The Substitute Bride

'Where is Black? Where did he run off to all of a sudden?' Holley wondered. She found herself tied up in knots, disquieted by Black's sudden disappearance.

Suddenly, it dawned upon Holley that she knew nothing about him. Just now she realized that she had no idea where to look for him, besides his company and his house. In fact, Black's personal life, his friends and where he would go for some down-time were a complete mystery to her.

Helpless and exhausted, she had no choice but to wait for Black outside his doorstep.

Just outside Black's house, Holley sat on the floor looking drawn and haggard. Deep down in her heart, however, she firmly believed that Black would soon appear in front of her. After all, Black loved her dearly and would come back to her after his anger had dissipated. Drifting off to her daydreams, she imagined that Black would be so moved to see her waiting for him that he would forgive her and everything would get back to normal.

Unfortunately, even though she had somehow spent several hours waiting out in the cold, there was still no sign of him.

Suddenly, feeling a sharp pang of pain thrust through her stomach, she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since afternoon, not even a drop of water. 'I hope I don't get stomach cramps again. I really should be more thoughtful about my eating habits, ' she thought, feeling worried about her health.

The more she thought about food, the harder it became to tolerate the hunger eating at her insides. Her stomach growled as though it were complaining and she squirmed on the floor to try to silence the rumbling. Famished and light-headed from the gnawing hunger, she felt tiny beads of sweat form on her forehead.

Without a conscious thought, she covered her belly with her hands hoping to provide even the slightest bit of comfort to herself.

Soon, the voices in her head were telling her to leave, instead of struggling with hunger and stomachache. 'Why would you be so stupid to suffer for a man? Why don't you just walk away and let him do in whatever way he wants to do? Is he really worth the price you are paying for him?' Even in a daze, however, she was taken back to what Rex had said to her the other night. Ever since that day, his words had been haunting Holley, and she trembled every time she was reminded of the thought.

She didn't have the nerve to imagine what would happen if Rex were to keep his promises. 'What if… Black said something to Rex? If he thought that I had secretly kept in touch with Charles, he would completely lose it. No! I have to fix this before something bad happens!'

Although, the negative thoughts did nothing to improve the situation, Holley couldn't stop thinking about the dire consequences. The Hu family had accumulated their fortune with the help of their close connection with gangsters and members of the underworld. If Rex wanted to punish her, she would have no way to escape.

The scary thoughts sent shivers down her spine.

All she could do now was put up with hunger and keep waiting for Black patiently.

As the sky darkened, it became quieter, reflecting a sense of horror. Heavy mist dispersed and swallowed her surroundings. It smothered the greens of the leaves, the grasses and the underbrush. It leached out the

ands over her head and lock both of her wrists to the wall.

Finding no desire to look at her face, he closed his eyes and released his anger in the form of carnal pleasures.

His hungry hands ran all over her body, caressing her skin. He shoved his tongue down her throat and sucked her kiss. The girl was aroused, as though his fingers had short-circuited her mind in the best possible way. In response, she keenly moved her hands to encircle his neck and wrap her legs around him.

Black had picked up this random floozy at a nightclub. Preying on lonely men at the bar was her way of having fun. Sometimes, she'd look for wealthy people and sometimes, she would just be driven by a ravenous appetite for carnal pleasure. Back in the afternoon, she picked a nice bar and prepared herself to meet a rich guy. The moment Black set his foot into the bar, she had set her sights on him. Her lustful eyes, devoured Black's handsome face and masculine figure. More importantly, she cast her yearning eyes to the watch wrapped around his wrist. At once, she evaluated its value and got dumbfounded. The watch Black was wearing was worth more than the price of an apartment. Immediately she knew what she wanted and presented herself on a silver plate to him.

She noticed Black sitting across her, drinking by himself, and knew that this was a rare opportunity she couldn't afford to miss. Without further delay, she walked over to his table, and flashed him a charming smile which allowed her a seat at his table. That was how they met!

While she was enjoying Black's passionate kiss, he suddenly loosened his grip on her body and pushed her away.

"Get the fuck out!" Black shouted, out of the blue. His eyes were full of hatred and his face hardened.

Needless to say, the girl was puzzled and shocked by the sudden change of his expression. With a dumbstruck look on her face, she stood there wondering what had happened. Black narrowed his eyes and yelled again, "Didn't you hear me? I said, get the fuck out!"

Black's angry, contorted face, frightened the girl out of her wits! In a hurry, she scrambled to gather her things from the floor and ran out of the house half-naked.