(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

Gerald watched Ariana leave abruptly. His wife was clearly emotional. When Ariana was emotional, she became more difficult to control. He glanced at Shelma, who was also watching Ariana’s departure with a puzzled expression. Meanwhile, Gerald turned around, walking quickly towards Vivan and harshly slapped his assistant’s face before Vivan could even get up.

Gerald’s punch left a bloody wound at the corner of Vivan’s mouth. “What did you say to her?” he asked, even before Vivan could fully stand.

Gerald slammed his foot on the floor and cursed vehemently. Then, he looked back at Vivan and muttered an apology. Shelma, who had approached, reached out her hand and grabbed Gerald’s arm gently. “What’s wrong? Why are you so angry?” she asked in a soft tone.

Gerald glanced at her, specifically at the spot where Shelma’s hand was. He realized that was his fatal mistake. He then lowered his hand and brushed off Shelma’s touch as gently as possible. “I’m sorry, I have urgent matters,” he said. He then looked at Vivan and walked quickly towards his car.

“Ge, where are you going?” Shelma shouted, still trying to follow him. However, Gerald chose to ignore her. Vivan was already in the front seat of the car, and Gerald sat in the back, massaging his temples, instructing his driver to take him to Ariana’s restaurant.

Oh God, why does nothing ever go smoothly? Just when he thought his relationship with Ariana was improving, there was always some problem looming. Karenina, his mother, and now Shelma? When would all of this end? Gerald had started to feel that Ariana was starting to have feelings for him.

“Do you think she’s jealous?” Gerald asked Vivan. Vivan, who was questioned, looked at his boss through the rearview mirror, nodding in agreement.

“If Madam isn’t jealous, she wouldn’t have run away,” Vivan replied logically.

“Is she really jealous? What if she’s just angry and offended? Or does she actually feel betrayed?” Gerald’s question was more directed at himself.

The quite long journey with traffic congestion during the break made Gerald completely unsettled. He hoped his hunch was right, that Ariana would be at her restaurant. Unfortunately, his hunch was completely off. When Gerald entered the restaurant where nearly every table was occupied, he was greeted with a furrowed brow from Dara.

“Ariana?” he inquired about his wife to the restaurant’s staff. His head turned towards the cashier, where Ariana usually was when Amber wasn’t around. Ah yes, Amber. That girl still hadn’t shown up. And now, the cashier was occupied by Adel. No wonder his wife came to the office; it turned out she already had a substitute player who could take her place at the restaurant.

“Ariana isn’t here. She went out for lunch,” Dara replied casually. Gerald just nodded. Now he was unsure where to go. If Dara said Ariana wasn’t at the restaurant, it meant she wasn’t there.

Gerald reached for his phone. For the umpteenth time, he tried to call Ariana. Not only did she not answer, the call didn’t even go through. Then he heard Dara behind him answering her phone. “Miss, what’s going on? Mr. Gerald is here. Are you two having a disagreement?”

Immediately, Gerald turned and looked at Dara. He didn’t care what Ariana had said to her employee; he simply snatched Dara’s phone. “Where are you?” Gerald asked his wife. Silence ensued. Gerald suspected she had ended the call. But when he checked the screen, the call was still connected. “You deliberately blocked my number, didn’t you?” Gerald asked again.

“Did I?” Ariana replied nonchalantly. “I’ll check the block list later. Can you please talk to Dara? I need something from her.”

Ariana chose to ignore Gerald.

“Ariana, where are you? Stop disappearing like this. I don’t like it,” Gerald said again.

Ariana snorted. “Of course, you don’t like it. You only like beautiful girls with fair skin, perfect breasts, and buttocks. And don’t forget, they should be expensively dressed and elegant,” Ariana taunted. “By the way, when are you getting married? I heard the employees there can’t wait for your wedding. Should I be at the front of the line to congratulate you?” she continued.

Gerald ran his hand through his hair roughly. Dara, witnessing this, was left gaping. “Ariana, this is all a misunderstanding,” Gerald replied, frustrated.

“Is it really? Fine, straighten it out later. For now, I want to amuse myself. And now, can you please give the phone back to Dara, Ge?” Ariana asked playfully, calling him by the name Shelma used.

Gerald didn’t want to argue again. He handed Dara her phone back, but quickly, he scribbled something on a piece of paper. ‘Ask her where she is?’ it said in his handwriting. “Miss, where are you?” Dara asked the question on behalf of Gerald.

Instead of answering, Ariana just sneered. “Don’t do what he wants, Dara. You work for me, and I’m the one who pays your salary, not him,” Ariana replied. “Ignore Gerald and follow my instructions,” she continued. Dara looked at Gerald and shook her head. Then she heard what Ariana instructed. Gerald ran his hand through his hair again, but he stayed there until her instructions were finished, hoping Ariana would be willing to talk to him again. But in vain, because his wife immediately hung up the phone after finishing her conversation with Dara.

Gerald cursed under his breath. He walked away from the restaurant. Vivan was still waiting for him outside the car; Gerald felt guilty for hitting his assistant so impulsively. He truly felt sinful for letting his anger out on the younger man. Hopefully, Vivan wouldn’t hold a grudge.

“Is she there, Boss?” the young man asked. Gerald shook his head and roughly opened the car door.

“Where are we going next?” Gerald asked, lacking enthusiasm. There was no point in searching for Ariana. She was determined to avoid him right now, and Gerald didn’t have the time to scour the city looking for her. His schedule was incredibly busy at the moment.

The ringing of his phone made Gerald reach into his suit pocket again. Shelma? Gerald chose to ignore the call. Let the woman be angry by herself. After all, Gerald was just as frustrated as she was right now.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

“I want that, that, and that,” the little boy pointed at the menu displayed on the board behind the fast-food restaurant’s cashier.

Ariana shook her head. “Darling, that’s excessive. Choose one that you want. Just one. If you finish it and you’re still hungry, we can buy more later, okay?” Ariana looked at the child. The boy looked back at her, confused.NôvelDrama.Org content rights.

“Why? Dad and Grandma said I could buy whatever I want,” Axel protested. But Ariana shook her head again.

“That’s Dad and Grandma. But it’s different with Mommy. Mommy doesn’t want you to buy food that you won’t eat all of. Mommy doesn’t like Axel wasting food. That’s not good, Sweetheart,” she said, gently patting Axel’s head. “Come on, pick one dish that Axel wants. Just one. Mommy will buy more if it runs out.” Ariana coaxed him again. Axel just nodded and then pointed to one menu item for himself. After that, Ariana chose three other dishes for herself, Axel’s babysitter, and their driver. Yes, Ariana chose to avoid Gerald by spending time with Axel.