Chapter 11: Chapter 11

"You do have a way with words, don't you?" He asked, in what sounded suspiciously like a mocking tone.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. My uncle is an asshole, even though I do love him. So, why on earth are you married to me instead of your sister?"

"Um, well. She...she ran... I mean, we can't find her. We don't know where she is." Carol said, hating herself for the way her voice sounded so high and squeaky and the way she stammered. Sebastian wasn't even looking at her. Instead, he was busy on his phone as he talked to her. What if he looked at her? She would no doubt curl up into a ball and die. The man-made her nervous for reasons she could not identify.

"I can't say that I blame her. I had the urge to do the same thing too." Sebastian said in a sardonic voice. He did not seem to be particularly concerned, pained, or offended. Now that they were alone, a sudden thought that made her suddenly sit up ramrod straight sprung up in Carol's mind.

Sex! What about sex? They were married for crying out loud. Did that mean that he would expect her to have sex with him? The thought of that caused her cheeks to burn red. She would never allow that to happen. She was not ready for sex yet and did not think that she would be ready for it anytime soon. She wondered what Sebastian would say when he learned that his new wife was a virgin who did not know the first thing about pleasing a man in bed. Besides, she still needed time to process all that had happened in the space of a few hours. She looked up to see that Sebastian was staring at her with curiosity.

"Is anything the matter?" He asked in a polite tone that told her that he was trying his very best to be nice to her. However, it was very obvious that he did not like her one bit despite the polite tone he adopted. It was a good thing she did not like him too.

"Um, everything happened so fast, so I don't really know what all this is about."

"Well, neither do I," Sebastian said shortly. He was still glued to his phone and Carol wondered spitefully if he could not live without it.

"You don't? Well, why did you agree then? Like, why would you allow someone to force you to marry someone you do not know at all and so quickly too?"

"How about this? I'll not ask you the reason why you agreed to marry me when you don't even know me from Adam because frankly, I don't care in the least bit and don't want to know. In return, you'll not ask me my reasons for doing whatever I do. I don't know you, and you don't know me. We're just strangers who have been unfortunate enough to get lumped together in this embarrassing sham of a marriage. Hopefully, we would both be able to wade through it together until the contract comes to an end. I take it you've acquainted yourself with the terms of the contract?" Sebastian said, still in the same polite and bored tone that she was fast coming to hate. It was the most she had heard him say at once since she met him.

"Contract?"

"The marriage is to last for only one year and six months. After that, I'll be free to walk and so would you. I can't wait, to be honest."

"Wow. What a great thing to say barely an hour after your wedding. You could at least wait till the wedding is a day old." Carol spat, feeling hurt for some strange reason, although why she should be hurt was beyond her.

Sebastian gave a short, humorless laugh, but before he could say anything else, the car stopped. They had gotten to the reception venue. Mr. James met them at the car, beaming proudly and looking every inch the proud uncle or even father. He embraced Sebastian fondly and the latter pounded him on the back affectionately. Carol stared at both men in shock, totally surprised. She had thought that her new husband would resent his uncle for forcing him to get married to a strange woman, but apparently, he did not mind. In fact, now that she thought about it, Sebastian did not look like a man who could be forced to do anything that he did not want to do. Besides, there was also the fact that he was a billionaire and nobody forced people like him to do anything. Rather, people bent over backward to please them.

"You look good, my dear. I sure hope you'll make your husband happy. I have no doubts as to the fact that he will make you very happy. My Sebastian, he's a good boy."

"I think you meant man, not boy, uncle." Mr. James burst out laughing at this as though it was the funniest thing on earth.

"You'll always be my little boy, Sebastian, even if you grow as tall as the skies."

Carol stood by observing this exchange in surprise. So Sebastian was capable of laughing? He usually acted so seriously, as though he was carved from marble. She stood by while they bantered with themselves, feeling left out, so she was somewhat grateful to see her mother hurrying over to meet her with a younger woman in tow.

"This is Amy," Belinda said breathlessly. "She was supposed to be Victoria's makeup artist and we've already paid for her services, so she'll just do your makeup. You're looking too pale, dear. Let her make you look beautiful so that you can take nice pictures. A wedding day is a day to want to remember, even if the circumstances surrounding the wedding are strange ones."

"Sure. I don't see why not. If only there was a tailor to adjust the dress too so you'll not trip and fall flat on your face." Sebastian told Victoria, smirking. She ignored him and followed her mother and the makeup artist who made quick work of doing her makeup and then she followed her husband to the reception hall.

The reception venue, a hall in one of the most expensive and classy hotels in the city was tastefully decorated and so beautiful that Carol momentarily forgot that she was supposed to be sad and angry at her circumstances and looked around in delight and awe. Now, this was something like what she had imagined her wedding reception would look like, even though the wedding itself was nothing like it.

There was an abundance of exotic and tasty-looking dishes everywhere and the atmosphere looked festive enough to wipe away some of her melancholy and uncertainty about what the future held for her. She allowed herself to relax a little, and even though she could never eat when she was stressed, surprisingly, she was able to force some food down her throat.

The reception was a success, albeit strange, but people did not seem to mind. In fact, most people seemed to have fun there. There was a lot of dancing between the people who attended the wedding, except for the bride and groom. Carol was embarrassed whenever she thought about how stiff she and Sebastian must have looked when they had their dance. She also wondered what her parents old their friends who would no doubt be wondering about where Victoria was and why Carol was the one getting married to her fiancé, but she did not care one bit. It was their cross. Let them carry it. By some miracle, she was able to get through the rest of the reception, and then she was saying goodbye to her parents and being bundled yet again into a vehicle with her husband to start her new life.