The Secret Successor

CHAPTER 12

A minute ago.

Russell was inside the changing room, staring at the price tag more than the pastel pink suit itself. “2.7 million dollars for a wedding suit…”

Just what was in this suit that made it so pricey? No matter how much he worked his head over it, he couldn’t understand. He and his family could live happily ever after with this much money, after all.

While he was buttoning up, he heard a voice talking with Kyra. It felt somewhat familiar, but he didn’t recognize it. That voice belonged to Skarlette. “Maybe she met with some old friend?” he thought.

Russell looked at himself in the mirror. Though the suit made him look good, there wasn’t much glow in his eyes. He pressed his hand against his face in the mirror. “She rejected my face. She rejected my love. She rejected my honesty. She rejected my lifestyle. With one swing of her hand, she rejected my everything… and I thought she was my everything.”

He remembered the moment when he had met her at the children’s amusement park, when she had written ‘ILU’ for him on many leaves but then ended up stepping on those leaves as if they didn’t really matter to her. The signs were there, but they were too subtle for someone like him to notice. He had blinded himself from every bad thought just because she sweetly called him Rustless. Now, she ended up rusting his heart away with her soul-squeezing rejection.

“I should have known better…”

Pursing his lips, he tried to bring his emotions under control, but his broken heart wasn’t willing to listen. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Russell was someone who would easily break into tears. He didn’t like that about himself, either. However, at the moment, he didn’t cry. He fought back, trying to stand stiff and strong as he kept looking at himself in the mirror, without blinking.

Moments later, he wiped his eyes clean, adjusted his suit for one last time before stepping out of the changing room.

To his absolute bafflement, the two young women that were speaking with Kyra were none other than Skarlette and Natasha.

Russell wanted to turn and run back into the changing room and hide his face from her, but his body had long frozen and was no longer in his control.

“This is my fiance, Russell,” Kyra came over to him and put her hand on his back.

Natasha felt like a thunderbolt had struck her head. The shock was just too much, and she fainted then and there.

“Natasha!” Skarlette, despite herself being taken aback, quickly helped her sister. Kyra and a couple of shop assistants also helped. Russell, however, didn’t move from his spot.

A bit of water-splashing did the trick.

Natasha woke up. Aside from the young ladies, Russell was still in her sight, still wearing the supremely lavish pink suit which was way beyond his league.

“Are you okay, Nutty?” asked Skarlette, helping her sister get back to her feet.

“I’m fine,” Natasha stood, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Russell, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her, either. Only now, he realized that she was actually wearing a wedding dress, and she looked like a real princess in his eyes. After all, he loved her as much as he loved his mother, which was why he considered Natasha to be the love of his life.

Had everything gone well, he would be standing next to her right now, but fate had something else in store for him.

Seeing the former lovers exchanging looks, Kyra immediately realized something was amiss.

“Take your sister home, Skarlette,” Kyra suggested.

“Y-Yes,” Skarlette also felt so awkward at the moment. She grabbed her sister by the shoulders. “Let’s go, Natasha.”

“No, let’s finish what we came here for,” Natasha responded, surprising her sister. Even though Skarlette tried to pursue, her efforts proved futile.

After making some distance from Kyra and Russell, Skarlette could finally speak freely. “What the hell? Why is that Russell with Kyra Lynn? How can he be her fiance? That makes no freaking sense.”

“How rich is Kyra Lynn?” asked Natasha, demanding an answer.

Skarlette looked at her sister as if she was looking at a stupid money. “Have you been living under a rock or what? She’s a freaking billionaire. Saying that she’s a billionaire’s daughter wouldn’t do any justice.”

Natasha’s expression turned more and more rigid. “Are you sure it’s the same Kyra?” she asked her sister again.

Skarlette almost wanted to slap her sister. “Don’t make me say it again. Let’s just pick a gray suit and leave. She’s not someone we can pick a fight with.” Knowing her sister, she knew Natasha would try and do something crazy.

Natasha had never seen her sister shy away from picking a fight, so this came as a huge shock to her.

Meanwhile, Kyra and Russell were yet to share a word after Natasha and Skarlette left from their side.

Kyra just didn’t know how to start the conversation, so she kept looking at various dresses.

Russell broke the silence, saying, “She’s the one,” his words made Kyra turn toward him, “who rejected my proposal only about a week ago.”

Kyra could feel the sadness in his tone. She had no idea he had loved someone and had gone through a rejection so recently. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Russell’s reply startled her. “I’ve lived foolishly and incompetently, which was why Natasha rejected me. It’s more my fault than hers. Would it be easy for her to introduce me to her friends as her husband and tell them that I do vlogging for a job and earn next to nothing?”

Russell’s words made Kyra frown, for she felt like he was throwing the same question to her, also.

“If this suit is to your liking, can we go?” Russell politely asked her.

“M-Mm,” she nodded.

After packing the dresses, they went to the counter. Coincidentally, Natasha and Skarlette got there.

Skarlette forced out a smile, but Kyra could feel the sharpness in her smile. Kyra knew Skarlette had many selfish and dishonest bones in her, but it was scary how Skarlette, who was her best friend during college, changed her attitude so quickly after learning that her fiance was her sister’s ex-lover. Kyra couldn’t even exchange a word with her anymore.

The cashier checked Natasha’s items and said, “513,975 dollars, ma’am.”

Natasha snorted and gave her credit card. The cashier swiped the card in the machine, but the swipe got declined.