Contract Marriage: The Replacement Groom

475 Guilt-tripping her fans

The fans and anti-fans were confused. Although they know that Brian is Jeslyn's senior in the entertainment industry and that they were quite fond of each other, it didn't sit well with them. 1

After the hug, Jeslyn cleared her throat, thanked everyone for the award and started addressing her fans. After all, her public appearance was the main reason this year's anniversary was pushed forward. It was supposed to be happening in two days, but because of her baby shower which was fixed on a weekend that happened to be in two days, Rex moved the company's anniversary to today.

"I got a distressing call from my Manager some days ago, telling me that my lovely husband was being bad-mouthed and insulted by my fans. I-was, and still hurt by that. My husband is my king and when he's insulted, it means you have no regard for me." She said it slowly-and calmly but sometimes her voice broke, making her words so emotional that a lot of fans felt bad.

"I wasn't around. I needed some space to think things through. I know I should have informed you all. I know I should have come out to refute the malicious articles, pictures and videos that were travelling around but I didn't, and that's not because there was truth in any of those, but because I wanted to know what that person wanted.

"As you all know, the late Mr. Chen wasn't my real father. But what I didn't know was that, the person

whom I thought was my real mother all along, was also not my real Mother."

The crowd gasped. That, that was quite...

"Recently, my real mother finally had the courage to come out and tell me the truth about my identity. Meanwhile, she had been by my side all these years and I had no idea."

She paused to wipe her tears. While the crowd and those watching were also feeling very emotional. "My real mother, Alex Lee, told me that my late mother, Alice Lee was her twin sister. Indeed they were twins but I wasn't informed because the Lee family were hiding away from a deadly organization, named the Half Heart organization."

Gasps and murmurs broke out in the audience but she didn't let that stop her from talking.

"Those people wanted my mothers but because they couldn't get a proper hold of them, they channelled their interest at me. But my mothers fought to protect me. However, with the help from the Chen sisters, Emilee and Christine, the organization found me, and my mother, Alice, was killed in the struggle to save me." She broke down in tears, but Brian was there to support her.

Even some people were already crying along with her.

"I was sent to my grandfather after losing my memory and my real mother, Alex disguised herself and went undercover in My husband's protection, protecting me from the shadows.

"After so long, I had no idea what was awaiting me until my grandfather was killed and I went to jail. My mother, Alex, went there to wait for me, just to protect me from evil inmates without my knowledge. "Luckily, I had a lawyer friend who fought my case and brought me out.

"My mother told me who my real father was and also told me about my twin brother whom everyone

thought was dead. It so happened that after the doctors proclaimed him dead, a nurse found him still breathing but instead of sending him back to my mother, she got greedy and sold him to a couple who just lost their child.

"That couple happened to be my brother's current parents. My brother is..." she turned to look at Brian, who smiled at her and gently brushed her hair back.

"Brian?" some people in the audience subconsciously asked.

"Yes, Brian!" She responded.

'Wow! Our Jeslyn has had a very painful life and we had no idea!'

'Poor Jeslyn.'

'Her twin brother had been with her for so long and she didn't know. -No wonder Brian had been nice. to her from day one. Blood is indeed thicker than water!

Both Jeslyn and Brian's fans started sympathizing with the twins and cursing the Half-hearts and the imaginary greedy nurse. Even the dead Emilee and Christine were not left alone.

"I went to SIN CITY like you all knew, to confirm the story with my twin brother's parents, only for me to realize that his adopted father was our real father. It was a sad time for my twin brother's foster mother and us. Ms. Nancy was a good woman. She saw the pain we were in and returned my brother to us, masking her sorrow of losing her only child.

"When I returned to the Capital, I wasn't feeling too good, so my husband suggested I take some rest. Which I was gladly doing until my sister-in-law's engagement party.

"The Half-heart organization connived with Reuben, my fellow student, whom you all know, to disrupt the party so they could take me away. But luckily, my husband came to save the day.

"The organization wasn't happy, so they tried to cause a misunderstanding between my husband and I. They edited photos and videos of my husband and I, narrating different stories, which

you all believed. The events of that time were traumatizing for me, so how-how could I come out to defend myself? "They even took advantage of my four-month pregnancy!" She touched her stomach and started crying again. This time around, Maverick got on the stage and carried his wife off the stage and headed straight home. What more could they do to make fans cry their eyes out and also put the Half-hearts in trouble? Even an elephant is afraid of a colony of ants.

When Manager Kate thought the guilt-tripping story would end there, Brian took over the stage.

"Well, fans can be quite something. But what makes us a family is understanding and believing in whom we love. I understand that some celebrities can be very scheming and destructive which is why so many people no longer have full trust anymore.

"I guarantee you that my sister is not angry that you didn't trust her or wait to hear her side of the story. She's upset because you disrespected my brother-in-law," he sighed.

'We are sorry, Jeslyn!'

'Please forgive us, Mr. Lu!'

Brian continued, "While my sister was depressed, she recognized that she had been away from you guys for so long, so she approached me to help her write a song, strictly for her fans.

"Here are the pictures of her in my studio."

Brian pointed at the screen behind him and it lit up with Jeslyn and Brian inside his studio. She was brushing her fingers through his musical instrument.

"Here is a video of us practicing"

The screen changed. Brian and Jeslyn were practicing a song in an unidentified space. She had on earphones, a book and a pen, while Brian was sitting in front of her. Either adding to what she was singing, or shaking his head and correcting her.

"She thought we both could perform it as a closing song today. But unfortunately, it seemed she couldn't get a handle on her emotions. She even forgot to tell you about her upcoming baby shower," he sighed. "Well then, enjoy the audio song. Who knows, we might be able to sing the song together some other time. Have a great time!" (1)