The Mistake Bride (Unrequited Love #2)

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Nicole's heart pounded against her chest. It had been thumping hard since Marcus had shaken her awake from her nap earlier, just to tell her Cora had come home already.

She felt a sudden burst of excitement, which was quickly followed by devastation and a slight loathing she felt for her sister. Nicole had so many questions piling on top of each other inside her head, wondering what her sister's intentions were by coming back.

Nicole wasn't mistaken. She loved her sister dearly, but what Cora had done by running away and leaving her groom standing in the altar, had been a hard thing to forgive and forget. Though she was determined to try and forget everything, Nicole could not guaranteed that she would be able to forgive Cora so easily.

Thinking about what she had done made Nicole feel more disappointed and bad about wishing her sister had never come back again. Which also meant Marcus would come back to her sister, then they would get married and live the life they had always planned. It was like a fairy tale with a sick twist playing before her eyes. Only thing was that she was the one getting hurt at the end.

Which wasn't a surprise since she had always made sure that her older sister got what she had always wanted. And as for her husband, Marcus, who would soon tell her to leave as soon as he got back with Cora, would probably celebrate for finally getting rid of the mistaken bride.

The bride he had never wanted in the beginning. To Marcus, Nicole was nothing but another responsibility to look after. He should be glad that she was going away soon. Far away from her sister and him.

Sighing, she stared out the window and tried to still her shaking her fingers. But her nerves wouldn't listen as her anxiousness grew. Nicole wasn't obviously a fool. Marcus would leave her even though she had given him a part of herself she had never given any man before. She had given him her everything, and she just hoped that he had been satisfied with what she had done for their marriage. She tried her best to become the perfect wife, or at least, close to being the wife he could possibly want.

But none of that would really sink into him once his eyes lands back on Cora. Nothing would stop him from getting her back. So what excuse did Cora have this time round? Now that she had her fun and was ready to settle down with the man she had made him wait for months, and steal her place. It was probably vice versa because it had never been her place in the beginning. Nicole had only been the substitute wife who had to fill in her sister's place because she jilted her fiancé at the last minute for her lover whom she claimed to love so much.

It was probably bad of her to think ill about Cora like that, but she couldn't fight back the despise that built up inside of her.

Pushing the thought aside, Nicole smoothed her sweaty palms on her pants and didn't break eye contact from the window. The surrounding outside blurred past her, making her slowly forget why she was even on her way to her parents' house. But the sting of tears pooling behind her eyes made her blink it back, knowing that crying wouldn't solve anything.

Nicole tried to think of something happy--anything that would make her forget about the pain lodged in her chest. A lump appeared in the middle of her throat, almost choking her.

It might even be a good thing once she divorces Marcus. She would be free to go. She might even meet the man of her dreams and get married again. Though, Nicole figured that they were more likely to get their marriage annulled. So that any trace of their marriage would be wiped out.

The thought only made her want to cry harder. Giving her head a shake, Nicole closed her eyes for a brief second before she heard the driver telling her that they had arrived already. She stiffened. Unable to fight back her reaction, she felt Marcus shift in his seat beside her. He was probably just as excited as Cora to come back.

Trying not to look as affected as she looked, Nicole took a deep breath and let it out shakily. Hopping out of the car, she followed after her rigid husband putting on a mask again to hide the pain she felt inside.

"Come on now, Nicole. We don't have all day to wait for you," Marcus barked out.

Embarrassed, Nicole rushed after him and pretended that she didn't hear the growl in his voice or the glare he shot at her direction.

"You must be excited to see her," Nicole said as she fell into step beside him. She badly wanted to know what was going on inside his head.

Marcus glanced at her, face free of emotions. He looked at her blankly, and for a second, Nicole remembered that night they had passionately shared. Passionate it was. But Nicole knew that her husband only wanted one thing--and that was only sex. Which was probably a good thing to do. She had finally given up her virginity to her husband, whom she loved the most, but it also legalized their marriage.

She had seen it coming so it wasn't a surprise to have Marcus wanting sex from her. The reminder of him caressing her body, making it alive resurfaced and made her blush.

It was as if Marcus knew what she was thinking for he smirked and shook his head. He left her question unanswered, leaving her wondering whether Cora really still meant that much to him.

Nicole tried not to care but that was a foolish thing to do since she did care, after all.

They stepped inside the house, walking straight into the living room and suddenly, Nicole found herself stumbling back from a strong force that threw itself at her. She looked up and found herself face to face with her sister, Cora, who was grinning back at her.

"Nicole! I missed you!" She burst out, happily.