Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

57 Conscience appearance

Valen got on the bed and pulled a blanket to cover himself, ready for the agonizing pain that follows after he takes the pill. (

In a short while, the child started to stretch as beads of sweat slowly gathered on his forehead. The pain he was expecting finally hit him in full force. It was so unbearable that he let out an ear-piercing

scream.

Valen rolled around in bed and sometimes tears at his skin with his left hand, still, the pain was excruciating.

The walls were soundproofed which was why no matter how much he hollers, no one but the four walls in his room would engulf his screams. (1)

Valen's tinted windows are soundproof and bulletproof.

It was Mulan's idea, saying it wouldn't be nice for a child like Valen to hear the sound of gunshots outside the house whenever war erupts.

The three musketeers' houses never cease from unplanned wars. Maverick takes a fight anywhere and everywhere, provided the territory belongs to his enemies, the same way his enemies bring fights to his house.

After five minutes of distressful howls and screams, Valen finally calmed down... Unmoving and fell asleep with sweat all over him like he just came out of the pool. 2)

Inside Jeslyn's room, the lady was still quaking. Pink couldn't watch her suffer so much anymore while they wait for doctor Matt, so she gave Jeslyn a blow to her temple to help her sleep in a dead faint. Jeslyn found herself in a pitch-dark place. She couldn't see anything but only heard the dripping sound of water hitting the surface of something.

The sound travels and bounces back in echoes.

"H-hello..." Jeslyn found her voice sounding awkward.

She cleared her throat and repeated a few times, "hello, anybody here?"

Silence engulfed the space. Jeslyn couldn't see where she was. She deliberated for a long while before choosing a destination, hoping she wouldn't lose her w

Walking forward, she came face to face with hardness... Probably a wall. She touched it. The surface was smooth. With the support of the smooth wall, she started to walk forward. Jeslyn walked for a long time until she felt sore in her legs, so she sat with her back to the wall to take

a rest.

She had done that countless times already. She felt her throat going dry, but she wasn't hungry or thirsty.

She tried to search around to see if she could get a hint of how far she had gone. Even though her eyes has adjusted to the darkness surrounding her, Jeslyn still couldn't see anything.

12:03

1/3

"Hohohohoho..."

Jeslyn jerked in shock and got up to her feet. She looked around her but nothing was there, however, the echo of the sinister laughter was just fading away.

"You are finally here, Jeslyn!" The voice came again, much louder and more mysterious than before.

Jeslyn got frightened and hurriedly asked: "W- who are you?"

"I am... YOU!... Hahahaha..." The voice got creepier and spookier. The voice filled the whole place and traveled into the darkness.

"W-what do you mean?" Jeslyn managed to ask with difficulty.

"ARE YOU STILL ASKING ME THAT?!"

"I..." Her voice failed her out of fright.

Jeslyn was scared witless and worse of all, she doesn't know what was going on.

"It seems you can't remember me anymore... It's been a long I visited you anyway.

A few years ago, you made a vow to protect those you love, to keep them from harm, and would give everything to protect old man Lee. But what happened?

You watched him die slowly, you couldn't do anything for him and you even gave his property AWAY!" The voice boomed, making it sound like a thunderclap had just occurred.

"I didn't-"

"You unfilial child! You were the cause of your mother's death, it was also your fault that your grandfather died!! All the misfortunes that happened to the Lee family are all your fault! Yours alone!" "I'm innocent!! Jeslyn screamed. She was terrified by this accusation, but she refuse to shoulder it.

At Jeslyn's scream, the other voice quieted down and only Jeslyn's echo could be heard.

"You talk as if the Lee family isn't mine. I am also a child of the Lee family! The woman you speak of is my mother and the man you talked about is my grandfather!

Everyone knows how much I treasured my grandfather and the revenge I intend to seek for him, I must fulfill it.

My mother died when I was in a coma. They told me she died because of a long-time malady she had been hiding from me, so how am I the cause? How am I unfilial?"

"Jeslyn, I know you better than you know yourself and that's because I am your conscience. Everything you just said is a lie and you know it.

Even if you get rid of all your enemies, will your family come back? The only way you can rid yourself of your guilt is by killing yourself.

End

your miserable life, Jeslyn, and go reunite with your family. The world doesn't love you and it will forever hate you.

Spare me of all the burdens and just die. You can never uplift yourself, only darkness and sorrow will embrace you-"

12.03

2/3

"You lie!" She screamed as tears ran down her cheek. "Everything you said is not true. I-"

Before Jeslyn could finish, bright light assaulted the dark place from above. She shielded her eyes from the light and slowly made her eyes get used to the illumination before looking around her surroundings. Jeslyn came to realize that she was inside a huge tank all this while. To top it all, she has been walking around in circles, thinking she can never reach her destination when the smooth round tank gave her no option of a destination in the first place.

There was no one else but her. Just when she was about to start thinking of why her so-called conscience would say all that rubbish, she heard from the opening on the top of the tank, "come home with me." Jeslyn couldn't grasp that voice. She had never heard that voice before. It was soft, soothing, and almost hypnotizing. This was the first time she heard such a voice.

Jeslyn looked at the hand stretched towards her. For some reason, the hand was super long, or should it be... stretchy?

All she needed to do was to accept the hand and leave the tank, but somehow, she loved to remain in the tank, like she was waiting for something, so she shook her head.

"I- I don't want to."

Just when she said that, a figure wearing black with his face concealed appeared out of nowhere. He opened his hands like he was expecting a hug from Jeslyn without uttering a word.

Jeslyn suddenly felt excitement coursing through her the moment the person appeared and without further thought, she took the first step to run towards him, but before she could take the third step, she was yanked out of the tank by the stretchy hand.