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

’This is impossible. I must have some kind of psychological disorder.’

"Miss Kane, are you hesitant to communicate with me because you have some concerns? Do you not find me trustworthy, or is it something else?"

"Yes..."

But Adrian Preston’s status was unique. If anyone found out about his professional misconduct, he could very well go to prison.

She couldn’t get over that mental block, but she also understood that Adrian Preston was trying to save her.

That dream just now... she had begged him for it, pleaded with him to give it to her.

The thought made her burn with shame.

"Miss Kane, since you have something you can’t talk about, I won’t press you. But if you’re going to see a psychiatrist, you need to trust me."

"Miss Kane, why don’t you go home and rest for now. Come back when you’ve thought things through."

The doctor was pleasant from start to finish, showing no signs of annoyance.

At Mia Kane’s strong insistence, he prescribed some sedatives to help her sleep.

Mia Kane left the hospital in a daze. She thought she had only been asleep for a short hour, but to her surprise, it was already dark outside.

Just then, a familiar car pulled up in front of her.

Adrian Preston hurried out. "Why did you come to the hospital? Are you not feeling well?"

He had just arrived, likely after getting a message from one of his men.

Mia Kane stared blankly at the handsome face before her. The worry and urgency in his eyes weren’t an act.

He really did care about her.

"I’m fine. It’s just an irregular period."

Adrian Preston didn’t ask any more questions. He just glanced back thoughtfully at the hospital entrance.

He took Mia Kane home. She was clearly unhappy and listless, and she shut herself in her room immediately.

Adrian Preston got a call from Theo Thorne.

"Your wife went to see a psychiatrist. She suspects she has Stockholm syndrome, but no matter how the doctor questioned her, she wouldn’t say anything more. It seems she doesn’t trust him. She rested there all afternoon and seemed out of it when she woke up."

"Adrian, is she talking about you?"

Theo Thorne asked cautiously.

Adrian Preston didn’t respond and hung up the phone directly.

He went to check on Mia Kane in her room. When there was no response to his knock, he grew worried and opened the door, walking right in.

Mia Kane was suffering from anxiety, holding a pill bottle and taking her medication.

She took one pill, then immediately another, and then a third...

Adrian Preston realized something was wrong and quickly snatched the bottle away.

"How many did you take?"

Mia Kane finally snapped out of it. She had been lost in thought and hadn’t paid attention to how many she had taken.

’I think I was only supposed to take two before bed.’

"I don’t know..."

Adrian Preston glanced at the bottle. It was a 30-pill prescription, and it looked like more than half were gone. This was no joke.

"Spit them out. Now."

"How... I can’t..."

Adrian Preston actually stuck his fingers into her mouth, probing deep into her throat.

A wave of nausea immediately hit her, and she started to gag repeatedly.

She rushed into the bathroom and threw up everything in her stomach.

"Come on. We’re going to the hospital to get your stomach pumped."

"I... I think I got it all up..."

She felt like she had thrown up her guts. Her stomach was completely empty; there couldn’t be any medicine left.

She turned her head and met Adrian Preston’s bloodshot eyes. He looked like a wild beast in the jungle, his gaze churning with a mix of fury and restraint.

His large hand mercilessly gripped her wrist.

"You’re that bothered by it, aren’t you? Living under the same roof with me feels that suffocating to you."

"Yes..."

"Fine, Mia Kane. This is the only chance I’m giving you. I agree to the divorce. I’ll let you go. But this is the one and only time. If you ever willingly come near me again, I will never let you go!"

Adrian Preston seemed to have made a monumental decision to let her leave.

Before he had truly tasted her.

Before he lost control of his feelings.

Before he lost his conscience and descended into madness.

He—was letting her go!

"Mia Kane, you got what you wanted. Happy now? I’ll see you at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow."

After saying his piece, Adrian Preston turned and left, not daring to linger for a second longer, afraid he would go back on his word.

Mia Kane’s head was spinning. She never expected things to escalate so quickly.

Adrian Preston had finally agreed to a divorce. She wouldn’t have to spiral any further; she could get her emotions under control. But why... why did her heart ache as if pricked by a thousand tiny needles?

’Miss Kane, I think you’re perfectly normal...’

For some reason, the doctor’s words kept replaying in her mind.

She was normal. She wasn’t sick. The only explanation was that she had fallen in love with Adrian Preston—fallen in love with him before she knew the truth.

But the sudden realization that the man she loved had done something to hurt her was too much to accept. The internal conflict was draining her, and the narrative she’d woven for herself was becoming more and more painful.

She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

「The next day」

She woke up early and noticed Adrian Preston hadn’t gone for his morning run—a habit he stuck to, rain or shine, but had now broken.

He was sitting at the dining table, his expression as composed as ever. It seemed she was the only one who hadn’t slept well last night.

She didn’t know that Adrian Preston hadn’t slept a wink, that he’d spent the entire night wanting to take it all back, tormented to the brink of insanity.

Adrian Preston had always known there was a demon living inside him. Once it broke out of its cage, not even he could control it.

His only choice was to divorce her now, while he still had a grip on his sanity, and avoid doing anything to hurt her.

The divorce agreement lay by his hand, already written up. She would get everything she was owed, not a penny less.

She had seen this agreement before. The assets listed were more than last time, not less; the rest was unchanged.

"Sign it," he said coldly. "Then we’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau."

Mia Kane no longer hesitated. She picked up the pen and signed her name.

The only sound in the entire dining room was the SCRATCH of the pen on paper. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Both of them unconsciously held their breath.

As he watched her write the final stroke, Adrian Preston’s heart finally died.

Neither of them ate breakfast. They went straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau, becoming the first couple to file for divorce after the staff started their day.

When the divorce certificate was issued, Mia Kane let out a secret sigh of relief.

’This relationship that never should have been... let it end here.’

Adrian Preston stood at the entrance and gave her one last, deep look without a word. Then he got straight into his car, not even offering her a ride.

Mia Kane couldn’t help but think how quickly his attitude had changed. In that instant, it was as if there had never been any feelings between them.

But he was doing the right thing, being clean and decisive, acting rationally.

Unlike her, who was always far too emotional.

Mia Kane didn’t take the villa. She just packed her things and left.

After she was gone, a maid immediately called Adrian Preston.

"The missus has left with her suitcase. Should we stop her?"

"Don’t bother. From now on, her affairs will have nothing to do with you."

Adrian Preston hung up and appeared at the villa not long after.

He went to Mia Kane’s room. Seeing everything inside, he couldn’t help but laugh—a lonely, self-deprecating laugh.

He looked at what she had brought with her and what she had taken. Of all the clothes, jewelry, and cosmetics he had bought for her, she hadn’t taken a single thing.

Some items still had their tags on, brand new and unopened.

The room was filled with her scent, yet the person herself would never return.

Adrian Preston sat on the bed, gently stroking her pillow, his expression full of sorrow.

Just then, a voice spoke in his ear.

"You’re useless. Aren’t you the president of the Preston Group? Aren’t you powerful and influential? You can’t even keep one woman. What good are you?"