Substitude Bride : Another Wife

It was the day of results in the .Johnson University of Orlando and the campus was bustling with the nervous chatters of the students. A crowd was gathered near the display board when suddenly someone squealed "Yes!" This came from Sarah Gray who mumbled to herself, "Yet again I have aced the test. I have to call dad and tell him the news right now, he's going to be delighted"

At home was Nathan Gray who was pacing around the room nervously waiting for his daughter as it was already 4 in the evening and it was way past her time to be home from the university. He muttered to himself, "Where is this girl? Why isn't she home yet?" After waiting for a while he got a call saying that Sarah had met with a car crash which is when Sarah's stepmom Sophie entered the room.

Nathan frantically said, "Sophie, Sarah has met with an accident. I don't know how bad of a state she is in. I have to go see her".

"You are overreacting Nathan, It must have been a small accident, there's no need for you to go to the hospital, she will come back home. She isn't a kid anymore", said Sophie.

Nathan ignored Sophie's words and rushed to the hospital. After reaching, he anxiously asked the doctor about Sarah's condition, "I am Nathan Gray, I heard that my daughter was brought here after she met with an accident and was admitted here. Her name is Sarah Gray. How's my daughter, doctor? Is she okay?" to which the doctor replied, "Due to heavy blood loss, the patient is in critical condition and is admitted to the emergency room." Nathan's blood ran cold as he waited for his daughter. After a while, the doctor came out and talked to Nathan about Sarah's surgery.

"We'll have to perform surgery on Sarah as she suffered through a severe head injury because of the accident. However, you have to keep in mind that post-surgery Sarah should not be burdened with any sort of stress as it can have a bad effect on her brain, which can worsen her health condition. Also, we need you to fill out these forms and also sign the consent form that is required by us to perform the surgery." Listening to the doctor, Nathan was in complete shock but somehow he collected himself and filled out and signed the papers required for the surgery.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town,

At Pixxel Studios, a photographer to Ava, "One more shot ma'am", another photographer from behind yelled, "See here and .... And... that is a perfect shot ma'am, now you can go and change." The photographer asked Ava to get ready for the next shot. Ava was Sarah's younger sister and she aspired to be a model. After getting dressed for the shoot Ava thanked her friend Sam for the chance when the photographer asked Ava to pose for the camera. After the shoot, Ava along with Sam went to her makeup room and that's when Sam's phone rang.

"Hey, How are you? .....Yeah sure….I'm still at the studios, you can come here." After the call got disconnected, Ava asked Sam who it was when someone entered the room. "Hello Mr. Brooks, How are you? ....To what do I owe this pleasure?" exclaimed Sam on seeing him.

Mr. Brooks was a businessman who was working on a huge project for his company and he was looking for a model for his advertisement to carry out the publicity of his project. He had contacted Sam and needed his help for the same.

"Sam, do you remember, I had told you that I am looking for a model for our next project", said Mr. Brooks to Sam. Sam, seizing the opportunity, looked at Ava and introduced her as the 'New Age Super Model' to Mr. Brooks. Mr. Brooks looked at Ava and after a few rounds of questions and answers signed the contract with Ava, with her as the new face of his company's project. He then congratulated her. As he was leaving, he remembered, "Sam remember ...today is the announcement party of the project and the investor for this project, Mr. Sean Rogers would be attending, so I would like both of you to come and meet him." "Goodbye," said Mr. Brooks to Sam. After Mr. Brooks left, Sam congratulated Ava who was thrilled about her first project. Also, she was curious about Sean, "Sam I'm very happy but I want to know who Sean Rogers is….. I mean the way Mr. Brooks talked about him, sounded like he was a big deal", said Ava to which Sam replied, "Sean is a huge business tycoon not just here in Orlando but in the entire country. Ava if your stars are aligned then after working with him on this project, your career will be off the roof and no one can stop you from succeeding." Hearing this "In that case, I have to meet him", said Ava excitingly.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sarah's surgery had begun. According to the doctors, the surgery was a huge risk but still, they were doing everything they could at the moment. Nathan was waiting outside the surgery room when the cops came up to him and asked him questions regarding the crash, "Are you related to the victim who had met with an accident? .... We have a few questions for you." Hearing this Nathan disturbingly said, "Yes, I am Nathan Gray, her father however officer, I cannot help you with much as I was not present at the time of the accident. I myself got a call from the hospital about the crash" to which the cop replied, "Sir, we found this piece of paper at the site of the accident. Also, we are looking for more evidence so that we can catch the culprit as soon as possible."

