Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

Violet Zimmerman tossed and turned restlessly, thinking to herself, she had to send Lucy Zimmerman away tomorrow no matter what. The current relationship between her and Daxton Lancaster along with her brother-in-law was already troublesome enough. If Lucy got involved, there would be no hope for peaceful days.

Just as Violet Zimmerman was thinking this, the bedside lamp in the room suddenly went out, and next door, Lucy Zimmerman’s startled cry came through.

"Ah... brother-in-law, I’m scared..."

"Wah..." Whether it was Lucy Zimmerman’s startled cry being too loud or a coincidence, the baby in the crib, Robert Lancaster, also began to cry. In the dark, Violet Zimmerman stumbled out of bed, picked up her son, and fumbled her way to the bench at the foot of the bed, lifting her blouse to feed him.

With his mouth on the food source, the little one stopped crying, sucking vigorously before falling asleep again.

Instinctively, Violet Zimmerman perked up her ears to listen carefully to the sounds from the next room.

In the darkness, one’s hearing is particularly sharp, but Violet Zimmerman listened attentively for a long time without hearing any sound.

The power was out; her husband, Daxton Lancaster, was still in the cousin’s room. Although she knew he couldn’t do anything, Violet Zimmerman still felt uneasy.

Having fed her baby sufficiently, she put him back in the crib and made her way to the door.

For reasons she couldn’t explain, Violet Zimmerman deliberately lightened her footsteps, gently opened the door without closing it to avoid making any noise.

She reached the guest room door, took a deep breath with her eyes closed, and suddenly pushed the handle, swinging the door open!

At that moment, the entire villa lit up.

The scene in the room came clearly into view — on the standard-sized double bed, Daxton Lancaster and his cousin were tightly entwined, their mouths pressed together.

Perplexed by the sudden return of electricity or maybe because Violet Zimmerman appeared at the door, Lucy Zimmerman suddenly gasped, "Brother-in-law, you..."

Daxton Lancaster glanced towards the door, an almost imperceptible smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, and he propped up his arm, slowly getting up.

On the bed, Lucy Zimmerman shyly covered her face.

Suppressing the urge to lash out at her cousin, Violet Zimmerman slammed the door shut and returned to her room. Tears instantly streamed down her face.

The power outage lasted at least over five minutes; during that time, her husband, Daxton Lancaster, stayed in the cousin’s room. In the dark, a single man and woman, it’s not hard to guess what they could be doing. Although unable to take the final step, that was her cousin, her closest relative!

Returning to bed, Violet Zimmerman wept aloud.

Next door, Lucy Zimmerman peeked through her fingers after Violet Zimmerman left and dared to uncover her face, looking at the man seated before her who seemed indifferent, she complained.

"Brother-in-law, why did you intentionally push me down? My sister must have misunderstood; now I can’t clear my name no matter what."

Daxton Lancaster turned to look at her, his cold eyes void of any emotion.

"If it’s something that can’t be cleared, why try?"

Lucy Zimmerman...

Biting her lip, it’s unclear if she felt astonishment or joy, "Brother-in-law..."

Daxton Lancaster got up and walked out; behind him, Lucy Zimmerman buried her face in the bed again.

"Violet, open the door." Daxton Lancaster tried turning the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

Inside the room, Violet Zimmerman stopped her crying, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and reached to turn off the bedside lamp. Seeing the faint light through the crack extinguished, Daxton Lancaster tried the handle again.

"Violet, if you don’t open the door, I’m going to Lucy’s room."

"..."

Violet’s response was a silent silence.

Violet Zimmerman spent the whole night reflecting, replaying memories from the first day she married Daxton Lancaster over and over like a carousel in her mind.

She knew Daxton couldn’t do anything, but even knowing this, she still felt upset inside.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

In the latter half of the night, Violet Zimmerman got up and packed a few clothes for herself and the baby.

Lucy Zimmerman woke up early, sitting alone on the downstairs sofa, pursing her lips as if encountering a happy event.

When Daxton Lancaster came down the stairs, Lucy Zimmerman rarely showed a shy expression, lowered her head, and bashfully pursed her lips.

Daxton Lancaster furrowed his brow slightly, continuing down the stairs. Lucy Zimmerman stood up, twisting her hands together, nervously speaking, "Brother-in-law, you can’t do that anymore; I still haven’t found a husband."

Daxton Lancaster glanced at her indifferently and strode toward the door.

"Hey, brother-in-law, where are you going? Aren’t you having breakfast?"

Lucy Zimmerman anxiously asked from behind.

Daxton Lancaster didn’t even turn his head, "I’m going to have breakfast at Grandpa’s; you and your sister eat at home."

"Bad brother-in-law!" Lucy stomped her foot bashfully.

Violet Zimmerman deliberately woke up late; only after Daxton Lancaster went to work did she open her bedroom door.

Of course, she missed quite a scene.

After breakfast, Lucy Zimmerman sat in the courtyard waiting, and when Joseph Lancaster walked out with his briefcase heading to work, she blocked him on his way.

"Joseph, why did you treat me like that yesterday?"

Joseph Lancaster coldly glanced at her, "Move!"

"I won’t move; I won’t let you go unless you tell me!" Lucy Zimmerman spread her arms, following wherever Joseph Lancaster turned, seemingly resolved not to let him leave without an answer.

"Joseph, speak up, why did you kick me out?"

Looking at the stubborn, annoying woman before him, Joseph Lancaster squinted his eyes, his face devoid of warmth, like last night, he reached out and pushed her arm aside.

Though Lucy Zimmerman was sturdily built, she was short. Being pushed by Joseph Lancaster, she staggered back several steps and by the time she regained her footing, Joseph Lancaster was already far away.

"Joseph, if you don’t answer me, I’ll block you again tomorrow!" Lucy Zimmerman shouted at Joseph Lancaster’s receding figure; he completely ignored her.

Violet Zimmerman called a driver over; seeing her cousin carrying her child followed by a servant putting bags into the car, Lucy Zimmerman asked, puzzled, "Sis, where are you going? Does brother-in-law know?"

"Drive!" Violet Zimmerman slammed the car door shut, looking coldly ahead as she instructed.

Watching the car’s backside drive away, Lucy Zimmerman disdainfully snorted, "None of you bother talking to me, if you don’t care, forget it, I’ll watch TV myself!"