Moonlace : Brew of Alchemy and Love.

Threatened

Jessica’s POV

The next time she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar room. The room was spacious and beautiful. It had exquisite decoration and a very luxurious and retro-style theme. The windows had hollow carvings and baby blue colored curtains. The curtains were decorated with golden tassels and the bed she was sleeping was also very soft and fluffy.

Where was she? She wondered.

She looked around more and noticed that her phone was placed on the table, and there was a note placed near it. Jessica scrambled towards the table and took the note. She opened it and started reading the contents.

To my Darling daughter Jessica,

I hope you had a nice good night’s sleep and now must be wondering where you are. Right? Don’t worry! You are at your husband’s place. You never told us about him, anyways we have decided that you will be now staying with your husband and in-laws. You are now the new Mrs. Eric Collins and must accept this identity of yours. Listen to me obediently, No matter what and who asks, do not reveal anything. The copper necklace is the memento you were given by Mr. Eric Collins. Whatever happens, do not open your mouth to say otherwise.

If you are to reveal anything, you will not just harm yourself, but also your grandmother who is lying in the Intensive Care Unit as you know that if our family goes bankrupt, we wont be able to afford the expensive medical bills. Also, I must warn you, don't have any contact with Bella in the future, don't even say you know her, or you’ll get caught! And remember to burn this letter after you have read it.

Take good care of your husband and in-laws dear daughter!

Your Mom,

Olivia.

Mrs. Collins?

Memento?

Bella?

Copper necklace?

What was the connection between these things?

Looking at the letter written by the foster mother, Jessica realized that she had been tricked. Her foster parents had sent her to the Collins family without her knowledge, to marry the unseen Eric Collins! And the bargaining chip they used to force her to compromise was her grandmother's life!

That year was extremely cold, and Grandma picked up a newborn Jessica from the orphanage and raised her alone. She taught her how to cook, how to stitch beautiful clothes, and embroidery. Without Grandma, there would be no Jessica in this world. It was her Grandma who gave her a second chance in life… She loved her too much and would do anything for her sake.

Jessica's hand holding the letter turned white with anger, and she quivered uncontrollably. She was angry was an understatement. At this moment, there was a light knock on the door.

"Mrs. Collins, are you awake?"

Jessica composed herself and tried to calm down. She quickly hid the letter in her pants pocket, Before finding a better solution, for her grandmother's sake, she had to do what her foster mother said. She was determined to resolve this predicament for her and her Grandma’s sake.

"Yeah, Come in." Jessica answered neutrally.

A middle-aged woman came in with a tray.

"Grandma Collins asked me to come and see if you were awake. She has asked you to change into these clothes and come downstairs for dinner”.

Jessica nodded silently as the woman took out a long pink dress, a pair of silver heels, and accessories from the shopping bag that she was carrying. She kept them on the bed and stood there, looking at me expectantly.

I look at her questioningly to which she replied, “I am ordered to stay here to help you with your hair and makeup.” I took a deep breath. It was a bit exaggerated to dress up just to meet elders, but it was normal for the wealthy Collins family.

Jessica rarely dressed up, She usually wore a simple outfit of long pants, a t-shirt, and shoes. At 20 years old, she was at the peak of her beauty, she was as beautiful as a flower. When she put on the dress prepared by Grandma Collins, she suddenly looked radiant. She looked so beautiful and elegant that she almost couldn't believe that the person in the mirror was her.

The beautiful lady in the mirror looked elegant as a Princess, with a different charm in her. Suddenly she noticed the bite mark on her neck. It had healed but now it didn’t look like a bite mark. It looked like a tattoo of a wolf howling with a crown on his head, and a name was engraved under it.

She tried to read it, and to her surprise, it read Eric. Her dress had an off-shoulder neckline. Her neck and this bite or tattoo were visible very easily. When she touched the mark, she felt something tingling in her stomach. She was surprised and confused at the same time.

She immediately took a concealer and applied it on the mark, hiding it efficiently. She took a deep breath and tried to stabilize her wayward emotions.

"Jessica, you look beautiful, you have good facial features, and your skin is so soft and radiant, and milky white. You're really pretty!" The middle-aged maid praised her while walking towards her with a jewelry box in her hand. She had just brought it out from the wardrobe.

Jessica smiled at her, she had specifically asked the maid to call her Jessica with no formalities, as she wasn’t used to such things. The maid walked towards her and opened the box, there was a beautiful diamond necklace nestled in the box.

The maid took the necklace out and placed it on her neck, locking it. She also took the matching diamond earrings and made her wear them. Before Jessica could say anything the maid said, “This is a gift from Grandma Collins. She has been waiting for her granddaughter-in-law for so long. Don’t even think about rejecting it Jessica. And you look so gorgeous.”

