(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

Gerald chuckled.

“We don’t know what Axel will be like in the future. He might follow in his father’s footsteps. Besides, no one knows how smart he’ll be. We need a backup to ensure the Zeroun family survives,” the woman replied flatly.

Gerald’s chuckle turned into a booming laughter that sounded more like mockery than genuine happiness.

“So, it’s fine for me to lose the woman I love as long as Grandma can secure an heir for this rotten family?” he sneered.

“Don’t push it, Gerald!” his grandmother snapped, her voice barely contained. The woman clearly stood stiffly before him. Perhaps it was because of Gerald’s loud voice, or maybe one of the servants had awakened her. Because now, behind his grandmother, stood another woman who was the second mistress in the Zeroun household.

“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Isidora asked Gerald with a puzzled look. However, her question was ignored by Gerald and the three others present in the room.

“Isn’t it enough for all my sacrifices all this time? Is it not enough to confine me to a life I don’t want, Oma?” Gerald asked with fiery eyes. “I am here, running the company and fulfilling my duties as an heir as Grandma wishes, even though it’s not what I truly want. At least, give me credit for my hard work. Give me my Ariana. Why can’t Grandma do that?” he accused without averting his gaze from Mrs. Rosaline.

Mrs. Isidora, who tried to process Gerald’s words, now looked back and forth between Gerald and Mrs. Rosaline.

“I asked you to persuade her,” his grandmother reminded.

Gerald remembered the conversation they had had earlier. Yes, his grandmother had indeed asked him to persuade Ariana again. But back then, his grandmother had remained mysterious. Gerald’s laughter grew louder because of it.

“Fine, Grandma feels remorse in her final moments, doesn’t she? That’s why Grandma asked me to persuade Ariana. Just so I could be with her in what Grandma thinks are her ‘last moments,’ so I wouldn’t make the same mistake my father did with my mother, like that? No wonder Grandma is so sentimental, saying how much Grandma liked my late mother. In reality, that sentimentality stems from Grandma’s guilt for asking Ariana to preserve her pregnancy for the sake of an heir and being willing to sacrifice her life, making her love for me the reason. Like that?” Gerald accused without shifting his gaze away from Mrs. Rosaline.

Mrs. Isidora, who attempted to comprehend Gerald’s words, now looked at Gerald and Mrs. Rosaline alternately.

“As long as Grandma knows. To me, that child means nothing because what I want is Ariana. Not a piece of flesh that I don’t even know what it will turn into,” he stated firmly. “And never try to persuade Ariana to do something I don’t want to happen. If Grandma influences that woman to run away from me to save that baby, I swear, the Zeroun kingdom that Grandma takes pride in will crumble, leveled to the ground.” He threatened. He then looked at Vivan and Yosef alternately. “I thought I could trust you. But it seems…” Gerald shook his head and swiftly left the room, his steps echoing in the air.

Ariana slowly opened her eyes. The light from the lamp above her head blinded her, forcing her to squint and blink to focus her vision again. Ariana tried to move her hands, but she felt something holding her back. She turned and saw Gerald sleeping in a sitting position, his head leaning against the bed, and both his hands holding hers tightly. What was he doing here? She wondered to herself.

Ariana chose to shift her sleeping position to lie on her right side, leaning toward Gerald. She decided to observe the sleeping man’s face carefully. It had been a long time since Ariana woke up to see Gerald’s face. When she was still living in the Zeroun residence, she used to stare at Gerald’s face when he was still sound asleep.

She lifted her left hand to brush away the hair that covered Gerald’s forehead. Ariana’s index finger then trailed down his forehead straight to his nose. Unconsciously, her lips curled up into a smile. Her eyes landed on Gerald’s lips, which were slightly reddened, and she smiled again. Last night, those lips had made her heart race. If he did more, would Ariana suffocate? Yes, perhaps. But Ariana was reluctant to find out the truth.

“Isn’t my face still handsome even when I’m asleep?” the question made Ariana’s eyes widen in surprise. Gerald suddenly opened his eyes without changing his sleeping position.

Ariana quickly pulled her hand away from his grip. Gerald smiled, got up, and straightened his body. He stretched and moved his shoulders and head to relieve the stiffness.

“Why are you still here?” Ariana asked curtly.

