(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

“What’s going on here?” A voice interrupted Ariana’s rebellion. Chris half-bent, opened Ariana’s tent door with sleepy eyes. “You?!” His gaze focused on Gerald. The two men locked eyes in the darkness. Ariana, witnessing it all, was momentarily frozen. “What are you doing here?” Chris asked again.

“Picking up my wife, of course,” Gerald replied sweetly.

“Your wife?” Chris glanced between Ariana and Gerald. One forgotten fact was that Ariana never mentioned her husband’s name to Chris. “Is he your husband?” Chris now turned his full attention to Ariana.

“A husband I never wanted,” Ariana defended herself. She could free herself from Gerald and approached Chris when his attention shifted. “Remember, he’s not the husband I wanted,” Ariana growled.

Chris chuckled, looking at Gerald mockingly. “So, your character hasn’t changed, huh?” Chris asked scornfully. He and Ariana were outside the tent while Gerald remained half-crouched inside.

Ariana pulled Chris back as Gerald stood up and chose to follow them out of the tent. “And you haven’t changed either? Stealing what belongs to someone else,” Gerald replied, equally mocking.

Ariana glanced between the two with the limited light. She could deduce that these two men knew each other, not just that, there was a shared history between them. It seemed she was about to witness an intense confrontation.

“I’ve never stolen anything from anyone,” Chris responded sarcastically to Gerald’s accusation. “Since forever, they have always come to me. For the same reason. Because they’re fed up with you. With your arrogance and your persistent bullying that seems to never fade, even though you’re old enough to stop acting like a child,” Chris jeered. Gerald snorted. “And it seems the old story is repeating itself. Even Ariana has no qualms about running to me and seeking my help,” Chris glanced over his shoulder, where Ariana still stood, her hands gripping Chris’s arm.

His actions seemed to further enrage Gerald. “Come here, Ariana!” he ordered with suppressed anger. “Why? What are you going to do?” Ariana challenged.

“I won’t do anything. Your place should be with me. Remember, you’re my wife now,” Gerald warned.

“And you should remember too, Sir, that I am not your rightful wife. I will annul our marriage. After I return. And now, you better leave from here!” commanded Ariana. She still held onto Chris’s arm as if it would shield her. Seeing all this only made Gerald angrier.

“You can’t annul this marriage because I won’t allow it,” Gerald gritted his teeth.

Chris smirked. “And I won’t allow this marriage to last,” he said, threateningly. Ariana looked up, observing Chris who seemed to be staring at Gerald without blinking. If this were a movie with effects, Ariana was sure that right now, both Gerald and Chris’s eyes were emitting lasers, attacking each other in the air.

“I heard the woman who should be your wife is Karenina. And from what I know, Ariana herself never wanted to be your wife. Isn’t that right, Darling?” Chris lowered his gaze to Ariana.

Ariana hesitated for a moment at the endearment ‘Darling’. But she decided to compromise with the situation. After all, making Gerald angry was a revenge she greatly enjoyed.

“Of course. You promised to help me find Karenina. And after that, everything will return to where it should be. Isn’t that right?” Ariana looked at Chris and received an enthusiastic nod from him. But when she sought an answer from Gerald, he turned to her sharply, sending a shiver down Ariana’s spine.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m just stating the truth,” Ariana challenged. “You, that woman, and your child. You will be a happy little family. And I’ll pray that you have many children so Axel won’t be lonely.”

“While Chris and I,” Ariana changed her grip to a warm embrace, “will think about our own future. Especially now that Chris is back and has no intention of leaving again. Isn’t that right, Darling?” Ariana tilted her head again and received a nod from Chris.

Chris reciprocated by putting his arm around Ariana’s shoulder. “Of course, Darling. Even if I have to go far, this time I’ll take you with me. I won’t let you stay here alone. Especially now that we’ve met someone who likes to threaten and impose his will.”

Ariana enthusiastically nodded her head. “You must do that. You don’t know how lonely I was when you were gone. And now, I’m stuck with that threatening and forceful man.” Ariana glared at Gerald. “And Sir, what are you doing there? Are you going to be the mosquito bothering our intimacy?”

“Ariana!” Gerald called out with a higher tone. “If you don’t want to leave willingly, then I will show you what being forceful really means,” he threatened again.

“Look, not even five minutes, and he’s already threatening you again, Darling,” Chris sighed. Ariana frowned sadly.

“You counted for only five minutes. Can you imagine what happens to me if I’m with him for twenty-four hours?”

Chris gently stroked Ariana’s hair, full of care, while holding her closer. “My poor Ariana. I promise, I will protect you from now on.”

But Chris’s words didn’t last long. Gerald grabbed Ariana’s hand and shoved Chris with all his might, causing Chris, unprepared to lose his balance, to stagger back two steps. Ariana attempted to resist, but Gerald quickly lifted her up. He carried her as if she were a sack of potatoes on his shoulder.

The park guard, observing them from a distance, was quite surprised by Gerald’s actions. However, he resumed guiding the way when Gerald ordered him. Meanwhile, the man Gerald had paid to find Ariana’s whereabouts was now restraining Chris, who was trying to chase after Ariana. And Ariana herself, the girl, continued to resist in Gerald’s grip. Her hands pounded Gerald’s back hard, causing him pain, and her legs kicked the empty air continuously, making it difficult for Gerald, especially as they had to climb to reach the car.

“Shut up!” Gerald hissed. “If you don’t stop, we’ll fall together!” he growled. But that didn’t stop Ariana’s antics. She grew more defiant, even occasionally shouting to be let down. At that point, Ariana herself felt dizzy because her head was hanging below her.

“I won’t let you down, even if you cry, beg, or plead,” Gerald replied, his breath becoming labored as he was genuinely struggling.

Behind him, his assistant merely followed with suppressed laughter. Gerald was truly behaving like a child. That was what Yosef, the old man who had dedicated himself to working for Gerald’s family, thought.