Using Me as a Substitute? Did You Know Your Best Friend Calls Me Wife?

Theo Thorne was anxious. If Mia asked Adrian to take care of himself, Adrian would surely do it.

Adrian Preston already had a low-grade fever after his meeting, but he kept on working.

Theo Thorne couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he went to find Mia Kane.

Mia Kane was at her studio, handling some business.

"Mia, Adrian is working around the clock. He’s skipping lunch and only sleeping four or five hours a night. Even someone made of steel couldn’t handle this. You don’t even have to see him—just call or text him. Tell him to get some rest and not to wear himself out. He’ll definitely listen to you."

"It’s his own body. If he won’t take care of it, what’s that got to do with me? Theo, don’t make me out to be so important. My relationship with Adrian is... nothing special."

She pursed her lips. As she uttered those two words, she felt a pang of guilt.

"You should go. I’m busy."

"Mia..."

"See yourself out."

Mia Kane was completely unmoved.

Theo Thorne could only leave, disappointed. When he returned to the company, Adrian hadn’t eaten a single bite and was hunched over his documents.

"Adrian, please eat something. How can your stomach handle this?"

"It’s fine. I’m not hungry."

"President Preston, the head of Stellaris Tech is here. He’s waiting for you in the conference room."

Just then, the intercom line buzzed.

Adrian Preston immediately agreed and stood up to go.

But as soon as he stood, the world spun, and he nearly collapsed.

Theo Thorne rushed to steady him and found his skin was burning hot. This wasn’t a low-grade fever anymore; he was running a high one.

"Adrian, you have to go to the hospital with me."

"After I finish this meeting."

"You can’t..."

"Theo, I promise I’ll go to the hospital with you after this meeting."

Theo Thorne had no choice but to concede.

But the meeting dragged on for two or three hours. After the client left, Adrian’s body swayed, and he had to lean against the wall just to stay upright.

"Adrian... Quick, get the car! We’re going to the hospital."

Theo Thorne got him to the hospital as fast as he could. After taking some medicine, Adrian finally got to rest.

His condition wasn’t good. The doctor recommended admitting him for treatment.

The wound kept getting infected. With it being summer, bacteria were thriving. If it got any worse, the doctor was afraid he might not be able to save the arm.

"Okay, I’ll make sure Adrian stays in the hospital."

This time, Adrian Preston didn’t object. He wasn’t about to gamble with his own arm.

Theo Thorne tried to contact Mia Kane again.

"Adrian’s sick. Can you come to the hospital to see him?"

"Go find Shannon Preston. What does this have to do with me?"

"Theo, don’t call me unless it’s an emergency. I have no obligation to him."

Once again, Mia Kane heartlessly refused.

Theo Thorne angrily hung up.

"That heartless woman. And after Adrian was so good to her..."

Fuming, Theo Thorne turned to check on Adrian’s IV drip, only to find Adrian’s eyes wide open. He had no idea when he’d woken up.

Theo Thorne’s heart clenched. "Adrian... I... I..."

"Don’t bother her again."

"But Adrian, you got hurt because of her."

"No. I hurt myself willingly to atone for what I did. That’s on me. Why are you trying to guilt-trip Mia? She did nothing wrong. She’s been wronged terribly. It’s only right that she doesn’t forgive me."

"Theo, stop contacting her. I don’t want her pity."

Adrian Preston closed his eyes. Beneath the blanket, his hand clenched silently.

’It still hurts.’

Helpless, Theo Thorne turned and left, leaving Adrian alone in the room.

After that, he knew better than to contact Mia Kane again.

It was time for Mia Kane’s follow-up appointment. Her malnutrition had caused her blood pressure to become unstable, so the doctor had told her to rest up and come back for another check-up to make sure there were no lingering effects.

Not daring to delay, she went to her appointment, with Owen Sinclair accompanying her.

A place like a hospital felt too lonely to visit alone. Having someone with her made it a little easier to bear.

Mia Kane didn’t expect to see Theo Thorne there.

He was at the front desk taking care of some paperwork and didn’t notice her before hurrying away.

Mia Kane froze. Theo Thorne had kept saying Adrian was sick, that his condition wasn’t good, hoping she would go see him.

But she’d been angry and had refused every time.

Theo hadn’t contacted her in the last couple of days, so she’d assumed it was just a minor illness and that Adrian had already recovered. But seeing Theo at the hospital now... did that mean Adrian was still here, too?

"Mia, why’d you stop walking?"

"Owen... could you do me a favor and ask about something? Adrian Preston... is he in this hospital? Is he sick? Is it serious?"

"Sure, I’ll go ask for you."

"Just... don’t say I was the one asking, okay?"

"Okay, I understand."

Owen Sinclair agreed with a smile, but as he turned away, it faded into a bitter expression.

’If Mia knew how I felt about her,’ he thought, ’she’d understand how much a simple request like this could hurt.’

Owen Sinclair returned shortly after Mia finished her check-up. Everything was fine with her health.

The issue was just severe malnourishment, which had caused her to miss her period. She’d need to take good care of herself to get back on track.

"He has an infection and was hospitalized with a fever. I managed to get it out of Theo. It sounds pretty serious."

"An infection? Where’s the infection?" she asked urgently.

"I’m not sure about that. If you’re really that worried, you should go see for yourself."

"What’s there for me to worry about? It’s his body. If he doesn’t care about it, why should I?"

Mia Kane said, feigning indifference.

She turned and walked away, acting as if she hadn’t given it a second thought.

Owen Sinclair watched her leave and quietly shook his head. Then, he secretly sent a text message. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Night fell, and Mia Kane found herself back at the hospital.

"Excuse me, I’m looking for a patient named Adrian Preston?"

"And you are?"

"I’m his wife. I heard he was admitted, and I came to see him. Could you tell me his room number?"

Afraid the nurse wouldn’t believe her, she had even brought their marriage certificate and household register.

After looking them over, the nurse stopped giving her a hard time and told her the floor and room number in the inpatient wing.

"What happened to him? Is it serious?"

"Infection from a knife wound."

’A knife wound?’

Her heart sank. ’How could it be a knife wound? I thought it was just a bad cold or something.’

She put on a mask and let her hair down before heading over, afraid of being recognized.

’If Theo is there watching over him, I’ll just peek from a distance to make sure he’s okay.’

She reached the top floor of the inpatient wing. It was noticeably quieter, the environment much nicer.

Her path was clear, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

Theo wasn’t in the room. There wasn’t even a nurse’s aide.

Adrian was asleep, but obviously not resting well. His brow was tightly furrowed, and he let out an occasional cough.

Mia’s heart ached as she watched from the doorway. ’How could Theo be so careless? Leaving him all alone in the middle of the night... What if something happens?’

She crept inside and saw he was still feverish, a fine sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

His medical chart was clipped to the foot of the bed. She studied it closely.

Two knife wounds on the left arm... wound infection with suppuration... bacterial inflammation...

She moved to the bedside and gently pushed up the sleeve of Adrian’s hospital gown.

His left arm was wrapped tightly in bandages, but fresh blood was slowly seeping through, staining the gauze.

She couldn’t see the wound itself, but she could tell the cuts were long.

’It must hurt so much.’

She gently stroked the bandage, a lump forming in her throat.

She even blew on it softly, as if that could ease his pain.

"It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Just then, a gentle, magnetic voice sounded from above her, making her heart skip a beat.