Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 399: Our Debut

"You should go to bed," Bradon told me the moment that we stepped into the mansion. I knew that his suggestion was spot on because sleep was exactly what I needed to deal with what was to come. The media and everyone had undoubtedly gone wild as they both communicated and speculated on what was the truth and what were twisted lies from all the events that happened in the past that I shared with my sister.

I switched off my phone when it wouldn’t stop vibrating, without bothering to read the caller ID on the screen. I could already guess who would be calling me and also exactly what they had to say.

"It feels like my head is ready to explode," I confessed before smiling weakly at Bradon.

"Which is precisely why you should stop thinking or caring about anyone else and just get some shut-eye," Bradon said as he peeled away the mobile phone that I held in my hand.

I let him do so without putting up any resistance because all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide under the sheets with the lights turned off as I prayed that the dawn of tomorrow would never arrive.

...

I spent the next following days in Bradon’s mansion, hiding from the world. At first I honestly thought that cutting off all communication from the outside world, and not following what was going on in the news and safeguarding myself from the content that flooded the internet, was the right path for me to eventually find peace. The truth was, I was simply waiting for the storm to pass.

"How long are you going to hole up in here?" Bradon asked me from across the dining table one morning.

My hand stopped in mid-air with a teacup inches from my lips as I paused to stare back at him, caught by surprise by his unexpected question. Bradon had been nothing but supportive for the past couple of days, never voicing his opinion unless explicitly asked for and basically letting me do whatever I wanted to, which wasn’t much.

"Is there somewhere that we need to be?" I asked.

"Not really. We can spend the rest of our lives behind these walls if that’s what you prefer, but is that what you really think we should do?" Bradon asked with a hint of challenge in his tone.

I knew exactly what he was getting at, and I also agreed with him that I wasn’t acting like myself. However, it seemed like everything that had happened over the past couple of months had stacked up against me and I felt extremely exhausted, as if all life was slowly being drained from my body and I didn’t have much of it left.

"It’s really not like you to be hiding away in here. You know that you’re not the one at fault, and even if you are, it’s not like you should hide away. No one can do anything to you," Bradon said reassuringly.

"I should see my sister," I surmised in a small voice after a moment of silence.

I never got the opportunity to meet Diana ever since that day that she practically announced our tightly kept secret to the world. Although I knew that I should have called her, I realized that there wasn’t much to be said between us. At first I was confused about her decision and the reason why she did what she did, but it didn’t take long for me to completely understand my sister. I bit down on my lower lip as I lowered the teacup and placed it on the dining table. I knew that Diana was doing it to protect me and also to grant me the freedom that perhaps I had long deserved.

"Give her a call. I can drive you wherever, or she can come and visit us here," Bradon replied with the perfect response.

For the first time in a few days, I felt the desire to venture outside and to meet with people. Deep down I knew that Bradon was right, that I couldn’t keep on hiding away forever. I knew that I shouldn’t let what other people think of me get in the way of my happiness and the way I choose to live my life. I chose to believe that I wasn’t the culprit, I was the victim, and the same can probably be said about my sister as well.

"I’ll give her a call. You’re right, it’s time that we live proudly under the sun," I said as I stood up from my seat with a renewed sense of determination and a thirst for life.

...

Later that evening

"I have to say that when I gave you a call, I never really expected that you would invite us to a party," I whispered to my sister as I walked by her side.

"It’s like making our debut back to society, how can we do it without a grand entrance?" Diana replied before smirking at me.

"Just please don’t make a scene," I quickly warned her as I squeezed her arm.

"I’ll try to be on my best behavior," she replied with a gleeful smile.

I practically rolled my eyes at my sister, knowing full well that her words didn’t carry much weight and she probably didn’t even take me seriously. As I walked in the middle, sandwiched between my sister and Bradon, I found my attention resting on my sister more than the people that passed us by or the glitz and glamor of the party being hosted. The scandal seemed to have only added to Diana’s fame, and probably mine as well.

"I know I told you that I no longer wanted to hide away, but this place truly has too many people," I complained before letting out a loud sigh.

"We should live with our heads held high and screw everyone else," Diana replied confidently before flashing me a bright smile. The fact that Diana and I were invited to such a party was evident enough that the sentiment of the people were clearly divided.

–To be continued...