Chapter 1 Substitute

• Annalise Ysia Villareal’s Point of View
• Today’s the day when I can finally meet my boyfriend, Fitz Jarell, after being busy with my career. I have loved writing novels ever since I read fantasy and romance. I made that my inspiration to write not until I became serious about it and kept on thinking of tons of scenes in my mind. I passed my story to my Editor right after finishing the novel and I’m kinda satisfied with the plot. It feels like it’s my favorite plot of all the stories I have written. I was simply waiting for the result and had confidence that my Editor would approve my story, but I knew that eventually obtaining the result would take a long time, so instead of waiting, I decided to meet my boyfriend. After all, I didn’t communicate with him for many weeks because I was busy with my career, and writing, and I feel guilty about it.
• I also bought his favorite food, strawberry cake with his favorite drink, iced Americano and I’m sure that he will love it. We’ve been dating for three years now and I know what exactly he wanted as a token of gift but upon arriving at the meeting place, where we used to hang out and became our favorite place, the seashore, I saw him waiting for me, looking at me with his emotionless eyes.
• It’s not the same anymore where his eyes twinkle whenever he sees me, and I don’t know if he’s just mad at me. I don’t even know the reason why my heart started to pound, not because I love him, but because I can feel that there’s something wrong. I wiped the negative thoughts in my mind and just smiled at him so he could feel that I missed him so much, but I didn’t receive any expression from him.
• “Hi!” I greeted him, but he was just looking at me and didn’t even try to hug me as a greeting.
• “I apologize for being busy. You know, I’m busy with my novel and I feel satisfied upon finishing it. I passed it to my Editor last week, and I was just waiting for the result—”
• “So you are busy with your career and not minding your boyfriend? Did you love me, Annalise, or do you only love the idea that you love me? Because I can’t feel it,” he exclaimed. “You always say that you love me, that you care for me, but every time you say those words, I can’t feel it. Your actions say otherwise.”
• I was just looking at him while saying those hurtful words that I didn’t even imagine that I’d heard from him. For three years, he’s been just a sweet, understanding, and loving boyfriend, but right now, I can’t even barely recognize my boyfriend. Did I abuse him that led him to be like this?
• I didn’t anticipate it because I knew that he would understand me for reaching my dreams, but it turns out that he only had no choice but to understand me. What happened? It hurts hearing him like this when, in fact, this is for our future. It’s not only for me but for us because we are partners and he’s always been at my back, cheering for me whenever I feel down.
• “I’m done. Let’s end this,” he declared, which froze me on my spot. “I don’t want to be with you anymore because you don’t even care about me. Where are you when I need someone to lean on? Where the fck are you when I’m trying to survive? You are chasing your fcking dreams! And this is your time to chase your dreams because it’s always been your priority, right? What’s my purpose to you then? I can’t believe I wasted my three years just to be with you!”
• He turned his back to me and then started walking away without looking back. My heart crashed into pieces, made my eyes blurry until tears streamed down my cheek just like a waterfall. Because of chasing my dream, my boyfriend disappeared.
• I didn’t know how many hours I had been crying while looking at the path that he chose but I just knew right away that I came back to my senses after hearing my phone beeped which means I received a text message.
• Without wiping my tears, I reached for my phone inside of my pants pocket and opened the message but to my dismay, this was from my Editor saying, “I loved your novel but it’s not fit for the reader’s perspective. I wanted you to rewrite this and fit it to the reader’s preference. Thank you.”
• “Great! My boyfriend left me because I was chasing my dream, but I received a freaking rejection because my novel is not fit for their preference,” I whispered and let out a sarcastic laugh.
• Instead of being clouded with my thoughts, I decided to take a walk instead of getting a cab so I could clear my mind and ease the pain. Why not, right? Walking has a lot of benefits and I have been sitting in my room for almost a month, trying my best to finish the freaking novel, but it got rejected. I was pretty sure that it was unique and had tons of twists, just like what they required, but it ended up being rejected.
• While walking, I saw a woman near the bridge, planning to jump into the deep river. I don’t know what’s on my mind, but I set aside my problem and did my best to reach for her hand, just to get her attention and stop her from jumping.
• “Hey! What are you doing?” I inquired, which made her look at me with her pleading face. I also saw her eyes glistening, which caused me to pity her even if I didn’t know the real reason why she wanted to jump.
• “Let me go! I don’t want to live anymore!” she shouted, but I used my strength to pull her.
• “If you have a problem, you can talk to me. You can’t just end your life,” I said and kneeled in front of her. She had nice features and I think she’s mixed blood from a different race because her beauty is somewhat unique.
• I saw how her shoulders move and she’s trying her best to stop herself from whimpering hard, but I know she had a lot of problems. “You can share with me your problems. I’m not going to judge you if that’s what you are thinking.”
• I waited for many minutes until she calmed down and when she looked at me, “Thank you for saving my life, but I don’t think I can’t live anymore.”
• My forehead creased at what I heard and I felt intrigued for some reason. I wanted to hear her problems so I could advise her a little even if I couldn’t even advise myself, “Why?”
• “It’s because my grandfather appointed me to marry his friend’s grandson. I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s unfair to my side because how can I live peacefully if they are going to control my life? So I came up with the solution wherein I’m going to end my life to break the contract. I can’t marry a cruel man,” she cried.
• I feel sad after hearing about her problems. We are both facing the hardest task in our lives today that we don’t even know how to solve. I feel sad for her, but I also feel sad for myself because my boyfriend left me and my novel got rejected. I don’t know what to do anymore, but one thing is for sure, I wanted to help this woman.
• Arranged marriage always happens to elite families, which I don’t know the real reason behind. Some say they are doing that for the sake of their business and money and I didn’t even encounter that in real life, not until I met this woman, who got engaged to the most vicious man.
• What if I substitute her? So I can gain fame and achieve my dreams in just a blink of an eye? It will benefit us, right? She will have the freedom that she’s been dreaming of for a while. I’ll enjoy the fame because I will marry the man that she wanted to escape. There would be an advantage for me if I marry that man, especially if he’s powerful enough to make my name known.
• Based on what brand she’s wearing, it costs hundreds or millions per item if I’m not mistaken. I’ve been eyeing different famous brands around the world because the characters in my novels are always elite, so I had to study all of those just to make my novels realistic.
• “I apologize if this question is personal, but are you one of the elite families in our town?” I asked her and she nodded her head before letting out a slight smile.
• “Yes, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why my grandpa agreed to arrange a marriage,” she said in a low voice.
• “Will you agree if I become your substitute? I’ll be the one to marry him so you can enjoy your peaceful life,” I muttered, which was enough for her to hear. I’m desperate now to achieve my dream, so I’m doing this. Besides, my boyfriend has left me, so what’s the purpose of chasing my dream without him? I can’t even face everything without him. He’s the reason why I’m chasing my dream, for our future, but he leaves me hanging, causing me to fall down the ladder I took.
• This would be my last chance to prove to him that my dream isn’t hard to reach. I know this is not the way that I wanted, but there’s nothing wrong if I’ll try it, right?