CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 47

Alyssa raced out of the villa, lowering her flushed face to avoid being seen by the bodyguards who were passing by. As soon as she reached the front gates, she leaned against the columns and exhaled heavily.

She must stay far away from “Justin” if she knew what's good for her. The man just didn't know when to stop! Even as the cool breeze brushed up against her face, the warmth still hadn't faded as much as she would like it to.

Just as she was about to check the time, a car stopped right beside her. She turned her head almost instinctively to see that the window had been lowered, revealing “Justin’s” cold dark eyes. In an instant, she froze.

The moment their gazes collided Alyssa felt her entire world stopping before her. A light shiver shot down her spine, followed by the warmth of natural sunlight. Quickly moving her eyes away, she quickened her pace.

Emmett drove slowly and closely followed her. He kept his car alongside her and said in a low voice with a commanding tone, “Get in the car.”

"There's no need." She continued her walk and she said.

Although surprised, Emmett understood where it was coming from. She wanted to draw a line with him, at least, with 'Justin'. Given that he was technically her brother-in-law, it would be inappropriate to lengthen their contact with each other. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The corners of his lips rose into a cool smile. "When will you realize the truth?" He shook his head, his

words remained unheard by the woman walking ahead of him.

Alyssa continued to walk. However, as soon as she sensed that the car wasn't following her anymore, she couldn't help but turn back.

The car was already parked at the side of the road, and “Justin” had already stepped out. He was walking towards her. His face was covered with indifference and determination. There was something about the way he walked that looked a little intimidating.

Within a few seconds, he picked her by the waist and carried her into the car before she could react. After stuffing her into the passenger seat, he slammed the door shut.

Alyssa was dumbfounded. What the hell just happened now?

"Justin!" Alyssa was so angry that she laughed. "Can you stop messing around?"

"Who's messing around?" Emmett glanced at her coldly before continuing his drive down the road.

"Who do you think?"

He acted as if he didn't hear her as he stared straight ahead at the road. After a few seconds of silence, he tilted his head. "Address?"

Alyssa didn't answer him. Instead of asking again, he simply grabbed her phone from her pockets and flipped to the message that Aurora had sent her. It was the address of the restaurant they were meeting at.

"Did you eavesdrop on me?" With her eyes wide, she snatched the phone from his grip. Otherwise, how would he know that she was going out to see Aurora?

…

In a few minutes, they finally arrived at the restaurant.

Alyssa didn't gotten out of the car immediately. Instead, she stared at the restaurant's transparent floor- to-ceiling windows, spotting Aurora sitting at one of the tables. There weren't many people surrounding her table, so it was easy to see her from afar.

The older woman was glancing around from time to time as if she was looking for someone.

Emmett glanced at the passenger seat. Upon seeing that Alyssa made no intentions of going into the restaurant, he raised his eyebrow. "Do you plan to sit and look at her this entire time?" His voice was mocking.

However, she didn't say a word in response.

However, she didn't say a word in response.

All these years, she had waited for Aurora to care for her, waited for her to appear in that movie theatre, waited for her to treat her to dinner. Ever since she was a little kid, she had done all the waiting. Now, it was time for her to get a taste of her own medicine.

Let Aurora experience what it was like to be hung out to dry.

Emmett looked out of the window on his side of the car to see a restaurant not far ahead. Without bothering to ask her, he drove straight to the parking lot and pulled her into the said restaurant.

He quickly took her to a table on the second floor that was by the window. From there, they could watch Aurora from afar with no one to stop them. Even then, Alyssa still didn't say another word.

The waiter brought the menu to them, and Emmett directly pushed it to Alyssa.

She looked up to see that “Justin” had handed her the menu. Although she still hadn't said a word, he seemed to know what she was thinking.

"What are you looking at? Order what you want to eat."

Alyssa regained her senses. He had been looking down at his phone. How could he know that she was looking at him? Could it be that he had an eye on the top of his head?

Since they were already here, it would be embarrassing if they didn't order anything. She ignored the awkwardness and ordered some dishes.

Once she was finished, Emmett also ordered two dishes.

Alyssa couldn't help but turn her head to Aurora once again. A dark shadow encompassed her face as her eyes flashed in discomfort. Although she had wanted the older woman to wait for her, she still couldn't help but feel a twist in her heart.

