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

Mia Kane knew Adrian Preston wasn’t the type to kick someone when they were down.

She knew her own gaze held no special meaning.

She knew all of it...

But she was in such a pathetic state right now that her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts.

Beside him, Charlotte noticed something was off with Adrian Preston. He had stopped walking, his body stiff, his profound gaze fixed on something in the distance.

She followed his line of sight and saw Mia Kane as well.

"Adrian, do you know her?"

Charlotte asked in her less-than-fluent Chinese.

Hearing Charlotte’s intimate way of addressing him, Mia realized with a pang that she hadn’t expected them to be so close already.

"I don’t."

Adrian Preston said indifferently, then looked straight ahead and led Charlotte away.

He didn’t spare her another glance, striding away with his entourage, and they were gone in moments.

Mia suppressed the bitterness welling up in her heart. ’The divorce was my idea,’ she told herself. ’I got what I wanted. There’s no reason to be upset.’

She finished taking the cleaning lady’s measurements and they exchanged contact information.

Once she was done, she would deliver the finished product to the woman.

As she left the airport, she found the entrance completely blocked.

Adrian Preston, who had left just before her, was stuck at the entrance, swarmed by the media. A forest of cameras and microphones was shoved in his face as reporters relentlessly questioned if his marriage to Charlotte was really happening.

Mia tried to slip around the crowd and leave, but she heard Adrian’s firm, resonant voice from behind her.

"Next month, I will be hosting an engagement party with Miss Charlotte. Our relationship is real, and our marriage will be real. I hope for everyone’s blessing."

"What about your ex-wife? Mr. Preston, does your ex-wife know you’re about to get engaged?"

Mia stopped in her tracks instinctively.

"She knows."

"And you think she’ll give you her blessing?"

"Yes, she will bless us."

Suddenly, Mia felt a pair of intense eyes lock onto her. She turned back on impulse, and her gaze met Adrian’s mid-air.

His eyes were deep and unreadable, his expression impossible for her to decipher.

Mia quickened her pace, practically fleeing the airport.

When she returned, her expression was so awful that it caught Owen Sinclair’s attention.

"What’s wrong? Did they give you a hard time again?"

"No, it’s nothing. My stomach just feels a bit upset. I might have eaten something bad."

"Then you should go home and rest. I can handle things here."

"I can’t. I have a meeting with Miss Rivera tonight. She’s the only one still willing to give me the time of day. I can’t miss this opportunity."

She hadn’t interacted much with Yara Rivera. Yara had placed a few orders before, and since their latest design transaction had already concluded, she wasn’t part of the group that had canceled on Mia.

Right now, the entire circle of socialites and wealthy wives had banded together to give her the cold shoulder. But Yara Rivera remained friendly, seemingly oblivious to the swirling rumors, and was still willing to hire her for design work.

It was just that Yara had been very busy lately, apparently preparing for her wedding.

Tonight was the only time she was free to discuss the design details.

’As long as there’s even a sliver of a chance, I have to grab it and not let go.’

"Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine after a short rest."

She took a short nap alone on her office chair, but her sleep was restless.

She hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep recently, and her eyes were full of red veins. She even found herself missing the nap she’d taken at the therapist’s office; that one had been particularly deep.

Her greatest wish right now was to just fall into bed and sleep until she lost all track of time.

She woke up, her mind drifting as she recalled the contents of her dream.

She had dreamed of the scene at the airport again: their eyes meeting, his gaze completely devoid of warmth, utterly glacial.

She rubbed her temples. ’Don’t think about unnecessary men.’

She put on some light makeup to cover her exhaustion, which made her look a little healthier.

She changed into a suitable outfit and headed to the hotel.

Yara Rivera had given her the private room number and told her to go straight there.

She was just about to reach Yara’s room when the door of the one right before it suddenly opened. To her surprise, Mrs. Lawson stepped out.

She was out for a meal with a group of her friends. What a small world for enemies.

Mrs. Lawson had been the first to cancel her order, and Mia had no intention of trying to win her back as a client.

They had already dropped all pretenses, so Mia couldn’t be bothered to greet her. She tried to walk past, but Mrs. Lawson blocked her path.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Mrs. Preston?"

"You’ve got it wrong, Mrs. Lawson. This is the *former* Mrs. Preston."

"Oh, I almost forgot. You’re divorced. Your last safety net is gone. Mia Kane, who do you think you are now?"

"Someone who knows that a pig in a parlor is a pig still," Mia replied with a smile.

"Are you calling me a pig?"

Mrs. Lawson’s face instantly turned ugly.

’Mia Kane has no one backing her anymore, so what gives her the right to be so arrogant?’

Mrs. Lawson had been observing them for a while. She was afraid that even after the divorce, Adrian Preston would still secretly help Mia, their connection lingering despite the separation.

After all, it wasn’t long ago that Adrian had stood up for her, the two of them putting on a high-profile display of affection. But then they divorced in the blink of an eye. She suspected something fishy was going on.

But after all this time, Mia was still hitting a wall everywhere she turned. These were problems Adrian could have solved with a single word, yet he had let Mia suffer until now.

’It seems the divorce is real, and so is her complete loss of favor.’

’In that case, what did she have to be afraid of?’

At this thought, Mrs. Lawson’s posture straightened, and she raised her hand to slap Mia.

But Mia’s reflexes were faster. She grabbed the woman’s wrist. "What do you think you’re doing? Are you going to hit me in public?"

"So what if I hit you? Do I need to pick an auspicious date? You all, grab her for me! I’d like to see who’s going to save her today!"

The other women, no longer wary of Mia, moved forward to grab her.

But Mia was far more agile than them. Slippery as a fish, she was impossible to catch.

Mrs. Lawson grew irritated. "You lot, get her too! There’s a handsome reward for whoever catches her!"

A few security guards came over. They were all strong young men who looked like they knew how to handle themselves.

For them, handling a woman was no issue; they could have handled several Mias at once.

But the difference in strength between men and women was too great. With several grown men attacking, Mia couldn’t hold them off and was caught in no time.

The guards restrained her and forcibly dragged her into Mrs. Lawson’s private room.

"Make her kneel."

No matter how stubbornly Mia resisted, she was forced down, her knees slamming onto the cold floor.

Mrs. Lawson tilted Mia’s chin up and looked down at her face.

"Mia Kane, oh, Mia Kane. Who would have thought you’d end up in my hands?"

Mrs. Lawson was gloating, just about to strike, when Mia suddenly lunged, biting down hard on the fleshy part of the woman’s hand between her thumb and index finger.

Mrs. Lawson shrieked, yanking her hand back. A moment later and Mia would have torn a chunk of flesh off.

"You bitch, you actually dared to bite me!"

Mrs. Lawson viciously slapped her across the face.

Mia’s cheek stung, swelling and turning red before their eyes. Blood even started to ooze from the corner of her mouth.

The metallic taste of rust filled her mouth, and she silently swallowed the bloody saliva.

Looking at the bite mark on her hand, Mrs. Lawson was still fuming.

One slap was far too light a punishment.

She angrily snatched a fruit knife from the table, her eyes turning sinister.

"Mia Kane, I’m going to make you regret this for the rest of your life. By crossing me, you’ve completely sealed your doom."

With that, she lunged with the knife—