The CEO's Substitute Wife

Gianna smiled happily as she found herself surrounded by the many children who approached her to give her a small token of affection or gratitude. She enjoyed hours and hours each week dedicated to the children of the Ignacio Santos orphanage, the place where she had grown up. She had never known parents, siblings, or any other family; her family consisted of the many children and the nuns who lived in the Ignacio Santos orphanage. None of them had last names, so consequently, they all carried the last name of the orphanage. Gianna Santos, that was her name, and she felt happy that, as just a baby, she had been able to count on the support of that place.

Ethan Maxwell, her boyfriend for three years, kept asking her to distance herself from that place, to forget her past. For him, the idea of starting fresh was simple; he wanted her life to begin counting from the moment she reached adulthood and had to leave the orphanage to find a place to live and a job to support herself. Fortunately, she had Melly, who was a year older and a fellow orphanage mate. When she explained her situation, Melly didn’t hesitate to welcome her into her small apartment. It was a small but cozy place, just enough for both of them. Melly also recommended her for a job at the café where she worked, so soon Gianna found herself enjoying a new life outside the orphanage, the only place she had ever known as home.

It was at that café that she met Ethan Maxwell. His rugged, masculine demeanor impressed her; his athletic and well-built body, along with his excellent height, gave him an intimidating appearance. He was in his last year of college, dedicated to rugby, and would soon graduate to join the family business. The Maxwells were an important family that mingled with the best of the best in the city, which is why she couldn’t understand how Ethan had set his sights on her. She didn’t undervalue herself; she considered herself quite pretty, but not to the point of driving a worldly young man like him crazy with love and passion.

Ethan began frequenting the café during her shifts, his beautiful, bright green eyes always fixed on her, and it wasn’t long before he invited her out. At first, Gianna felt shy and insecure, but she eventually accepted. It wasn’t long before they were both deeply in love. A year and a half later, Gianna had moved into a spacious apartment to begin her life with Ethan. If there was anything that disappointed her or overshadowed her world of happiness, it was that his parents didn’t look kindly upon her. To them, she was merely a passing fling for their son, a girl he was having fun with while they found the right woman for him. That’s why they viewed their relationship with disdain; Gianna was nothing more than an orphan, with no family, no money, and nothing to contribute to the Maxwell family.

“You shouldn’t worry, my love,” he had told her. “They will accept you sooner or later when they realize how much I love you.”

That had made her sigh with sorrow; she wanted to be part of a family, to be welcomed with love, to form that family nucleus she had lacked. Still, she held onto the hope that her future in-laws would accept her, a hope that was shattered about nine months ago when Ethan’s mother showed up at the apartment they shared and, just like in a soap opera, threw a check at her feet with a substantial sum as payment for her to stay away from Ethan.

“You are very mistaken, ma’am,” she had said. “My love for Ethan is priceless, so—” she picked up the check and held it out to her— “take your money and leave my house because my dignity is not for sale. If you don’t want me, I accept it, but don’t try to tarnish the love I feel for your son.”

“You are the one who is mistaken,” she looked at her with contempt. “This fling of Ethan’s has gone on long enough; it must end now.”

“Perhaps it’s precisely because it’s not a fling; we love each other, ma’am.”

“Forget about my son, for your own good; otherwise, you will be unhappy,” she warned. “We have already found the perfect candidate to be Ethan’s wife; you have nothing to offer the family; you are a poor young lady who has nothing in life.” Gianna looked at her angrily. “My son is the only heir of the Maxwells,” she spat with disdain, “and I won’t allow our money to end up in your hands.”

“I couldn’t care less about your money; I kindly ask you to please leave my house,” she was very angry, more than she wanted to show. “Leave, right now.”

“I understand that you don’t comprehend the importance of our lineage and last name; after all, you lack them,” those words made her look at her as if she had been hurt. “My son will never be able to have anything serious with you,” she threw the check at her again. “Keep it; you’ll need it,” and with that, she left, leaving Gianna feeling sad and humiliated. This had led to a heated argument between Ethan and his parents, an argument for which his mother blamed her. After that, everything calmed down; Ethan was affectionate as always and assured her that she had no reason to worry, and thus the months passed.

In recent days, Ethan seemed mysterious, talking a lot about weddings or future children, and Gianna always ended up smiling. She began to suspect that Ethan was preparing her for a marriage proposal, and that melted her heart. It was obvious she would marry him, even against the opinion of her future in-laws; just as Ethan had said, sooner or later, they would accept her.

“Are you leaving so soon, Gianna?” one of the girls asked sweetly. “You said you were free at the café,” she looked at her sadly.

“I did, sweetheart, and it’s true,” she gently stroked the little girl’s dark hair, “but this afternoon I’m going to serve at an event with Melly; you know, rich people having their celebrations, but I promise,” she gave her a huge smile, “that I’ll be back very soon, maybe tomorrow or the day after, and I’ll bring a delicious snack. Now, I have to go.”

“Will you come with Ethan?”