Luckily, other than a few jeers and hollers, “Justin” didn't say a word as if he completely understood what was going on.

"This is the first time she invited me to dinner." She seemed to talking to herself rather than to him. Just as the words slipped past her lips, she saw another car stopping at the entrance of the restaurant. Skylar walked right out of the backseat.

Alyssa sneered and continued. "But I guess she had other motives. She always does."

Skylar went directly to the table where Aurora was seated. Due to the distance, she couldn't hear what they were saying, but from the way, Skylar was waving her hands, she could see that the later was already losing her temper.

The two of them argued for a while before Aurora lowered her head and picked up her phone. A few seconds later, Alyssa's phone rang.

She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Alyssa, why aren't you here yet? Didn't we agree to have lunch together?" Aurora struggled to suppress the anger in her words, but even then Alyssa could hear the impatience and annoyance around her tone.

Alyssa said indifferently. "I'm still on the bus. The road's blocked and the traffic's terrible."

"Hurry up," She said, relieved, before hanging up the phone.

Alyssa watched as the two communicated her response. Within the next few seconds, Skylar nodded

reluctantly and left the table. However, just as she had expected, that woman didn't leave the restaurant.

Was Skylar really that excited to see her after what had happened last night? Did she believe that Alyssa had been ruined by five men that she had hired? Did she really want to see how 'miserable' she was?

If that was the case, then shouldn’t she appear and give that woman a hard slap?

So many scenarios had rushed into her mind that she didn't even notice that the food was already being served. Emmett’s voice pulled her back to reality. “Eat.”

Coming back to her senses, she stared at the dishes laid out before her before glancing back at him. Suddenly, a brief memory flashed in her mind. Frank had said that he had allowed her to stay by Justin's side because she reminded him of his mother at that time. She pursed her lips curiously. "You've been staying at Emmett's place for a while...Are your parents around?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed that he had stopped eating. His face darkened, and something in his eyes flickered with intensity.

Feeling as if she had crossed the line, she immediately picked up a piece of pork with her chopsticks and placed it into his bowl. "Why don't you eat more?"

Her voice was softer this time, and his expression softened.

The two of them finished their meal in silence.

Alyssa was about to pay the bill, but before she could, Emmett grabbed her by the wrist. After paying the bill, he turned around and said seriously. "When a man and a woman eat together, it's only natural that a man should pay."

"I'm your sister-in-law. Since Emmett us older than you, I should pay the bill." She responded just as quickly.

"Well, the bill's already paid. But..." He leaned in close enough that their noses were almost touching and whispered. "If you really feel bad about it, you can kiss me to compensate for the unpaid bill. What do you say?"

"You can pay the bill yourself if you insist on it." She'd rather die in a hole than kiss him again!

Her cheeks flamed as she shook off his hand. Without another word, she stomped right out of the restaurant.

"He's just kidding." Alyssa whispered to herself, slapping her cheeks. "Get yourself together, Alyssa!"

Emmett stared at her retreating figure, laughing silently.

…

In the end, Alyssa didn't go to the restaurant to see Aurora or Skylar. Instead, she headed straight home after. It was obvious that Aurora had ulterior motives, and with Skylar coming after her, she surely wouldn't hear the end of it.

Aurora tried calling her again and again, but she didn't pick up.

Just when she had assumed that the matter was over, the next morning, she received a call from Jason .

"Alyssa, you've been looking for a job recently, haven't you? Why don't you come to work for our company? That way, not only will you receive better treatment, but you'll also be part of the family business." Jason said so sincerely that she had almost believed him.

"I would love to, but I've already found a job."

Between Moore Group and Nine Clouds Media, she'd obviously choose Nine Clouds with no hesitation. She wouldn't even consider the Moore Group as an option, at least not anymore.

There was a brief silence from the other end of the line before he offered, "How about I give you a few shares if you start working for us?"

Shares?

She couldn’t help but straightened her back, suspecting that she had heard wrongly.

Her older siblings both held shares in Moore Group's, and as such, they received cash and share dividends every year. Even Aurora held a few shares from the company. Back then, they had refused to give her even one share, saying that she had to earn her way up herself. Although pitifully late, the shares could come in handy for her in the future.