(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

Gerald had neatly parked the car in front of Leonida’s. However, it turned out that his promise was false because instead of returning home, he casually led Axel inside the restaurant.

Ariana’s employees, who were busy wiping tables and setting up utensils, were surprised by her presence. The attention of the staff was drawn to her because of her boss’s somewhat elegant appearance in an oversized sweater and a knee-length skirt.

She rarely wore skirts while working, except for occasions that she considered “complicated” and required her to wear such attire.

“Hey, last night, what happened?” Bryan, one of her waiters who was wiping glasses in one corner of the restaurant, asked. “Did you get possessed by something as a newlywed?” Ariana replied with a sly tone, making the young man unbelieving.

“Is Amber here?” Ariana ignored his astonishment.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“She’s in the back with the boys,” he answered. “But seriously, were you really possessed by a newlywed spirit, Miss?” He asked incredulously.

Ariana ignored him, and someone playfully tapped Bryan’s head from behind.

“Is your bodyguard not interested in introducing himself to us yet?” Bono, who had tapped Bryan’s head, now glanced significantly at Gerald, who was still standing casually behind Ariana, holding Axel, who was also in his care.

“Why didn’t you just go back? You said you were just dropping us off,” Ariana muttered as they climbed the stairs.

“Well, I thought it would be more convenient. Besides, don’t you need to go to the apartment to get the car and change clothes?”

“Isn’t there public transportation in this country? Besides, you could have asked Jody, Bryan, Bono, and many other employees for a ride. You didn’t have to wait for me,” Ariana said as she opened the door to her office, allowing Gerald and Axel to enter first.

“Well, it’s no big deal. I thought I’d take the opportunity to see my wife’s workplace,” Gerald replied casually. He stood tall in the middle of the room, silently observing.

“By the way, I actually come here often, you know,” he added. Ariana raised an eyebrow, unsure about her foreign husband’s statement.

“Really? You can check my booking tracklist. There should be records of it, right?” Ariana shrugged.

“Axel, Mommy has to work now. You and Papa stay here for a while, okay?” Ariana then turned on the flat-screen TV mounted on one of the walls, integrated into a bookshelf.

“If Axel wants to sleep, there’s a bedroom over there. The bathroom is inside. If Axel wants a drink, there’s a refrigerator over there.” She actually directed this information to Gerald, but she didn’t want to speak directly to her foreign husband.

“Does Axel understand what Mommy just said?” The boy nodded. Ariana gently patted his head, and for the first time, she kissed his head, surprising both Gerald and Axel. It was a natural display of affection that warmed her heart.

Ariana went into the room she had mentioned earlier, locking it from the inside. Shortly after, she emerged wearing jeans and a navy blue long-sleeved shirt with a black checkered pattern, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She tucked the bottom of the shirt into her pants, revealing her flat stomach and shapely buttocks, which caught Gerald’s attention.

Gerald walked over. “You don’t mean to tease, right?” Ariana, who was tying her hair, stopped her movements-surprised because suddenly Gerald was standing towering in front of him.

“W-what do you mean?” Ariana moved backwards in an attempt to save herself from Gerald. But the man turned forward. “Are you wearing your jeans on purpose to show off your sexy butt?” The man pointed at the thing he was talking about with his eyes.

“Your shirt.” The man pulled the collar of Ariana’s unbuttoned shirt with his hand. “You deliberately stuck out your chest?” He asked as he let go of her in an annoyed manner. Ariana looked down; there was nothing wrong with her shirt. He deliberately unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, but underneath, she was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt that fit perfectly. Even the T-shirt didn’t show her collarbone.

“And this.” This time, Gerald grabbed a lock of hair that fell to the side of her face. “You purposely tied your hair up to show people you have a long neck, right?”

Ariana glared at him. She then slapped the man’s hand away. “Are you crazy? You’re saying that whatever I wear, I wear it on purpose to tempt you? You’re crazy.” Ariana walked away from the man, deliberately bumping her side against him. But with lightning speed, the man grabbed her waist and turned her around. She was pushing Ariana’s body slightly until her body hit the wall.

“What are you doing?!” Ariana wanted to ask out loud, but seeing Axel was there, the question only came out in a hiss.

“Change your clothes, now!” the man ordered. His hands were still on Ariana’s waist.

“Gerald, this is the most comfortable attire I can wear for work. What do you expect me to work in? A gown? An astronaut suit?” Ariana tried to push Gerald’s body away, but her considerable strength didn’t budge him.

“I don’t like seeing you in outfits like this,” Gerald muttered. His face was so close that Ariana could even catch a whiff of the coffee he had been drinking earlier.

Getting tired of trying to push Gerald away as he still maintained his position, Ariana eventually chose to lean back casually and fold her arms in front of her chest. She tilted her head and looked at her foreign husband challengingly.

“Gerald! Do you know that what you’re doing doesn’t make any sense?”

Gerald placed his left hand on Ariana’s right side, while his right hand reached up to play with Ariana’s hair. “This is not something that doesn’t make sense, my dear. But it’s the most sensible thing I’ve ever said to my partner.” He touched the side of Ariana’s neck with the back of his index finger. “You don’t know what’s inside a man’s mind, even if the woman is wearing modest clothing.”

“In that case, my dear.” Ariana playfully touched her index finger to Gerald’s chest. “If you have a problem with my style of clothing, you should have married a nun yesterday, not me.” Ariana smiled sardonically. “You should have married a religious girl who covers her entire body and is even willing to wear a veil. Unfortunately, that’s not me. Do you want a divorce now? I don’t mind.” Ariana smiled with a sardonic yet teasing expression in her eyes.

Gerald shook his head. “Of course, that’s not going to happen, my dear. There will never be a divorce between us. Ever.” He subtly threatened. “And I have another way. Aki can protect you and keep you at home, not allowing any man to see you. Except for me and Axel, of course.”

“Are you crazy, my dear?” Ariana muttered in frustration.

“Yes. It hasn’t even been two days since I met you, and you’ve already driven me crazy, my dear,” Gerald said with a sweet smile that could undoubtedly melt any other woman’s heart.

Frustrated. Ariana was about to headbutt the man’s sacred object with her knee. But she lost quickly. Gerald was already holding Ariana’s legs with his feet. Ariana glared. “Don’t you dare hurt my ‘little brother’, darling. He’s a sacred object that will make you moan in pleasure.” Gerald whispered in Ariana’s ear in a seductive tone. His hand that had been on the wall was now rubbing her waist. “Why do you smell this good, darling.” Gerald rubbed his nose on Ariana’s neck. It made him tingle and feel a strange vibration at the same time.