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

"Are you okay?" she asked hurriedly.

"I’m fine."

He helped her up with one hand. His other arm hung limply at his side, clearly dislocated.

Old Parrish rushed over to check on him.

"Come to my office. I’ll set it for you. Mia, you should go to the infirmary too and get checked out, just in case."

Adrian had a dislocated shoulder, something the infirmary staff couldn’t handle. Old Parrish, however, was an expert at this.

He led Adrian away.

When Adrian took off his shirt, a large, swollen bruise covered his back.

"Grit your teeth. This will be over in a second."

Old Parrish gripped his arm, rotating it gently before suddenly yanking it with force.

The color drained from Adrian’s face, and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Before it was popped back in, every movement had been excruciating.

After, his arm was completely numb.

He let out a long breath and gave it a gentle shake.

"Don’t put too much strain on this arm for a while. You don’t want it to dislocate again."

"Got it."

"Let me put some medicinal wine on it. The stuff they have in the infirmary is nothing compared to my family’s secret recipe. Back when we were running missions, who didn’t beg me for a bottle to take with them?"

Old Parrish’s eyes lit up as he spoke of the old days.

It was a shame he’d been injured on a mission and could never go back.

"By the way, what’s going on with you and your wife? You two have been fighting lately, haven’t you?"

"It’s nothing."

"’It’s nothing,’ he says. We can all see it plain as day. Your wife is mad at you and won’t give you the time of day, yet you still come running over here every day, hoping to see her. If you ask me, women are easy to please. A few kisses and hugs, a bouquet of flowers, take her to a movie, create a little romance... all her anger will just melt away."

"Old Parrish, the mistake I made this time was serious. She might never be able to forgive me."

"Did you cheat on her?" Old Parrish asked in shock.

Adrian wanted to deny it, but he felt the gravity of the situation was no less than infidelity.

"Something like that..." he mumbled.

"How could you cheat? Do I not know what kind of person you are? You wouldn’t do something so shameless. Did your wife find out you used to have a secret crush on someone? Let me tell you, women get really hung up on that stuff. Back when I was at the police academy, there was someone I had a mutual thing with, but it never went anywhere, you know?"

"Some son of a bitch ratted me out to my wife, and now she brings it up whenever she gets the chance. There’s nothing I can do about it! But hey, it just goes to show she cares about you. Otherwise, who would give a damn about your ancient history, right?"

"A secret crush?" Adrian frowned. ’I’ve buried that deep in my heart and never told a soul. How could Old Parrish possibly know?’

Seeing his expression, Old Parrish knew what he was thinking and let out a sly chuckle. "There was one time, on a mission, you nearly died. We happened to be near customs and pulled you out. You had a raging fever and were completely delirious, just kept repeating someone’s name. I don’t remember it now, but I’m sure it was a girl’s name."

"When you woke up, the first thing you did was look for your pocket watch, clutching it like it was the most precious thing in the world. I took a peek, you know. There was a photo of a young girl inside, but it was ruined by the water. Real pity. Otherwise, I would’ve known which girl it was that haunted your dreams."

"But let me give you some big brotherly advice: that’s all in the past. You can’t be holding on to improper thoughts now. Your wife is a really good person. You need to build a good life with her."

Old Parrish droned on, full of earnest advice.

Adrian was exasperated. ’What in the world is he talking about?’

’The only name I could have been calling was Mia’s.’

’The photo in the pocket watch was of Mia, too.’

"Don’t worry, I’m going to build a good life with her. I don’t have any other ideas."

"Good. Just appease her a little. The fact that she’s on your case means you should be happy. The day she stops is the day you should really start worrying."

"Old Parrish, you’re a real comfort, but maybe you should talk a little less."

Adrian pulled on his shirt, ready to go see Mia.

For a moment, Old Parrish couldn’t tell if Adrian was complimenting him or insulting him.

Mia, who had been standing at the door, heard his voice and quickly slipped away.

She only had a few scrapes, which were quickly treated with some iodine at the infirmary.

She had been worried about Adrian’s injury and had come to check on him, only to overhear that entire conversation.

’So, Adrian had a girl he’d been secretly in love with for years. He was calling her name even when he was unconscious from a serious injury, and he even carried her photo with him.’

’That’s Adrian’s past. I have no right to interfere. Besides, I’m determined to get a divorce, so it has nothing to do with me.’

’But for some reason, there was a tightness in her chest, a painful feeling.’

Adrian saw Mia as soon as he came downstairs.

"How are you? Are you sure nothing else is wrong?"

"I’m fine. What about you?"

"I’m fine, too. If you want to go riding again, you have to take me with you. I’m going to tell Old Parrish that if I’m not here, he’s absolutely forbidden from letting you get on a horse alone. It’s too dangerous. I can’t rest easy otherwise."

"I know... I’m tired, I want to go home early..."

Mia quickened her pace, not wanting to talk to him any more than she had to. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Adrian saw her back to the villa, then left.

The housekeepers were doing a deep clean. Since the study was a priority, Mia stayed inside to supervise them, just to be safe. She worried they might steal an important document—after all, you can never be too careful.

One of them was cleaning a bookshelf when she accidentally knocked over a box, spilling its contents onto the floor.

The housekeeper was terrified and scrambled to pick everything up.

Just then, a round object rolled to a stop at Mia’s feet.

Mia instinctively bent down to pick it up. It was a pocket watch with chipped paint, its chain missing.

She suddenly remembered what Old Parrish had said—that this was the watch with the other girl’s photo inside.

She wanted to open it but forced herself to resist.

’Curiosity about someone is the first step toward falling for them.’

’What do I care about Adrian’s past love life!’

Feigning disinterest, she handed it to the housekeeper. "Put this away properly."

The housekeeper quickly gathered the items. They had come from a small, exquisitely crafted wooden box. Inside was a small strawberry hair clip, a letter folded into the shape of a heart, and a small stuffed doll.

They were all things a young girl would own.

The box had been placed on the very top shelf. One might have thought it held something valuable, but it was just full of these worthless little trinkets.

’Adrian treasures it so much. The person he had a crush on back then must have been really special.’

’So why did he marry me?’

’Why didn’t he go find his secret love?’

The more Mia thought about it, the angrier she became. She wanted to go and confront Adrian right then and there, but she held herself back.

She realized her emotions were out of whack. A terrifying psychological condition suddenly came to mind: Stockholm syndrome.

A rare psychological disorder where a victim, in response to being persecuted, develops a rapport and emotional bond with their captor as a self-preservation mechanism, born from a fear of death and an admiration for the powerful, eventually falling in love with their abuser.

’Isn’t that just a completely twisted mental illness?’

Mia panicked. After what she’d been through, she had lived in fear for a long time, but she had never considered seeking therapy from a psychologist.

Even after being betrayed by Chase Lockwood, wasting three years of her life on him, she hadn’t thought about seeing a therapist.

But now... she was utterly terrified. ’Falling for Adrian must be a symptom of an illness,’ she thought. ’I’m just sick. I can definitely cure myself!’