The cops wanted to collect Sarah's statement however the doctor refused by saying, "We have to wait until the patient is conscious and even when she regains her consciousness, then also it's not permissible as she requires utmost care and rest". Hearing the doctor, the cops left .... Nathan then asked about Sarah's present condition to the doctor to which he replied, "Right now she is sleeping, we can only say anything after she wakes up." Nathan was stressed due to Sarah's condition, he really wanted his daughter to get well soon.

On the other hand, Ava was ecstatic thinking about the great start of her career. Ava was over the moon because it was just as she had imagined how her life would be. As soon as she reached home, Ava rushed to tell her mom about the exciting news, "Mom, my dreams are finally gonna come true! You are not gonna believe what happened today, I have been selected as a model for a huge project."

Listening to her daughter, Sophie could not have been happier. She was happy to see that, what Ava had always wished for, was finally going to be true for her. Looking at Ava's gleeful face she congratulated, "Way to go Ava! I have always believed in you and I am sure that you are going to reach great heights in your career! Mamma's really proud of you." Listening to her mom's kind words Ava was overjoyed but at the same time, it seemed like her eyes were trying to look for somebody. Sophie looked at Ava's wandering eyes and then realized that she was looking for her father.

Sophie informed Ava about Sarah's accident and that Nathan was in the hospital to which Ava retorted, "There she goes again, taking dad away from me. What exactly does she want? Why is she always trying to devoid me of my happiness? First my happiness, then my love, and now even dad. I know one day she is going to steal everything away from me." Seeing her daughter angry, Sophie tried to calm her down and suggested she get ready for the party, "Ava today is a very important day for you. There will be a lot of people at the party. You have to stand out and look your best. Only then will people notice you. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"

"Yes mom, I understand," responded Ava.

Meanwhile, in the hospital, it had been 4 hours since Sarah's surgery. The doctors said that she would wake up within 3 hours after the surgery however even though 4 hours had passed, there were no signs of her waking up. Nathan called the doctor, "Doctor, it's been 4 hours and my daughter is not conscious yet. Could you please check on her?" to which the doctor signaled him to move forward and replied, "Sure"

After checking on her, the doctor took Nathan out of the room and said, "I am sorry to inform you but sir your daughter is in a coma."

As soon as he heard this, the glass of water Nathan was holding, slipped right through his quivering hands on the ground and he started sobbing uncontrollably while looking at Sarah, through the mirror of the door. Nathan adored his little girl and seeing Sarah's current state, he could not believe his eyes. The doctor held onto Nathan's shoulder to keep him from falling and said, "Mr. Gray, please get hold of yourself, you have to be strong for your daughter, and only then can you help her get better. She needs you by her side." Nathan pulled himself together, went inside Sarah's room, and sat on the chair beside her. He stroked Sarah's hair and said, "I saw your results darling, I'm so happy for you. You have always made me proud. I knew that you were going to ace your tests but could not fathom you lying on the hospital bed like this. Please get better, I want to see your happy, always smiling face, please" saying this Nathan left the room as he wept. The doctor asked Nathan to go back home, "You can now go home, don't worry, the staff here will take care of Sarah." However Nathan did not want to leave Sarah alone but later after much convincing by the doctors, Nathan agreed to leave.

The moment Nathan left, a stranger walked up to the doctor and asked him about Sarah's state. The doctor told him, "Yes, she is okay. I have just managed to send her father back home, right now she is in a coma and it doesn't seem like she's going to get better anytime soon."

The stranger asked the doctor to take care of her and left the hospital. Nathan noticed that the lights in his house were out after reaching home. Sometime later Sophie and Ava returned home carrying several bags in their hand, looking at which Nathan got very angry and interrogated, "What is all this? Were you guys out shopping! Sophie! you know very well about Sarah's accident and that she is lying in the hospital! You should be concerned for her, but here you are out shopping with Ava."

Sophie ignored Nathan's words and gave him the news about Ava's modeling project, "Nathan, Ava has bagged a huge project, for which, there is also a party being thrown today and she is invited to such a fancy event."

Hearing the news of the party Nathan got upset and did not approve of Ava attending it.

But Ava had already made up her mind, "Dad you know how much I care about my career, don't you? And I too know that you love Sarah more than you love me. I am sorry dad, but this time I cannot compromise with my career." Looking at the troubled expression on her daughter's face, Sophie interrupted, "Don't worry Ava, just go and get ready for the party." and obeying her mom, Ava left the room.

Sophie looked at Nathan and politely stated, "Nathan I know you love that orphan girl but you should also think about your own daughter. Ava is our daughter and who else will look out for her, if not her own parents."

Listening to Sophie's words, Nathan got upset and angry at the same time and replied, "You have never once thought of Sarah as your daughter, the least you could do is not call her an orphan, Sophie."

Just like that, they kept arguing and quarreling for a long time. Meanwhile, in the hospital, Sarah laid unconscious.