“No, Lucy, Ethan has gone on a trip with his father,” she smiled. “He had to attend to matters abroad, but he’ll be back soon, and I promise we’ll come together. Now I have to go, or Melly will kill me for being late...”

She hurried home to take a quick shower and put on the uniform she needed for the event. They offered good pay and were looking for many girls, so Melly didn’t take long to propose they work together that day, to which she had accepted; it was always good to have extra income. She pulled her long blonde hair into a high ponytail, securing it with a navy blue ribbon to match her uniform, applied a bit of makeup to highlight her pretty blue eyes and added some lip gloss, grabbed her bag, and went out in search of a taxi, hoping to avoid the evening traffic and arrive soon.

She wasn’t so lucky, and unfortunately, she arrived about twenty minutes late. She rushed in through the back door, intending to integrate quickly...

“You’re late,” said the woman in charge sharply.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, the traffic was terrible; I’m really sorry, but I’m here now...”

“Hurry up; the tables won’t serve themselves,” she gave her a disapproving look. “The bride, the family, and the guests are already here.”

“I’m going...”

“There,” she pointed to a locker. “Put your things away and head straight to the bar.” And with that, she left. Gianna quickly chose a locker, put her belongings inside, took the small key, and locked it, tossing the key into the upper pocket of her shirt, being careful not to lose it. Stretching her uniform, she was about to head out to the party hall when her friend Melly walked in.

“Gianna...”

“I’ve arrived late,” she whispered. “We’ll talk later.”

“You need to leave, sweetheart,” she said, looking at her with concern. It was then that Gianna noticed that her friend looked very pale, seemed agitated, and her huge eyes were filled with tears.

“What are you talking about, Melly? Is everything okay? Let’s talk later, okay? The woman in charge is already mad enough.”

“No, Gianna,” she grabbed her arm, preventing her from continuing on her way. “You need to leave right now; you can’t go in there.”

“Don’t say nonsense, Melly; I came to work and...”

“It’s a wedding...” her friend said almost in a whisper. Gianna frowned, looking at her.

“Okay, no problem; weddings are beautiful, and I love them,” she smiled.

“Not this one, Gianna; the groom is... Ethan.” Gianna felt her breath catch for a moment, her heart stopped for an instant before it began to pound wildly.

“What are you talking about, Melly? This is a very bad joke.”

“I wish it were, Gia,” she took both of her hands. “He’s out there, dressed as... a groom; his whole family is out there at the celebration; he’s married, Gianna; Ethan has gotten married...”

“That... that can’t... be true. Ethan is on a trip, Melly...” she held back a sob of pain.

“Gianna, I wouldn’t joke about something like this,” she looked at her with sorrow. “You need to leave right now; in fact, I can’t serve here; we should leave together and...”

“I need to see him,” she said, her heart pounding a million times against her chest, her eyes filled with tears. “I need to see him with my own eyes, Melly.”

“Don’t do this to yourself, Gia... it would be best if...” she wanted to stop her and spare her the pain of seeing the love of her life celebrating his marriage to someone else.

“I need to see him, Melly,” she pulled hard on her arm.

“Okay...” with her heart racing, she began to walk towards the exit that would lead her to the party hall, fighting to hold back her tears and keep her lower lip from trembling.

Could it be Ethan?

Could it really be him? Was it possible that he dared to hurt her in this way?

Had he dared to marry without telling her anything? Without even breaking up with her first?

Had he betrayed her?

Was it Ethan... her Ethan, her love?

No, she couldn’t believe it, not until she saw it with her own eyes...

The place was elegantly decorated, filled with people also elegantly dressed. She heard the distant music, saw faces without even focusing on details, the dance floor was being opened by the newlyweds. Gianna focused on them... The woman... she knew her, of course she knew her; she was the chosen one of Ronald and Helen Maxwell... the groom... there was Ethan, with that woman in his arms, dancing a delicate waltz, smiling at everyone while photographers immortalized the moment...

“Gia...” Melly’s voice was filled with concern, but it sounded distant, foreign to her. “Gia, let’s get out of here...” Gianna placed a hand on her chest; she couldn’t breathe; it was becoming very difficult; she needed oxygen...

“I... I...” she walked quickly, distancing herself from the hall and returning to the locker area, tears streaming desperately down her cheeks.

“Gia, wait for me...”

“I need... to be alone...” she opened the locker, took her belongings, grabbing her bag, and turned to her friend.

“I’m going with you, Gianna...” she just shook her head, leaving to try to keep her composure. As soon as she stepped outside, she looked around.

No, my God...

This can’t be happening to me... not to me, please...

As she walked, she was choked with sobs; the tears began to spill from her throat; she couldn’t believe it; Ethan had deceived her. They had been living together for a year and a half, and... when did he plan to tell her he was marrying someone else? Like an automaton, she walked sobbing; some people looked at her with concern, others with confusion. She began to run, not knowing where she was headed, but her heels echoed on the sidewalk as she tried to escape her cruel fate...