love, haven’t you seen the news? Nicholas is set to marry Annabelle Thompson this coming Spring. Their engagement has been in the works for the last year or so.”

No. That can’t be true. I shake my head, “No, you must be mistaken. Nicholas would never lie to me.” He wouldn’t, he would never. He was the love of my life and promised to wait for me. Why would he lie about something like that?

Charlotte has a bitter smile on her face, “It’s true, Elena. Our parents informed us when we were in Greece. We assumed you knew, that’s why you always sounded so heartbroken over the phone. I am so sorry, Elena, but Nicholas has been playing you like a fiddle.” She says, as politely as she could.

This couldn’t be true! Nicholas was the sweetest and kindest person I knew, he would never lie to me. He told me we would marry when I came back from the States in a few years and drove me to study and pursue my dream!

A lightbulb goes on in my head; he was the one who encouraged me to study ABROAD. He always told me I would get into Oxford solely on my name. However, if I made it into Harvard, I would be proving something to my family. Could his engagement be the reason he pressured me to study at Harvard?

My bottom lip starts to quiver as everything slides into place. “I understand duty, my love. I understand it more than you ever could imagine.” He had told me this when I informed him of my arranged marriage to Sebastian. Was this his way of telling me that he knew what I was going through because his parents had already trapped him in an arranged marriage?

“Oh my God,” I breathed out and felt a tear falling down my cheek. My two best friends both get up from their seats and engulf me in a hug. “We’re so sorry, love. We had honestly thought they informed you about this.” Charlotte says, wiping her own tears away.

I shake my head, “I don’t know why he would lie to me about this. He could have just told me and we would have called it quits, I would have understood that it was his duty.” I say wistfully, thinking back to all the times we spent together. Nicholas acted as if nothing was amiss when we were together, meanwhile he had a fiancee waiting for him.

“I have to go,” I tell them, then stand up to leave. We said our goodbyes, promised to do this once a week, then we went our separate ways. I reach my Maybach and tell the driver to take me home.

Nicholas lied to me. The man I trusted and loved more than anything had lied to me.

Taking out my phone while I still had the courage, I dial his number and wait for him to answer. It didn’t take him long.

“Elena?” He asks with surprise to his tone and my heart crumbles at the sound of his voice. I couldn’t afford to be weak now, I needed to know the truth.

“I guess congratulations are in order?” I ask, my voice coming out a lot clearer than I had anticipated, and I hear him sigh. “You’ve heard, then?” he says, and I could see that he was pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“I have been informed, yes. If I wasn’t trapped in an arranged marriage, would you have told me about your betrothal to Annebelle?” I asked him, not sure if I truly wanted to know the answer to the question I had just asked. Would he continue to lie to me?

“Does it matter, Elena? You are married to Sebastian, who I am to marry should be none of your concern.”

“But it does concern me if we were together while your intended sat at home, hoping you were faithful to her. What was I to you, Nicholas? A plaything to keep you busy before your arranged marriage?” I exclaimed with a lot more venom to my voice than I intended.

Nicholas chuckled, “You were a prospective cherry to pop, Elena. I was hoping you would eventually spread your legs for me before heading to the States, but we all know how that turned out, don’t we, love? You would have made such a pretty notch on my virginal belt; the perfect end before I got tied down.” He says, and I am rendered speechless by the anger in his voice. This wasn’t my Nicholas, was it? This wasn’t the man I had been in love with for over two years, the man to who I would have given my everything to.

“Cat got your tongue, Elena?” He asks me sarcastically. I did not want to talk to this man any longer, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him. The Nicholas I knew did not exist, he had just made that abundantly clear.

So I did what the last remnants of my dignity allowed, and I ended the call, blocked and then deleted his number.

Even though I told him it would be unfair for him to wait on me, subconsciously I had hoped he would. Nicholas was supposed to be my light at the end of a gloomy tunnel, but now I knew that there was no happiness and love waiting for me after 5 years, At least I still had my studies to look forward to after this. I would make something of myself without the love of a man.

“Elena Wiltshire, you will love yourself fiercely from this day forward and slay every depressive thought from your mind. You do not need a man to make you feel loved or appreciated. Go forth and conquer.”

I say this silent vow to myself as I input the code to get into the villa. Today would be the first day of the rest of my life.