(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

“Jealousy?” Ariana snorted. “In your dreams,” she replied, shoving food into her mouth with a rough gesture.

Gerald laughed at her reaction. “Why does my wife look so adorable when she’s angry?” he murmured. They continued eating in silence. Ariana was trying to contain her frustration, and Gerald, knowing her well, chose to remain silent, not intending to further fuel the situation. He already knew Ariana’s character well enough not to provoke her further. He understood that Ariana was feeling jealous, and that alone warmed his heart.

Ariana continued working as the restaurant began to fill up again. Meanwhile, her wife was working downstairs. Gerald decided to join her in her office. He intentionally waited for Ariana to finish her work so they could return home together.

At ten o’clock, when the restaurant closed, the doorbell rang again. Dara, who had returned to her place at the front desk, came towards the cash register with a gleam in her eyes.

“Uhh… How sweet,” she said with an intentionally coquettish tone.

Ariana, who was counting, looked up at Dara with a furrowed brow. “What’s so sweet?” she asked, confused. And Ariana’s answer became apparent behind Dara.

A man in a red uniform with his typical cap arrived carrying two large bundles of pizza. Ariana furrowed her brow. She noticed a few remaining customers in the restaurant who looked puzzled as well. How could a pizza delivery person be delivering food to a restaurant? They could easily assume that Leonida’s had become a reseller for that particular pizza chain, right?

“Who ordered all of this?” Ariana asked, perplexed.

“My husband,” Dara answered promptly. Ariana could only nod, although she still didn’t understand her husband’s intent.

After unloading all the boxes and signing the receipt, the delivery person left. Meanwhile, Dara took all the pizzas to the kitchen where her other staff was waiting. Ariana, on the other hand, left her work and went upstairs. She opened the door and saw Gerald still busy working on his laptop. “Finished?” he asked calmly.

Ariana was still frowning. “Did you order pizza?” she countered.

“Has it arrived?” he interpreted her question as a ‘yes’. Ariana reflexively nodded. “Good, I hope I counted correctly,” he replied.

“But why?” Ariana asked again because she didn’t understand the purpose of his gesture.

Gerald shrugged. “No reason. I just wanted to make your employees happy. They must have been tired dealing with so many customers all day,” he replied diplomatically. Ariana could only nod again.

Gerald then closed his laptop. “So, is your work done?” he asked again. Ariana nodded but then shook her head.

“There are still a few things I need to finish,” she continued. “I’ll go down now.” But before Ariana could leave, Gerald grabbed her hand.

“Aren’t you going to thank me?” Gerald asked, his smile teasing.

“Th-thank you for what?” Ariana squinted her eyes suspiciously at Gerald.

“I’ve been so considerate to your employees. As a good boss, you should appreciate it by saying thank you,” he replied again.

Ariana continued to furrow her brow but then muttered, “Thank you,” sounding insincere. Gerald laughed at her response. “I don’t want just words, my dear,” he replied, stepping closer. “Then what do you want?” Ariana challenged him.

Gerald leaned forward even more. He put his hand on Ariana’s waist and pulled his wife’s body close.

“I think one long kiss is enough.” the man answered. Gerald then touched Ariana’s jaw with his right hand, lifted his wife’s face, and looked deeply into her eyes. He was seeing if there was a possibility that Ariana would reject him. But his wife did not refuse or rebel. And Gerald took that as a green light. He lowered his head and kissed his wife’s lips briefly. He was still waiting for a rejection from Ariana. And then he continued the kiss into a hot kiss.

Gerald moved and guided Ariana’s body to the back of the door. He supported the girl’s back with his left hand so it didn’t press against the door while his lips were still ravaging Ariana’s mouth. His tongue came into play, as did Ariana’s tongue. They taste each other. Each wants to be satisfied. Even when Gerald’s hands started playing naughty by slipping into the girl’s clothes, Ariana didn’t resist and instead puffed out her chest even more.

Gerald was certainly enthusiastic. He lowered his head, ready to kiss Ariana’s neck, but a knock interrupted them. The knock was loud enough for them to hear clearly from behind the door.

Ariana immediately pulled away from the kiss. “Yes?” she called out loudly.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

“Come down, please. The pizza will get cold,” Dara’s voice, which Gerald had now become familiar with, came from behind the door.

Ariana glanced at Gerald, knowing he was as passionate as she was. She couldn’t help but chuckle at his situation. “It’s your fault for bringing the pizza here. So, we have to finish it,” Ariana said softly, then her voice grew louder. “We’ll be down in a minute,” she said. The response they received was silence, indicating that Dara had gone back downstairs.

Gerald looked at Ariana with a disappointed expression. “You don’t have to go down. You can ask them to finish it, and if they can’t, they can pack it and take it home. There must be family members at their homes, right?” Gerald complained. He reached for Ariana’s waist again, intending to kiss her once more. However, Ariana held his face with both hands, preventing him from approaching her.

“Come on, Honey. Bear with it,” he whined.

Ariana stared at him and then shook her head. “No, Honey. Not now,” she replied playfully.

Gerald was momentarily stunned. He was surprised, of course. But he knew this wasn’t a dream. For the two things Ariana had just done in front of him, Gerald felt like he had entered a fantasy world. Ariana called him ‘Honey’ and acted coquettishly toward him? It was something Gerald had never imagined before.

“So, come on. Let’s go downstairs and join them,” Ariana continued in her firm tone. Gerald shook his head when Ariana was about to open the door. “What now?” she asked impatiently.

“Do you want to go down looking messy?” Gerald asked again. Ariana was instantly wide-eyed. She saw her reflection in the wardrobe mirror. Even though she wasn’t wearing makeup, she noticed her messy ponytail and her clothes peeking out of her jeans. She looked at Gerald with a raised eyebrow. Accusations were silently hurled at him. Gerald, seeing the accusing look on his wife’s face, burst into laughter. He helped Ariana tidy her top while she tucked it back into her jeans. When they were done, he gently kissed her forehead.

Gerald extended his hand, requesting Ariana’s. Understanding, she offered her hand, and he held it, their fingers intertwining, his much larger hand enveloping hers, warm and comforting.