Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

"Lucy!" Aria whispered in a low voice as a reminder.

In those days when men and women weren’t supposed to touch, Lucy Zimmerman’s behavior seemed frivolous.

She was clinging to her cousin’s husband, which was considered inappropriate for normal couples in front of outsiders, let alone her being the sister-in-law.

Violet Zimmerman looked across at Daxton Lancaster. Even though the couple was still bickering last night, he was ultimately her husband, and she was embarrassed to hold his arm daily in public. Yet, this younger cousin...

"Aunt, what’s wrong now? You’re always so jumpy; brother-in-law isn’t an outsider!"

Lucy seemed impatient, which made Violet even angrier, getting out of the arm Daxton loosely held around her and swiftly walked towards the door.

Anyone with a bit of sense could see Violet was upset.

Only Lucy didn’t reflect on it at all; instead, she clung to Daxton’s arm, confused, asking, "Brother-in-law, why is sis mad?"

Lucy wasn’t as tall as Violet, reaching only Daxton’s chest, stocky and chubby, from his angle he completely saw her as a doorstop.

Aria sighed in blame, regretting in her heart. Had she known this child was so clueless, she wouldn’t have taken charge of this matter.

Daxton shook his arm free while saying with a half-smile, "Can’t you see she’s angry?"

After that, he took large strides to catch up. As Violet changed into her shoes and was about to leave, he caught her wrist with a smile, "What’s the point of being jealous of a silly girl!"

"Aunt, why is sis mad?" Behind them, Lucy grabbed Aria’s arm, confused.

Aria glared at her and said crossly, "I don’t know!"

The commotion indoors had angered Violet and her mother, who found it even more embarrassing as they stepped outside the courtyard.

Just as Joseph happened to pass by the gate, before the brothers could greet each other, Lucy dashed up.

"Joseph, what a coincidence!"

Looking at this enthusiastic little round-faced girl in front of him, Joseph was puzzled, glancing at Lucy Zimmerman’s face and then at his brother and sister-in-law, "Big brother, she..."

"Your sister-in-law’s cousin, quite cute, isn’t she?"

Daxton raised his phoenix eyes, with a sneer clearly visible at the edges of his lips, and Violet’s face immediately felt ashamed.

"Mom!"

Aria was equally embarrassed and quickly pulled the clinging Lucy away from Joseph, apologetically saying, "Joseph, my niece is immature, sorry for the laughable moment."

"Aunt, what are you doing! Everywhere you go, you say I’m immature! I’m nineteen, an adult, how do you expect me to find a husband if you keep saying that?"

With Lucy’s complaint, Aria felt even more awkward.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Violet was so angry she simply turned her face to the side.

Daxton lowered his phoenix eyes, asking in a hushed tone with a half-smile, "What’s wrong, embarrassed? She isn’t you, just treat it like watching a circus."

Violet...

Though Lucy was her family member, being looked down upon by Daxton also brought shame.

Filled with anger and having nowhere to vent, she immediately looked at her mother and said unhappily, "Mom, after dinner let Daxton take you to the station."

"Ah? Oh, okay." Aria hurriedly agreed, her face alternating between green and white, wishing she hadn’t gotten involved.

"Cousin! What do you mean?" Lucy turned back, upset, questioning.

"I’ve only stayed with Aunt for a day and you’re already kicking us out. You say your house isn’t full, it’s idle anyway, and letting us stay a few more days wouldn’t cost a brick! You rich people, the more you have, the stingier you are!"

Violet...

Was so furious she nearly spat blood.

Worried her niece might upset her son-in-law further, Aria quickly smiled to smooth things over, "Lucy, didn’t we agree? Stay with your cousin for a night and then go back, how could you forget."

"I’m not going back, if you want to go, go yourself, I want to date Joseph!"

Joseph...

Was dazed for a few seconds before walking away, "Just remembered, I forgot my formula book."

"Hey, Joseph, wait for me, I’ll go with you to get it!"

Lucy chased after him like a rabbit.

At this point, if there were a crack in the ground, Violet would have jumped right in.

"Mom, you better go get her back!" Her embarrassment was exposed at her in-law’s place; who knows what they’ll say about them in the future.

"Hey, hey, I’m on it," Aria’s face was burning like a slap, and she rushed after them.

At the courtyard gate, Daxton had his hands in his pants pockets, watching the commotion like a spectator.

Meanwhile, Lucy had caught up to Joseph, eagerly clinging to his arm.

Joseph was displeased inside but couldn’t cause a scene given she was his sister-in-law’s relative. The two of them were talking about something, with Violet seeing the scene as:

Joseph withdrawing his arm, Lucy sticking back, repeating several times, until Aria ran over and pulled her away, and Joseph took off like he was saved.

"I’ll get him eventually," Lucy said defiantly to herself, watching Joseph’s back.

"Daxton, take mom and Lucy to the station later; I don’t want to see her," Violet said sulkily.

Daxton redirected his gaze to her, with a half-smile, saying, "I find your cousin quite special; so far, no other woman seems to scare Joseph so much."

Violet suddenly raised her head, and stared at Daxton, bewildered.

"Child, don’t you know how to be reserved? Look how frightened Joseph was!" Aria was pulling Lucy over, scolding her in a low voice.

Lucy flippantly replied, "Aunt, your old-fashioned thinking won’t work anymore; modern young people are like this."

Having arrived in front of her daughter and son-in-law, Aria couldn’t say any more. She thought about leaving with Lucy right after breakfast.

The in-laws were at home for a meal, invited by the elderly to the main dining table.

At the table, Lucy kept trying to please her future "in-laws". Seeing Lorelei Howard taking small bites of food, she stopped, her chopsticks reaching for food in front of her, hesitated, then withdrew them. She put her chopsticks back in her mouth to suck, making quite a noise, and under Lorelei and Eva Hayes’s disapproving gaze, picked up a chopstick full of food and reached across the table to put it in Lorelei’s bowl.

"Aunt, eat some vegetables, don’t just eat rice, we’re in our own home, don’t be so formal!"

Violet...

This early morning, she didn’t need breakfast; she was already full from anger.

The vexing part is, she couldn’t say anything in front of so many people.

Lorelei looked at the chopstick full of celery and potato strips in her bowl, unsure whether to eat or discard it.

Seeing Eva also looking at her, Lucy sucked her chopsticks again, picking up potato strips and handing them over, "Auntie, you eat too."

Sis and brother-in-law called this way.

Eva wasn’t as composed as Lorelei; she immediately raised her hand, peeled off the food, and angrily rebuked, "Don’t use your slobber-covered chopsticks to give me food, it’s unsanitary!"