T-this

"Already?" Mother and daughter chimed in together.

"Bring them in. Quickly!" James almost shouted and then turned to the two maids closest to Shelby.

"Send her upstairs to get ready. I want her here and ready to go in half an hour!"

Without glancing at the bride-to-be, James started guiding his wife, Clara, to welcome the guests. Pausing momentarily, he added, "Make sure she does not do something stupid! This day must go as planned!"

"Yes, sir," the maids echoed simultaneously.

"Wait a minute, James, what do you mean by that? I have to be there when my baby girl dresses up for her big day. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportuni-"

Shelby lowered her head further because she had thought that her mother had said that in reaction to James's statement, but as usual, she was woefully wrong. She loved her mother, but sometimes, Shelby wished that Clara would pay more attention to her with her actions.

"Who will welcome our guests then? I know you dressed up this nicely to meet them, right?"

"Oh my! Yea! The guests! Silly me!" Clara tapped her forehead softly and smiled at her husband. She's always wanted to meet with the hostess of the Thornston Family, the mother of Ian and Brad Thornston, but never got the chance. The woman was the scarcest. But now, Clara's dream had come true in the most impossible ways! They were now in-laws!

"Shelby dear, you'll be okay on your own, right?" It was more of a rhetorical question, so, without waiting for a response, Clara turned her attention back to her husband. With a satisfied smile, James gently nudged his wife, and they walked towards the door to receive their guests.

Shelby could feel her whole body tremble slightly. Her mind could not keep up with the occurrences of the past hour. She felt very much confused and tried with all her willpower not to cry in front of the two maids, who were patiently waiting for her to get up from her seated position.

There were so many things that she wished she could do then, like running away, but Shelby did not have the courage to do so. The thing was, even if she did run, where could she go? 'I have no one to go to … except…' she shook the thoughts out of her head. 'I should not bother her with this trivial thing.'

Finally getting up from her seat, she avoided looking at any of them. She did not want to see their pitying looks add up to her growing frustration.

'At least I will be out of this hellhole, and most importantly, Mum will be safe as well if I do this!'

She walked up the stairs to her room as quickly as her shaky legs could carry her with the two maids right by her heels.

Immediately she entered, she walked up to her small desk and picked up her phone. She quickly selected a number from her saved contacts, but one of the maids snatched the phone from her before she could dial it.

"Hey! What are you doing? Give it back!"

The maid quietly switched off the phone and pocketed it.

"I am sorry, Miss Shelby. We cannot allow you to contact anyone until everything is over."

"Come oooooonnnn…. Not you too!"

"Miss Shelby, you know our hands are tied. Please do not land us into trouble and cooperate with us."

"Please relax. Your dress will be here soon, and this will all be over before you realise it."

Their sympathetic voices and gazes hung thickly in the room as Shelby finally gave in, and silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

She let her blond hair hang around her face to cover this, but the silent shaking of her shoulders gave her away. The maids really wished they could help her in this, but their livelihood depended on James Wendover, so there was literally nothing they could do.

Back down the stairs, the excited Clara and grim-looking James walked hurriedly to welcome their guests.

"Where are they?" James asked as he neared the front door and saw no one.

"He is outside, sir."

James could not hide his happiness! The day had finally come! He did not need to hide it as he was expected to be happy because his stepdaughter was about to get married anyway. His happiness stemmed from different things, though far from the day ahead of them.

'I am happy to be getting rid of this girl once and for all. She has been a thorn in my flesh for far too long. What better way to get rid of her and win a good business deal as well… It's killing two birds with one stone! With her out of the house, our family of three will now have some peace of mind and happiness!' He thought and smiled.

An eerie smile that quickly disappeared before anyone saw it.

Turning his attention to the maid who had spoken, he asked with a frown, "Outside?" He glared at the maid who held the door open for them. "What is wrong with you? Why don't you let the prestigious guest in?"

He raised his hand as if to slap the maid, and she shrunk back instinctively. James remembered that his new in-laws might not appreciate the gesture, and he wanted to also make a good impression on them, so he relented.

"I'll deal with you later," he mouthed to her, and the girl shivered unconsciously. 

Clara was beaming with happiness, though. "He?" You mean, Mr Ian Thornston came to pick up my daughter himself?"

The maid opened her mouth to say something, but Clara continued talking excitedly, "OMG! This is the best day of my life. I was a bit worried about the marriage being arranged, but it turns out that Ian came here himself!"

"Madam Clara-"

"Hurry, James, let's go welcome him quickly."

She almost dragged him to the door and outside the house, only for both of them to stop short.

"T-his-"

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Thank you so much for your time, and i hope you are enjoying the story so far ^-^