CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 37

The doctor immediately administered the injection to Emmett. It had taken a while, but his condition finally stabilized. The doctor sighed in relief as he packed up his things, before turning to her. "Make sure you get him to drink plenty of liquids. Also, he mustn't be doing anything rigorous or exhausting that may affect his recovery, all right?”

“OK.”

Alyssa grabbed a towel from his bedside table to wipe the sweat off his forehead. By the time she had done so, the others already made their way out of the room.

She sighed in frustration and stared into his closed eyes. There was just something about this situation that she couldn't seem getting away with.

Alyssa felt a little strange. That night in the dining room, she had fallen into “Justin's” arms, and Frank had caught them in the act. Yet, he didn't say the word. He even suggested her to take care of him while he was sick.

Shouldn't he have said something to Emmett? Or had he forgotten that the incident happened in the first place?

“Mom…”

Before she could think about it more, he began to tremble under her touch. He called out once again while she was wiping his forehead. Just as she was about to pull her hand away, he suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling him towards her. Even if his eyes were closed, his face was contorted into that of worry and disbelief.

No matter how hard she pulled, it was like fighting against an iron clamp. He even grabbed her hand even tighter.

She glared at him angrily. “I'm not your Mom! Let go of me."

However, the man didn't look like he could hear her at all. Instead, he grasped her hand as if his own life was on the line. The space between his brows gradually softened, and his breathing became steady. The grip on her hand seemed to have granted him some comfort in this world.

Her phone suddenly rang out; it was Hazel.

"Hazel, have you arrived?"

"I'm already at the entrance. Where are you?"

Alyssa looked down at “Justin” who was sleeping soundly. However, when she tried pulling her hand back, he simply gripped her even tighter. Seeing as there was no other choice, she called Frank to bring her friend in.

“What happened, Alyssa?” Hazel rushed into the room to get a better look. At first, she had wanted to see if Alyssa was doing okay and why she had called her in instead of coming out to join her. But as soon as she saw the man lying on the bed, she was shocked. Her jaw dropped, and it took her a few seconds to get herself together.

“Didn't you say Emmett was ugly? Is he ugly? Are you blind or something?"

Frank , who was standing behind her this whole time, felt anxious and quickly explained. "This is the Second Young Master, Mr. Justin."

“Mr. Justin?” Hazel blinked, narrowing her eyes at the way the two were positioned. "Then why is he holding Alyssa's hands? If he really is who you say he is, doesn't he know that she's his sister-in-law? It wouldn't be right to be so physically close to her, wouldn't it? This will cause misunderstanding, especially under Emmett's watch.”

Frank was speechless. At this point, once all of this was over, he was asking for a raise!

When Alyssa heard this, she couldn't help but glance in Frank 's direction. That was also what she was curious about. If he was really Emmett's assistant, shouldn't he be more inclined in keeping them apart rather than pushing them together? Something about this just didn't seem right at all.

Frank thought for a while and explained. “Isn’t sister-in-law like a mother? That's why he's holding her like that."

"Ah, so that's why he called me Mom just now?” Alyssa faked a smile and looked a smile.

Frank wished Emmett would wake up. He couldn’t take it anymore!

Frank wished Emmett would wake up. He couldn’t take it anymore!

"Uhm, Young Master must've woken up now. I should go to him."

Not wanting to be interrogated any further, Frank made an excuse and hurried out of the room.

He never knew that in all his life working for Emmett that he'd actually be more intimidated by two women rather than all the other businessmen he had dealt with in the past. Somehow, he could find himself relating to Xavier's predicament. The man's threat sounded clearer by the second.

“Have a seat. We'll go out for dinner later." Alyssa patted the chair beside her.

Nodding, Hazel sat down, getting a closer look of Justin.

Having worked in the entertainment industry for a few years, she had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women around her. To have a pretty face wasn't as unique anymore, especially after working in such an industry, but even she couldn't help but be surprised upon seeing his face structure. “Holy shit! Is the Lawrence family's genes really that good? Is he even real? He looks handsome! And he isn't even wearing any make-up! Is he a human?” This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

As she was speaking, she slowly reached out to pinch his cheek, wanting to see if he was wearing a mask to cover up any imperfection.

However, her hand was only half-way there when the man on the bed opened his eyes suddenly.

A hint of confusion briefly appeared in his ink-blank eyes, but after his gaze became sharp. He stared at the half-stretched hand moving towards him.

Hazel, who was generally a tough woman, was shocked by his gaze. She drew back her hand immediately and swallowed her saliva. “He is awake.”

Noticing that Emmett was unfriendly, Alyssa hid Hazel behind her and said to him. “What are you

doing? She's my friend. You shouldn't look at her like that!"