Gerald pulled the bottom of the chair and sat closer to Ariana. “If not me, who are you expecting? Your lover is clearly not here, as he ran away to hide, isn’t he?” Gerald challenged.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Ariana narrowed her eyes in annoyance as he stared at her with a mocking expression. “Stop bringing up Chris’s name. I know he’s not what you think. He’s just a regular guy; he’s just lost his way,” Ariana defended, remembering their conversation from the previous night.

Gerald shrugged. “I don’t care if he’s normal or not. What I care about now is you and your plan to escape from me,” Gerald said, his brows furrowing and his sharp eyes fixed on Ariana. “Why did you do something foolish without discussing it with me first, Darling?” he asked coldly.

Ariana clearly understood what he was talking about. However, she chose to feign innocence.

“What do you mean?” she asked confusedly.

Gerald lifted the corner of his mouth. “You clearly know what I mean,” he said mockingly. “But it’s okay; let me explain everything to you so that you can understand what I mean.” He said. “You, clearly told me that you were aborting our child, but in reality, you were keeping the baby. Why? Did you want to be a hero by making an orphan like me happy by giving me a child?” Gerald accused with a condemning tone. “Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted it or not?”

“You wanted it. You wanted a child. You clearly told me that,” Ariana replied softly. “Yes. I did want a child. But from a complete family,” she said just as softly.

Her throat felt constricted just thinking about the possibility of having a child but losing the woman she loved. “I want a child who receives love from both a father and a mother. I do want a biological child, my flesh and blood. But I’d rather not have a child than lose you. Don’t you understand that?” Gerald pleaded with a pitiful expression.

Ariana smiled again. “I understand very well. That’s why I’m doing all this,” she replied firmly. “I know that if you knew all the facts about me, you would choose me over this child.”

“If you know all that, so why do you insist on your foolish idea?” Gerald challenged.

“Because unconsciously, I also want to know what it feels like to be a perfect woman,” Ariana said softly.

“In my eyes, you’re already perfect. You lack nothing. I love you whether or not there’s a child in your womb. More than that, we already have Axel. He’s our child now; isn’t that enough for you?” he asked angrily.

Ariana shook her head. “People are never satisfied, Mr. Aarzu. Right now, your emotions are unstable, so you’re saying you don’t want a child. But there’s no guarantee that tomorrow you won’t say the same thing.”

“Fine, I know. I won’t deny the fact that someday that desire might arise. That longing will surface. But we can find other ways to do it. We can treat you first. We can make sure your body is capable enough to sustain and bear a child before we decide to have one. So please, for now, what if we abort this fetus? After all, it hasn’t been given a life yet. It’s still just a lump of flesh,” Gerald pleaded, making Ariana look at him incredulously.

Ariana shook her head. “Don’t be foolish. Even though it hasn’t been given life yet, its heart is already beating, Gerald. Moreover, I won’t kill my own flesh and blood. Whether there’s life in it or not. Besides, there’s no guarantee that after I recover, no matter how they treat me, I’ll be given another child. What if God punishes me because I’ve wasted the gift given to me by not giving me another blessing?” she challenged with a defiant stance. “I won’t follow your foolish idea.”

“If the child is born, and then you leave. I swear I’ll hate that baby,” Gerald promised earnestly. “If you do that, it means the love you profess to me is just empty words. If you’ll hate this baby, you better give it to someone else or put it in an orphanage.”

“Ariana. That’s not what I want.”

“I know what you want. And you’ve been selfish with your desire, Gerald. Or do you secretly hope that I won’t survive this pregnancy?” Ariana accused, instantly making Gerald gape in disbelief. “No! For God’s sake, you’re being ridiculous!”

“You’re the one being ridiculous!” Ariana retorted. “If you truly love me, you should love this baby too and hope for our safety. Not think of the worst-case scenario that may never happen,” she said.

“What, are you blaming me now?” Gerald accused. “You’re the one who thought of the worst from your own condition. If not, you wouldn’t have decided to hide all this from me; you wouldn’t have planned to hide yourself from me.”

“I did all that because I was thinking of you. I didn’t want you to suffer and then blame yourself for my condition.”

Gerald then laughed. “I’d regret myself more if I didn’t know the truth about you. If that arrogant doctor didn’t reveal it to me, I’m sure, even if all witnesses died, I wouldn’t know the truth and would forever drown in my hatred for you. Wouldn’t I look even more pathetic then? Hating something I shouldn’t. Being angry at something I should love?”