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

His voice was incredibly soft, yet it pierced straight to the soul.

Mia Kane was proud of him, but she was also filled with panic and unease.

Mia Kane pushed him back to the hospital room. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts.

Her heart was so heavy that even breathing felt constricted.

"Adrian Preston... are you going to die?"

She felt she had just asked a very stupid question.

Hadn’t he almost died just now? For someone like Adrian Preston who gambled with his life this way, death was only a matter of time.

"Mia Kane, I can’t give you a definite promise, but I can tell you this for sure. With you by my side, I’ll at least live a little longer. With you here, I can’t bear the thought of dying."

"But you almost died this time."

"Because you didn’t want me anymore."

Adrian Preston’s voice was barely a whisper. She almost couldn’t hear him.

But she read his lips. In that instant, her mind went blank, and the silence was deafening.

"Can you let me think about it?"

Mia Kane let out a heavy breath, feeling she needed to think this through properly.

Adrian Preston nodded. The look in his eyes was clearly tense and desperate, yet he didn’t dare rush her.

Mia Kane left the hospital room and went up to the rooftop alone.

The wind on the rooftop was strong. She felt if she were any thinner, it would blow her away.

Her mind was a chaotic mess, but gradually, she started to calm down.

There was a place for Adrian Preston in her heart. He was loyal and devoted and had never given up on her.

But he was too dangerous. The second personality, for one. And even though he had left the anti-smuggling bureau, he had never truly taken off the uniform. He was still cooperating with them as a civilian informant. Now, using his status as the president of the Preston Group, he was likely involved in something even bigger and more dangerous.

He wasn’t just betting his own life anymore; he was dragging the entire future of the Preston Group into the gamble.

She suddenly understood what his grandfather had said: Adrian Preston wasn’t living for the Preston family, nor for the Preston Group. Perhaps only he himself knew who he was truly living for.

She was still bothered by what happened on the ship, but compared to all this, it seemed like nothing.

If she chose to be with Adrian Preston, she could end up a widow!

She deeply admired military families, but when it was her turn, she was tempted to retreat.

But if she didn’t choose Adrian Preston, he would be truly all alone.

Mia Kane was in turmoil, wishing she could split herself in two: one person to be with Adrian Preston, and the other to live a carefree life, doing whatever she pleased.

She stayed there alone for a long time before finally heading back down.

When she got back to the hospital room, she heard many voices inside—officials and military doctors.

She tactfully backed away, not even trying to eavesdrop. She waited a while, only entering after everyone had gone.

"Have you... made up your mind?"

The moment Adrian Preston saw her, he instinctively tried to sit up, heedless of his injuries.

She quickly made him lie back down.

"Adrian Preston, I’ve made up my mind."

"Actually... if you say no, I’d understand. A person like me is... truly hard to be with. I’m... I’m paranoid and morose, not as upright as I appear on the surface."

Hearing this, Mia Kane felt a surge of irritation and let out a sarcastic little laugh.

"It’s more than just that. You’re not honest. You keep everything bottled up inside. You know everything about me, but I barely know anything about you. I have no idea what you’re hiding in that locked room in your villa. I have no idea who the woman in the white dress in your pocket watch is."

"I don’t know when you started to like me or how long you’ve had me on your mind. I don’t even know your..."

Mia Kane had wanted to say she didn’t even know about his family background, but she held back, afraid of wounding Adrian Preston’s pride.

’One thing at a time,’ she thought. ’Prying open this clam is going to take a while.’

Hearing her words, Adrian Preston’s face turned deathly pale. It was as if all his dark secrets, the ones that couldn’t see the light of day, had just been dragged out into the open by Mia Kane.

The disdain in her voice was real, and the look she gave him was like daggers.

He thought he could already guess Mia Kane’s decision. Being with a difficult person like him would be utterly exhausting.

He didn’t know who he could confide in.

He wanted to tell Mia Kane that she was the one person in this world he was willing to trust unconditionally, the one he would give his all to without reservation.

But... how could a man say things like that? It would sound so melodramatic. And it would make him seem like a total creep!

"Alright... I understand."

Adrian Preston suddenly lowered his head and muttered dejectedly.

Mia Kane froze.

’Understood? What did he understand?’

"You should go. I don’t blame you."

"You have the nerve to blame me? Adrian Preston, you’re the one who hasn’t said a single word from the very beginning, and you think you have the right to blame me?"

She was so angry she wanted to stomp over and bite him.

"I was actually planning to stay, but since you’re telling me to go, fine! I’m leaving! Goodbye, and I hope we never see each other again!"

Furious, Mia Kane spun around to leave, but Adrian Preston reacted instantly.

She said... she was planning to stay!

Adrian Preston immediately ripped the IV needle from his arm, scrambled out of bed, and threw his arms around Mia Kane desperately.

"Don’t go!"

Mia Kane was alarmed. "Your wounds were just treated! Get back in bed, now!"

Adrian Preston didn’t move, just held on tighter.

In his current state, she could have easily broken free.

Her heart ached. The Adrian Preston she once knew had been so spirited and strong, but now, she could easily escape his grasp.

But this was the limit of his strength. He was using every ounce of it to keep her from leaving.

"I’m not going anywhere. Now can you please get back in bed?"

"Really?"

His eyes instantly lit up.

"Yes. I’m not leaving."

Only then did Adrian Preston excitedly get back into bed. The moment Mia Kane turned to leave the room, he immediately threw back the covers...

"Don’t move. I’m just going to get the nurse to reinsert your IV."

"There’s a call button."

"Fine, have it your way."

Mia Kane had been so flustered she had forgotten.

As the nurse came and reinserted the needle, Adrian Preston’s intense gaze remained fixed on her, as if she would bolt the second he looked away.

Mia Kane was helpless against his stare.

"Now, I ask, you answer." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Okay."

"And I want the truth, not a pack of lies. If I find out you’re lying to me, I will leave you without a moment’s hesitation."

"Okay. I’ll tell the truth."

"Are you sure? My ’divorced’ husband?"

Mia Kane said snappishly. The tips of Adrian Preston’s ears instantly turned red.

He had said last time that he wouldn’t lie to her, that he would tell the truth. But hadn’t he lied then, too?

Mia Kane had even thought that if he could do something illegal and unethical like that, then he truly had no limits.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

"Why did you lie and say we weren’t divorced?"

"I wanted to test you. To see if you might just... let it slide and stay with me if you thought we were still married."

"So manipulative! You calculating jerk!"

Mia Kane glared, and Adrian Preston shrank back, lowering his head.

"Spit it out. When did you fall for me?"

Mia Kane cut straight to the point, her eyes fixed on Adrian Preston’s face, not missing the slightest flicker of emotion.

Adrian Preston’s face paled several shades. The question seemed difficult for him to answer. He bit his lip, looking as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.

"Adrian Preston, think carefully. I’m only giving you this one chance. I want to know everything about you—and about us!"

"When, exactly, did you fall for me?"

Mia Kane’s expression was solemn as she enunciated each word clearly.