(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

“A Widowed Leaf!” the shout echoed loudly, causing the listener to raise an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a trendy type of plant?” Ariana asked her cousin.

“What are you doing here?” Amber looked at Ariana, puzzled.Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

“As far as I know, this is still my apartment, Amber,” Ariana replied casually. She, who had been standing in the kitchen, now walked over to the sofa in front of the TV.

“So, are you going to kick me out?” Amber asked, annoyed.

Ariana shrugged. “I’ll think about it later,” she replied and chose to turn on the television.

Amber, who had just put her shoes in the closet, now walked towards Ariana, who was changing channels without any interest in watching TV. “I’m seriously asking you, Ariana. What are you doing here? Does your husband know?”

“I’m sure he knows where I am. You know he has subordinates everywhere,” Ariana replied casually. Amber shook her head, refusing to accept her friend’s answer.

“Are you two fighting again? Are you running away again?” she asked.

Ariana nodded. “I’m following your methods from the other day when you were angry with me,” she said, flashing a sweet smile at Amber.

Amber rolled her eyes. “Are we going to talk about this again? Haven’t I felt embarrassed enough because of you?” she asked, sounding irritated. Ariana leaned casually against the sofa’s backrest, folded her arms in front of her chest, and looked at Amber still with a sweet smile on her face. She then shook her head slowly. “Come on, Ariana. Don’t keep making me feel guilty because I got angry with you,” her friend complained. Ariana responded with a shrug. “So, what’s the reason for your fight now?” Amber chose to change the subject.

“The same reason that made you leave me some time ago,” Ariana replied.

Amber frowned. “Chris again?” she asked. Ariana nodded. “But he’s gone now. What else is Gerald jealous of from him?”

Ariana fell silent for a moment, choosing the right words to say. Then, she walked into her room, grabbed her bag, and handed something from inside it to Amber. At first, Amber assumed the small book was some sort of diary. But when she saw her friend’s logo and name written there, she was shocked. “You?” she asked, looking back and forth between Ariana and the book. “You’re pregnant, Ariana?” she asked, astonished. Ariana nodded in response. “Oh my God… Ariana…” Amber instantly rose and embraced her friend. “Oh God,” she said within the embrace. After hugging Ariana, Amber invited her friend to sit down. “You’re pregnant, but why are you here?” she asked, puzzled.

“Because of Chris,” Ariana answered flatly.

“What does this baby have to do with…” Before she could finish her sentence, Amber stared wide-eyed at Ariana. “Don’t tell me your guy thinks this is Chris’s child!” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. “Ariana, you have to tell your guy the truth. He needs to know that it’s not Chris’s child,” she continued.

Ariana smiled and shook her head. “Gerald clearly knows it’s not Chris’s child,” she replied firmly. “And then?” Amber asked, confused. “If he knows Chris isn’t the father of this baby, why are you still here?”

“Do you really want me not to be here?” Ariana asked back. “Oh my God, I’m asking seriously, Ariana!” Amber replied, annoyed.

Ariana just chuckled. “It’s a long story.”

“I know,” Amber said. “Just give me the conclusion.”

“From the beginning, I didn’t tell Gerald about this pregnancy,” Ariana said matter-of-factly. Amber looked at her with furrowed brows.

“Why? Doesn’t he want to have a child?” she asked, curious.

Ariana shook her head again. “On the contrary, he really, really wants a child,” Ariana replied honestly. “The problem is with me,” she said sadly. “This marriage was never part of my plan, Amber. Let alone a child,” she continued.

“Ariana…” Amber looked at her friend, her heart suddenly filled with sorrow.

“You know about my past. You know everything. Being a mother was never in my plans. It was never even in my life’s dictionary to become someone’s wife,” she said, her throat choked.

“Ariana…”

“But now, I’ve changed my mind,” she replied softly. “I’m surprisingly comfortable with all of this. I love Axel. That kid makes me feel like I’m worthy, like I can be a mother. His acceptance, his genuine attitude, they’ve changed my mind and made me believe that I can be a better mother than that woman ever was, and Gerald too. For the first time in twenty-five years, I feel truly wanted, needed, and missed,” a tear escaped her eye.

“Ariana…” once again, Amber could only whisper her friend’s name softly.

“I thought this marriage would work out. And when he said he wanted to have a child with me, you can’t imagine how happy I was. In the end, I became a part of someone’s future plans. And I was genuinely happy, even though back then I said the opposite,” Ariana wiped her tears roughly. “And when I found out that one by one those desires were coming true, my happiness grew. I couldn’t believe all of this was happening to me. I kept wondering if I deserved all of this,” she said, unbelieving. “But once again, reality isn’t as beautiful as dreams,” she continued.

Amber looked at Ariana in silence. “Does all of this have something to do with that?” Amber pointed to a small plastic container inside Ariana’s bag. Ariana nodded. “Gerald doesn’t know about this?” she asked again. Ariana shook her head once more.

“I was given a choice, Lan,” Ariana replied softly. “And when I gave myself time to choose, reality came.” She replied sadly. “Shelma and Karenina really haven’t let Gerald go for me.” She said with a bitter smile.

“What else has Karen done?”

“Gerald thinks I didn’t tell him about this baby because I wanted to abort it.”

“What?”

“Just to chase Chris,” Ariana continued.

“Insane!” Amber exclaimed. “Ariana! You really need to tell Gerald the truth. How could he think like that?”

Ariana shook her head. “Believe me, explaining something to someone who doesn’t want to hear any reason is futile,” Ariana replied with a cynical smile.

“Ariana..” Amber grabbed Ariana’s hand and squeezed it gently. “So what now? Are you going to just let it be? Let those two widowed leaves win?”

Ariana shrugged. “It’s like me needing time to control my emotions. I also know Gerald needs time to clear his mind.”

“But if left alone, one small problem can become a ticking time bomb.”