Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

A small wooden horse lay in Joseph Lancaster’s broad palm, not exceptionally exquisite, but certainly crafted with care.

The entire body had been smoothed with fine sandpaper, and the mane and tail were threaded with thick yarn. Let’s not even discuss the effort required for those precise little holes; even the body of the horse had been colored.

The Lancaster family’s courtyard was large, filled with countless flowers and plants. The colors on the wooden horse’s body were made from petals Joseph Lancaster picked himself, crushed into juice with a rolling pin.

Pure natural dye, not only harmless but also releasing a faint fragrance. Yet, Violet Zimmerman’s attention was on the palm holding the wooden horse.

Her fingertips tremblingly touched, gently stroking the scars that had yet to fade. Violet bit her lip, trembling as she asked, "These... are they knife wounds?"

Not waiting for Joseph’s answer, she continued to complain, "How can you be so careless, obsessing over carving this when you can buy one at the store!"

Seeing Violet’s distressed look, Joseph couldn’t help but curve his lips, "How can store-bought compare to something made by hand? Robert is the first child of the Lancaster family, I had to show some sincerity."

Actually, Joseph wanted to say that Robert was his first child, so to express his paternal love for his son, he personally carved it.

"Don’t do it anymore, your hand will be ruined!" Violet scolded with a frown.

Joseph’s eyes were gentle, "Okay,"

The originally peaceful moment was shattered by a sudden sound.

"Boom... pff..." It was Robert Lancaster who had pooped; the fart sound was loud, even making Violet’s thigh twitch slightly.

Having done something naughty, the little one shivered and then continued sucking on his pacifier.

Instinctively, she looked up at Joseph; even though the child farted, it was she, as the mother, who felt embarrassed.

"Little rascal!"

Joseph affectionately pinched Robert’s cheek and took him from Violet’s arms.

The little guy was eating with gusto, and as soon as the pacifier was removed, he started crying loudly.

"Why cry, finish your meal after a clean diaper!"

Joseph pretended to gnash his teeth as he spoke. There was boundless affection in his phoenix eyes as he placed the little one on the bed and bent down to open the bundle.

Violet sat beside him, momentarily unresponsive.

Robert hadn’t eaten enough and had just pooped, flailing his limbs and crying harder.

Joseph grabbed his ankle with one hand and went for the diaper with the other. As soon as he lowered his head, a stream of urine sprayed up.

Joseph couldn’t dodge it in time, getting sprayed all over his head and face by the little guy.

Violet, feeling sorry and embarrassed, frantically reached out, "Let me handle it, it’s dirty."

"He’s my son, nothing to shun."

Joseph placed the diaper over the little one’s belly, waiting for him to finish peeing before opening it, removing the soiled diaper and putting it aside. He instructed, "Go get some warm water to wash his bottom."

"Oh,"

Violet took the soiled diaper and headed to the bathroom, Joseph’s words, "He’s my son, nothing to shun," running through her mind.

...

Daxton Lancaster escorted his mother-in-law and sister-in-law to the station, proactively queuing at the ticket counter to buy two train tickets.

Lucy Zimmerman sat beside Aria Williams, her hands propped on the chair, swinging her legs unconsciously.

"Mom, here are the tickets. I got two seats in the middle. Call when you get home, so Violet doesn’t worry."

Daxton handed two tickets to Aria.

Aria took them, apologetically saying, "Daxton, about this morning... I’m sorry."

"Mom, we’re all family, no need to be so formal."

As Daxton finished speaking, Lucy, swinging her legs beside, chimed in, "Auntie, brother-in-law said not to be so formal, and you really shouldn’t be! I mean, that relative of his is really something, treating guests like that!"

"Lucy!" Aria lowered her voice to remind her.

Daxton shot a faint glance at Lucy, clearly displeased, straightened up, and said politely.

"Mom, I have to get to the company. I won’t see you off on the train."

"Oh, go on, go on. Work is important." Aria was anxious, fearing her niece would say something else inappropriate, so she hurriedly sent him off.

Daxton nodded and strode towards the waiting room’s door.

Once Daxton was out of sight, Aria withdrew her gaze and scolded her niece, displeased, "Lucy, watch your words in the future! Didn’t you see your brother-in-law wasn’t happy just now!"

Lucy looked around nonchalantly, "Whether he’s happy or not, I’m only speaking the truth. Anyone with a relative like that is unlucky! Unreasonable and stubborn, who knows how my sister suffers at home when alone!"

Aria...

She glared at her niece, unwilling to say another word.

She had seen firsthand how her son-in-law treated her daughter, and how could she bear seeing her daughter aggrieved?

After waiting for more than twenty minutes, the loudspeakers in the waiting room began announcing, "Passengers heading to F City, please proceed to the ticket gate..."

"Lucy, let’s go." Aria Williams stood up and pulled Lucy Zimmerman, who got up as well and followed her towards the boarding gate.