When Emmett looked at Alyssa, he instantly calmed down. He said in a hoarse voice, “Water.”

Alyssa raised her hand that was being pulled by him and said angrily, “Then you have to let go of me first!”

Emmett looked at their hands and then at her face. Then he let go of her hand.

When Alyssa was about to go out to get him some water, she heard someone yelling outside.

“I’ll go in and check if he’s dead.”

“He is just sick.”

She was familiar with the voices, but she could only recognize the later one. That was Frank .

Before she could see what all the commotion was about, the door was immediately pushed open and two men marched inside.

Xavier and Frank stood at the door. Looking at their expression, it seemed like they were arguing about something, but she didn't know what.

Xavier didn’t expect that Alyssa was here. He blinked in surprise. He then calmly took out his glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. All sorts of frustration faded from his features as he said politely. “Hi, Mrs. Lawrence, you’re here too.”

“Hello.” Alyssa nodded.

This man changed his attitude very quickly.

“I heard that Justinis sick, so I came to visit him…” Before Xavier could finish he was interrupted.

“Xavier!”

Alyssa turned around to see Hazel rolling up her sleeves and walking towards the CEO of Nine Cloud media with an angry expression. She didn’t even blink her eyes when she punched Xavier’s abdomen fiercely.

Xavier took a few steps back from the sudden punch, even Alyssa couldn't help but frown at the sight. Although it was painful, he didn’t show it. He was calm as if he was already used to her hits.

Alyssa was shocked. What was going on?

After a few seconds of silence, Xavier finally steadied himself. He suddenly chuckled and said in a low voice. “You hit me so hard that I thought you've actually crippled me. Hazel, tell me. if you've actually injured me, will you take care of me?"

"I said I'd hit you every time I saw you, didn't I?" She gazed at him coldly.

Having known each other for years, Alyssa knew her friend from front to back, and she knew how she acted out every time someone had pissed her off. But this was the first time she had ever seen Hazel so violent. Upon closer look, she could even see hatred in her eyes.

Hazel turned to look at Alyssa. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Alyssa nodded in response.

As soon as Hazel left, Xavier acted as if nothing unusual had just happened. He sat on Emmett's bedside, taking in the man's sunken eyes and pale face. "So you really are sick. You're not just faking it, are you?"

Emmett had originally said that he was going to the company today, so when Frank informed him that Emmett was sick, Xavier had a feeling that they were just faking it. Not wanting to face those directors on his own, Xavier came to the villa to see what was happening. However, looking at the bedridden man, it seemed that he really weren't lying to him.

“Leave me alone!” Emmett frowned and detested Xavier.

He then stared at Alyssa in silence.

She understood what he meant. "Let Frank get you some water, if you want."

Alyssa was worried about Hazel, so she immediately went out to check on her as soon as she was finished speaking.

Within a few seconds, the three men were the only ones left in the room.

Emmett looked at Frank coldly. “Get out.”

Frank nodded. “I’ll get you some water.”

"I don't want any water."

“But…” As soon as he saw the look on the man’s face, Frank didn't even continue his sentence as he headed out of the room. He felt that Emmett was getting weirder day by day.

…

When Alyssa saw Hazel, she pulled the later downstairs. “Do you and Xavier know each other?"

“Yeah." Hazel frowned. "That bastard owes me. Even if I beat him to death, he wouldn't even lift a finger."

It was obvious that Hazel held a deep grudge against Xavier.

Seeing Hazel didn't say anything more, Alyssa didn’t ask any further. She also didn’t tell about the interview invitation of Nine Clooud Media.

"Come on, let's go," Alyssa said as she pulled her friend out the door.

The two of them went out to eat together at a nearby restaurant, but just as the dishes were about to be served, Alyssa received a call.

She looked at the number and found it was unfamiliar. She picked it up. “Hello.”

“When are you coming back?”

It was “Justin”. She didn’t keep his number so she didn’t know it was him.

Although “Justin” said in a feeble voice because of illness, his voice was recognizable. Alyssa recognized his voice.

She tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

“I’ve not eaten yet.”

“If you don’t have any appetite, then you can let the doctor give you an IV drip. I’ll…”

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by his gloomy voice. “I want to eat the food you cooked.”

It was rare for him to be gloomy. The voice he was using was actually a stark contrast from his arrogant behavior. There was just something about the way he had spoken to her that made her heart soften in response.

Not knowing how to respond, she hung up the phone.

Although Hazel didn't hear what the other end was saying, she caught some glimpse of Alyssa’s conversation.

She shook the juice in her glass and smiled meaningfully, “Did that handsome cousin call you?”