Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

"What happened to me last night?"

Sophia Hamilton raised her chin and retorted, worried she got drunk and used up the food she’d stored in the fridge for her son over the past few days. She couldn’t breastfeed her son now and had to use a bottle to feed him with yesterday’s milk.

"Little thing, do you really not remember?" Evander Lancaster pinched Sophia Hamilton’s chin, leaned in and bit her lip lightly. It didn’t hurt, but it was very suggestive.

"Last night, you were so passionate! You kept asking for more, nonstop. If I weren’t so strong, you would’ve drained me completely!"

Sophia Hamilton...

He’s definitely not talking about her!

If she had really acted like that, how could she not remember?

Impossible, he’s lying, it must be a lie.

Looking at Sophia Hamilton’s refusal to admit it, Evander Lancaster slowly buttoned up his shirt and then turned around.

As the gray shirt slipped off, Sophia Hamilton saw...

Scratch marks were visible on the man’s fair skin, some had scabbed over, while others were still red and swollen.

Touched lightly with her fingertip, Sophia Hamilton incredulously asked.

"Did I do this?"

"Hmph!"

Evander Lancaster fastened the shirt and turned back around, his eyes filled with teasing.

"If it wasn’t you, then who else?"

Sophia Hamilton...

Her lips moved guiltily.

"Is it painful?"

Evander Lancaster slowly buttoned his shirt, "A bit, but it was exhilarating!"

Sophia Hamilton...

How come she just discovered that this man has a masochistic tendency? Even after all those scratches, he found it pleasing?

Well, she doesn’t remember a thing; she blacked out yesterday, so she can’t recall anything.

"Little thing," Evander Lancaster pinched her chin again, his voice gentle.

"Once we’ve stocked enough food for our son, let’s get drunk again, just the two of us, okay?"

Sophia Hamilton...

Rolled her eyes at the man across from her, not giving him any friendly look.

After lunch was prepared, Violet Zimmerman called her son. After the full month was over, Juliana Lancaster returned to her own home since this was her daughter’s husband’s family, and she felt it was inconvenient to stay.

When heading to her mother-in-law’s for dinner, Sophia Hamilton brought along the family’s nanny to help with her son.

Violet Zimmerman specially prepared a nursery for her grandson, right next to the elder grandson’s room. Though she had acted rather drastically before, since her grandson’s birth, the more she looked at him, the more she liked him, just like her eldest son Robert Lancaster’s son. Both grandsons held equal places in her heart.

The seven-member family gathered at the dining table.

Violet Zimmerman sat at the head, with Joseph Lancaster beside her. If Sophia Hamilton didn’t know he was Evander Lancaster’s uncle, she might confuse him for her mother-in-law’s husband.

Sophia Hamilton and Evander Lancaster sat on one side, while Robert Lancaster and his family of three sat opposite.

After resolving the trouble caused by Daemon Lancaster, Joseph Lancaster seemed in high spirits and suggested having the two "nephews" join him for a drink.

Putting down the drink, Evander Lancaster served Sophia Hamilton some food, glancing at Joseph Lancaster with a meaningful look and said.

"Uncle, I didn’t realize you had such a trick up your sleeve. Looks like Dad really trusts you."

Joseph Lancaster took a bite of asparagus, his eyes filled with pride.

"Without confidence, how could I defeat the opponent in one blow!"

The Robert Lancaster couple kept their heads down, focusing on their food and not joining in on the conversation.

Evander Lancaster glanced at his older brother Robert Lancaster, a flash passing through his eyes.

"Uncle, you’re so cunning. If back in the day you wanted to deal with Dad, how much chance would you have?"

Violet Zimmerman frowned at him, and Robert Lancaster also showed disapproval.

Asking such a question to an elder was blatantly disrespectful!

Thinking Joseph Lancaster would be displeased, Sophia Hamilton also looked at the two men.

Joseph Lancaster slapped his chopsticks onto the table, laughing as he cursed.

"You little brat, it’s a good thing you were too young to understand back then; otherwise, you would’ve driven a wedge between me and your father!"

Evander Lancaster served soup to Sophia Hamilton, denying with a smile.

"I didn’t! I was just being honest."

Joseph Lancaster picked up his chopsticks again, placed a piece of crispy meat in Violet Zimmerman’s bowl, a natural gesture. Sophia Hamilton paused midway through her soup, looking at everyone else at the table. They continued eating, showing no unusual reaction.

Her eyes blinked repeatedly—was she the only one who found her uncle’s action a bit suggestive?

Feeling puzzled, she heard Joseph Lancaster sigh, "Ah, your father has been so heartfelt to me, even entrusting me to manage his business!"

After Joseph Lancaster finished, a hint of resentment showed on Violet Zimmerman’s face.

Of course, blood brothers come first; for such important matters, Joseph was informed, but she, his wife, was not—highlighting the saying that brothers are like limbs, women like clothes!

Violet Zimmerman subconsciously shifted her position to express her discontent.

The movement was small, but Sophia Hamilton noticed.

She discreetly glanced around at the others at the table, each absorbed in their meal, seemingly oblivious to Violet Zimmerman’s action.

Sophia Hamilton was confused; was she being oversensitive?

Why did she feel there’s something unusual between her mother-in-law and uncle? The way her mother-in-law acted just now resembled how women act when being playful with their partners. When Evander Lancaster displeased her, she also reacted similarly...

While eating, Sophia Hamilton secretly observed her mother-in-law Violet Zimmerman and uncle Joseph Lancaster’s interactions.

Robert Lancaster, who had been silent, chimed in, smiling, "Of course, since you’re Dad’s brother, he naturally trusts everything to you."

"Robert is right. I’m Joseph Lancaster—no wife, no kids. Even if I dared covet your father’s estate, there’s no one to inherit it. Haha..."

Joseph Lancaster laughed, and towards the end even broke into hearty laughter.

Of course, he understood Daxton Lancaster’s concern.

His sons and family are his own; even with ambition, upon retirement, the company will be passed down to his sons—blood is thicker than water, an undeniable fact.

"What nonsense," Violet Zimmerman interjected with a reprimanding glance.

Evander Lancaster poured more liquor for Joseph Lancaster and Robert Lancaster, chuckling as he said, "Since uncle has no children, and we have no father, uncle should treat my brother and me as his sons!"

Violet Zimmerman instinctively looked at her two daughters-in-law, then cast a reprimanding gaze at Evander Lancaster.

Joseph Lancaster raised his glass, smiling as he said.

"That’s exactly my intention!" Then, he raised his glass towards the two brothers, his expression serious.

"Robert, Evander, you two are all the family I have. When I’m gone, you two should take care of my funeral arrangements!"

Without waiting for Robert and Evander Lancaster to respond, Violet Zimmerman placed her bowl onto the table with a noticeable displeasure.