Jessica gave her a small smile and nodded her head. The maid quickly worked on her hair, she quickly made an elegant bun of her long brown hair and took a few strands of hair to frame her face, which added an ethereal touch to the whole getup.

“Let’s go, Grandma Collins is waiting for you. We should get going.” The maid said and guided her towards the dining area. Jessica pursed her lips, not wanting to keep Grandma Collins waiting too long.

The maid brought her to the garden in the Collins mansion, the place was all set for the dinner. The whole area was bustling with servants ready to help with anything.

She thought it was just a meeting with Grandma Collins. But, when she arrived in the splendid and magnificent dining area, she found that apart from Grandma Collins, there were Bella and her family already seated with one more person named Robert who was standing near Grandma Collins and whispering something.

3rd Person POV

As soon as Bella saw Jessica coming with a maid, dressed up like a pretty socialite, she felt her scalp go numb. SH stood up from the place, immediately pointing fingers at Jessica.

“You..You How dare you impersonate me and come take my place?” Bella said loudly.

“Grandma Collins immediately said in a domineering tone “Ms. Bella, I suggest you sit down in your place and behave properly. I think you have forgotten your manners.”

With that said, Bella sat down, but she continued to glare at Jessica. She was angry and also scared that the truth will be out soon.

Grandma Collins, was an elderly woman, with a gentle smile. But she was also very strict. She glanced at Jessica and with an amicable smile said, “Jessica dear, come come. Sit here.” She gestured towards the sit nearest to her.

Seeing this, Bella was furious. She clearly was the one who had been in contact with this old woman, but she was focused on Jessica. If glares could kill a person, Jessica might have died a hundred times till now.

“Good Evening, Grandma.” Jessica greeted the old woman with a gentle smile. Seeing that Jessica was so sensible and had a gentle appearance, Grandma Collins was very happy. She preferred Jessica over Bella. Bella was capricious. She looked cunning and evil.

But Jessica was the exact opposite. She looked gentle and elegant. Grandma Collins suddenly turned towards the family of three sitting in front of her.

“Mr. Wards, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Let’s wait for my grandson to come.”

Grandma Collins said this in a very strict tone leaving no room for negotiations. But Mr. Wards was an impatient person.

“But Mrs. Collins, this is very unfair. It’s very clear that it’s Bella who saved Mr. Collins that night then ……..” he was cut off by a fake cough from Robert.

Then it was Robert’s turn to speak. “Mr. Wards I would suggest you don’t say anything. It’s clear that one of you is lying. We will wait for Mr. Eric. Then we shall further discuss this matter.”

Robert’s voice was curt. He was straightforward and direct. Mr. Wards had no other option. He huffed and kept his mouth shut.

After the outburst of both Bella and her dad, Jessica was scared a bit. She so wanted to just run away from here. Fortunately, she quickly regained her composure, remembering her foster mother's threat and squeezing her fingers tight, she sat beside Grandma Collins with a tensed posture.

Seeing this, Grandma Collins covered her clenched hands and said in a very gentle tone. "Child, don't be afraid." She encouraged her as she held her hand. "I'm Eric's grandmother and I will be your grandmother from now on.”

Looking at the loving face of the elderly woman, Jessica thought of her own grandmother and felt comforted, she instantly calmed down.

“Okay, Grandma,” Jessica replied obediently with a gentle smile.

Seeing their intimacy, Bella couldn’t take it anymore. She spoke again. “Jessica, you don’t deserve to be here. You are just a country bumpkin and an orphan. How can you even think of entering a noble family such as Collins? I must say you are really ambitious.”

Jessica just gave Bella a glance. She could no longer differentiate between her long-time friend and the shrew sitting in front of her. Jessica wanted to say that she wasn’t ambitious at all, She didn’t even want to enter the Collins family or be the new Mrs. Collins. But she had no choice.

She couldn’t go against her foster parents and danger her Grandma. Her only family in this world. Hence, she just ignored Bella. Grandma Collins was about to say something, but someone beat her to it.

“A country bumpkin? How dare you say that Jessica is a country bumpkin? And she isn’t an orphan. I am her family.” A strong, deeply masculine voice was heard. Everyone immediately turned to look at the source of the sound.

As they turned their head, they saw a tall man in a grey suit striding towards them with a great presence. There, stood Eric Collins wearing a grey suit, looking as handsome as always. The most shocked among them was Jessica. She had never thought that Eric Collins was the man she gave her virginity to.

Suddenly Grandma Collins caressed Jessica’s head. She looked satisfied as she gazed at Jessica, "This girl is well-behaved and she pleases me a lot! Oh! Thank You, Eric. She is just perfect. I love her!"

Eric gave his Grandma and Jessica a gentle smile, then turned back to the Wards Family.

“Now tell me the reason, why isn’t Jessica eligible to enter the Collins family.”…..