Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

90 Ray's dilemma

Ray's office door burst open and his sister strode in. With her momentum, it was clear she was angry. (1) "Ray! What is wrong with you?! Today marked three months you have been inside this office and wouldn't come out. I bet you have forgotten the road to the house. What is going on? You don't tell me anything anymore. M om, dad, grandpa, and everyone else are worried about you. The security you barred them from coming into the company. How could you do that to your family? What is wrong with you?!"

said

"How did you get in?" Ray raised his head from the keyboard and asked his sister.

"Wh- what?!" Sharon was totally flabbergasted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

At the gate earlier, the security men refused to let her in. Not until she called Frank who spoke with the chief security officer was she allowed in. She had thought her brother would react differently when he sees her, after all, she had been his most beloved person since young. She didn't expect he would ask her this with a plain look on his face like he was addressing a stranger.

"What are you talking about?" She asked again.

"Sharon, what are you doing here?" Ray pushed his seat back and got up. He walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window and stopped to look at the dark city with sparkling lights coming from the tall buildings. "Ray, it's me, your older sister-"

Ray turned to look at her. His hair looked disheveled, and his white shirt, although looked clean and well-ironed, was left flying over his black trousers.

He wasn't wearing shoes but slippers instead. His sleeves were folded up to rest just below his elbow. Totally unlike Ray.

Sharon swallowed when she saw the look he was giving her. If not that she knew her brother was allergic to dirt, she would have vowed that her brother hasn't bathed for a few days.

"You are the last person I want to see." He said.

"Wh- why?"

regret. I

"What else do you want from me? Haven't you used me enough all your life? Ever since we were little, you have never stopped manipulating me. You made me do things I never thought I would had thought you were the motherly figure you made me believe you were. Mother and father were never there for us while growing up... they were always busy, so I relied on you and opened my heart to you, which was why you could manipulate me to your satisfaction.... Not Anymore... not anymore, Sharon."

Sharon's lips fell apart in disbelief. She couldn't fathom what her little brother was telling her. Yes, he was right. Ever since young, she had been the only one who cared about him... no, she was the only one who had time for him. She gave him a listening ear, gave him a shoulder to cry on, took care of him whenever he was sick, fed him whenever he couldn't eat... She was literally everything to him because their parents were busy trying to stabilize their grandfather's failing business.

12.26

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Even after their parents realized that neglecting their children was a bad trait, it was already too late. Ray couldn't love or rely on anyone anymore. His feelings and trust for his sister had overwhelmed what any man could feel for another.

"R- Ray..."

Ray raised his palm to stop her. "Don't try. It won't work. You and Emilee have succeeded in killing Jeslyn even after I warned you all not to touch her. I might have been stu pid all this while, I might not have known what I felt for Jeslyn at that time, and I might have thought I loved Emilee, but now that I know what my feelings truly were, it's already too late. There's nothing left in me for you to drill anymore. Sharon, I'm only a shell now... please, I beg you, leave me alone to wallow in sorrow. It might be that I'll be able to join Jeslyn and ask her and her family for forgiveness in the afterlif-" "Stop it! Stop talking, you fo ol!!" Sharon couldn't take it anymore.

The brother standing in front of her right now looked like a stranger to her. How could her fierce and decisive brother look so tired of life? How could her proud brother sound so down? All because of Jeslyn?! How dare that vixen?!

Although Sharon was mad, her face looked sorrowful. She forced tears to run down her cheeks- just like she always did.

She walked slowly to the tired-looking Ray and held his palm in hers.

"Brother..." she hesitated. "How could you..." she choked on her tears. "How could you think so evil of me?... I loved you with all my heart and everything I did was for your own good. I know that you are upset because of Jeslyn..."

Ray pulled his hands out of Sharon's hold and turned his back to her. He didn't want to see her looking this way. He knew she was faking it, but it hurts watching her break down like this.

"Ray, Jeslyn was never the type of girl you can be with. Emilee and you have been dating before the plan to use Jeslyn. I know I was wrong for making you do it, but brother, we needed to do what Emilee wanted so that grandpa would give you the company.

Second uncle's son was doing better than you and grandpa was thinking of handing the company to him. You know what would have happened if the second branch became the head of the family.

Ray, Jeslyn was never your type... Yes, I agree, she is the prettiest girl in Rose City, she's cute and friendly, and you'll have a joyous home if you had married her but what about Emilee? You know she's not to be messed with. She might not be here but you know how possessive she is of you. Right from high school, she had been your woman. Have you forgotten what she did to those girls that confessed their feelings to you?"