As they were about to board, the attendant stood at the door loudly reminding them, "The bus departs in eight minutes. If you need to use the restroom, please hurry, as the bus won’t be stopping en route..."

"Auntie, you go ahead, I’ll use the restroom." Lucy Zimmerman nudged Aria onto the bus and ran towards the public restroom pointed out by the attendant.

"Lucy, hurry up, the bus is leaving soon!" Aria leaned forward and shouted, while Lucy didn’t even turn her head as she replied, "Yeah, got it!"

A few minutes later, the attendant hopped onto the bus, "Is there anyone still missing? The bus is about to leave!"

"Comrade, please wait, my niece hasn’t boarded yet!" Aria said anxiously, then leaned out the window to look towards the restroom, but there was no sign of Lucy.

"You better go find her quickly, there’s one minute left. Be fast!" The attendant checked the time, and Aria responded, quickly scrambling out of her seat to search.

Behind the station at the public restroom, there was no sign of Lucy Zimmerman. Aria came out, calling "Lucy" and anxiously scanned the surroundings.

On the bus, the attendant clung to the door and shouted loudly, "Hurry back, we’re leaving soon!"

"Comrade, can you wait a bit longer, my niece is missing!" Aria shouted while searching frantically.

The attendant replied impatiently, "Do you think this is your family’s private vehicle? You say wait, and we wait! Are you getting on or not? If not, we’re leaving!"

Seeing the bus start to move slowly, Aria glanced around again and responded, "Yes, yes, just a moment."

As the bus slowly left the station, Lucy Zimmerman finally peeked her head out from the men’s restroom.

"Oh my goodness, you scared me! What are you doing in the men’s restroom, you trying to be a pervert?"

A male passenger was about to enter the restroom when he was startled by Lucy peeking out and jumped back.

Lucy withdrew her gaze, clinging to the restroom door with her hands, and said defiantly, "Didn’t you see? Even if I’m being a pervert, I’d never choose you!"

After saying this, she swaggered out of the men’s restroom.

The man adjusted his belt and turned to look at her, "Ugly! Lunatic!"

...

On his way to the company, Joseph Lancaster’s lips kept curving up. As if lingering in his mouth was the sweet taste of milk—not as tangy as regular milk, but pleasantly creamy.

Involuntarily, Joseph licked his lips and clicked his tongue, his brows showing unconsciously gentle warmth.

"Manager, what has got you so happy? Did you go on a blind date?" Even the driver noticed Joseph’s good mood, glancing through the rearview mirror with a smile.

Joseph snapped back to reality, licked his lips again, and smiled, "No blind dates, my little nephew just celebrated his first month, and he peed all over me today."

When Violet Zimmerman was in confinement, her son would often soak him.

Driving with a chuckle, the driver commented, "That’s boy’s urine, they say it cures all ailments!"

"Yes, cures all ailments." Joseph instinctively repeated, unsure if his son’s urine could cure illnesses, but...the milk he had tasted that morning had certainly lifted his spirits.

...

At the Lancaster mansion, after Joseph left, Violet Zimmerman hadn’t stepped outside her bedroom. She sat on the bench at the foot of the bed, gently rocking the crib and bashfully biting her lip.

She had resolved not to interact with her brother-in-law again, but just now...if her husband found out, she didn’t know how much he’d torment her.

Her hand unconsciously fell to her chest, where an electric sensation lingered, tingling and making her feel nervous.

Her brother-in-law washed her son’s bottom, changed his diaper, then handed him to her to nurse.

During pregnancy, she received good nutrition, and during confinement, even more so.

With good nutrition, her milk flow was abundant, and overflow was a common occurrence.

While nursing her son, milk often leaked from the other side. As usual, she nursed with one hand and gently massaged with the other.

When her brother-in-law brought a towel over, she was somewhat taken aback, watching him lift her other side’s clothes to gently wipe away the excess milk.

...

Violet Zimmerman, frustrated, lay sprawled on the bench at the foot of the bed.

She was angry with herself; when her brother-in-law praised her breast milk as "very sweet," she wished she could find a hole to hide in.

At some point, she had become a loose woman, actually letting her brother-in-law...

"Knock, knock," came a knocking sound, followed by the servant’s voice outside the door.

"Madam, the security at the gate called for you."

"Okay, just a moment, I’ll be right there." Violet Zimmerman rose and responded, carrying Robert Lancaster out of the room.

Daxton Lancaster was somewhat of a germophobe, forbidding servants from entering his room unless cleaning, so Violet had to take the child downstairs.

She sat on the sofa, holding the baby with one hand and answering the phone with the other, "What’s going on?"

"Madam, there’s a..." The security guard hesitated with the title, standing in the room with one hand holding the phone and the other supporting the base, peering through the window at the "girl" who claimed to be the madam’s relative and scrutinizing her thoroughly before speaking with forced courage.

"There’s a girl who says she’s your relative."