Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

At ten in the morning, Joseph Lancaster finished his morning work early, neatly arranged his folders, and hurriedly left the office.

"Joseph, are you going out? Do you want me to come along?"

Emily Zimmerman stood up from her seat, and Joseph gave her a quick glance, "No need, I have some personal matters to attend to."

"Oh, alright, I’ll call the driver to take you there." Emily hung her head and picked up the desk phone.

Joseph had almost reached the end of the hallway when he said without turning his head, "No need, I already called."

Emily slowly put down the phone she had against her ear. She was a secretary, and instructing the driver was supposed to be her responsibility, but Joseph would rather make the call himself than delegate it to her.

...

These days, Violet Zimmerman felt very irritable, possibly due to the approaching childbirth; not only was her body uncomfortable, her mood also soured, inexplicably finding everything displeasing.

She lay alone in bed with a fan hanging overhead.

When she was bored, she used to go to her mother-in-law Lorelei Howard’s room to chat. Since Emily had moved in, she found her mother-in-law treated Emily significantly better than her, so she rarely went to her mother-in-law’s room anymore.

There were two gentle knocks on the door behind her, and before Violet could speak, the person outside walked in.

Violet assumed it was one of her servants coming in to deliver lunch, so she continued lying with her back to the door and said unhappily, "Take it out first, I’ll eat when I’m hungry."

"Then I’ll really take it out!" Joseph’s voice had a playful note as he made a gesture to leave with a plate of watermelon.

Violet clumsily turned her head and, upon seeing Joseph, her face immediately turned cold.

"What are you doing here? I’m tired and need to rest, you should go back."

After speaking, Violet turned away again.

In the morning, Joseph had noticed something was off about her, so he put the fruit plate on the coffee table and then came over to sit sidewise on the bed.

Joseph placed his hand on Violet’s arm and gently nudged her with a smile, "What’s wrong, who upset you?"

Violet kept her eyes closed and refused to speak, obviously sulking.

"Didn’t you say you were dizzy in the morning? I bought some watermelon, have a piece before you sleep." Joseph nudged Violet’s arm again, coaxing her with patience.

For some reason, Violet felt even more wronged, keeping her eyes shut, she said, "If I want some, Daxton will buy it for me. You should take it to your girlfriend instead!"

From what Violet said, Joseph roughly understood what was going on. Unmoved, he stood up from the bed.

"Alright, since that’s the case, I’ll leave. There’s still a lot of work at the company left to handle."

Joseph walked towards the room’s door, and upon hearing the door open and close, Violet suddenly turned around. Seeing that Joseph had really left, an inexplicable sadness hit her, and she sat up against the bed, silently shedding tears.

Joseph went downstairs to get lunch, two bowls of rice, a plate of vinegar-fried shredded potatoes, and a plate of cold dishes, all brought up together on a tray.

Upon entering the room, he saw Violet wiping her tears, initially stunned, he quickly put down the tray on the coffee table and walked over.

"What’s wrong, are you feeling unwell? Do you need to see a doctor?" Joseph asked with concern. He had promised not to burden her, so he could only bury his care for her within himself.

Violet also knew she shouldn’t lose her temper with her brother-in-law; after all, what upset her last night was Daxton’s words. Although he promised not to betray her, he would still eventually marry someone else. She tried her tears and said, "No, it’s just that my mood has been off lately, it will be better once the child is born."

"Hmm, I’ll be going on a business trip in a few days. If you need anything, let me know and I’ll bring it back for you." Joseph helped Violet off the bed, "Let’s eat, even if you’re not hungry, you have to look after the baby inside."

"You’re going on a business trip, is Emily going with you as well?"

Violet asked instinctively, knowing that secretaries usually accompany business trips.

Joseph turned and smiled at Violet, "If you don’t want me to, then I won’t take her."

Violet sat back on the sofa, pouting, "Whether you take her or not is your business, what does it have to do with me."

Violet first took a small piece of watermelon to nibble on, perhaps it was psychological, but although Daxton often bought watermelon home, she felt that this one, brought by her brother-in-law, tasted better.

Watching Violet’s eating habits, Joseph smiled gently and sat on the sofa himself, arranging the tray of food on the coffee table.

"Let’s eat first, save the watermelon for later."

For convenience, the watermelon was cut into small pieces, so Violet finished a piece in two bites, taking the chopsticks from Joseph.

Joseph picked up his bowl and chopsticks too, placing some vinegar-fried shredded potatoes into Violet’s bowl.

"When I get back from this business trip, I will talk to my brother about us. We don’t get along, so I will break up with her."

Violet didn’t respond, focusing on her rice. Perhaps because she had just eaten watermelon, her previously upset mood suddenly brightened.

Two days later, Joseph went on the business trip, taking his secretary Emily with him.

The night before the trip, Aurora Lancaster watched Emily pack, winking and asking, "Sister Emily, can I ask you a question?"

"What’s up?" Emily asked while putting clothes into the suitcase, turning her head.

Aurora lay on the bed supporting her head, frowning with hesitation, "You’ve been seeing my second brother for over a month; how come I’ve never seen you two holding hands? Sister Emily, tell me the truth, have you kissed my second brother? Did you two secretly kiss at the office?"

High schoolers are curious about everything.

"What nonsense are you talking?"

Emily’s expression seemed a bit awkward, which Aurora interpreted as shyness, and kept pressing her.

"There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Anyway, you and my second brother will get married sooner or later. On the day my brother and sister-in-law got married, they kissed in front of so many relatives."

Emily’s eyes darted away, she didn’t say anything further and continued packing her clothes.

Aurora leaned back on the bed, "I think after this business trip, you two will pretty much get married."

"Why?" Emily asked instinctively.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Aurora clambered up again, leaning beside Emily with a mysterious air.

"Look, usually there are so many eyes watching; even if my second brother wants to be affectionate with you, he’s too shy. But it’s different when you two go on a trip. At a place where no one knows you, without parents around, you can do whatever you want."

"Stop talking nonsense, such young age and your mind is full of these things!"

Emily chided softly, slightly embarrassed, thinking that perhaps the reason was indeed because there were so many relatives in the Lancaster Family. Even if Joseph wanted to be intimate with her, he was probably too reserved.