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

"I’ll go sleep outside."

His voice was muffled, as if he were trying his best to hold something back.

Mia Kane got up and turned on the light. She saw Adrian Preston’s face was flushed, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He looked sick.

Her sleepiness vanished instantly. She got out of bed, concerned, and grabbed his hand.

She was scalded by the heat.

’His temperature is way too high!’

’And his breathing is chaotic and rapid!’

’Does he have a fever?’

"Are you sick? Why are you so hot?"

She reached out and felt his forehead. It was indeed hot.

"Don’t touch me."

He took several steps back, putting a relatively safe distance between them.

His voice was urgent, with even a slight tremor in it.

"Should I call 911? Or have a doctor come over? We have medicine at home. Should you take some fever reducers?"

"None of that is necessary."

This felt just like the last time he drank the drugged wine, but the effect was even stronger! ’What on earth went wrong?!’

Adrian Preston left in a hurry without a single word of explanation.

He went back to his room and took a cold shower. He felt better for an hour or two afterward, but then the burning heat returned.

Adrian Preston began a secret investigation to see if anyone close to him had drugged him.

But he couldn’t find anything!

Over the next few nights, Adrian Preston’s symptoms became even more pronounced.

He had to take several cold showers just to get some relief.

He did his best to avoid Mia Kane during this time. Because they were sleeping in separate rooms, Shannon Preston found out, and so did his grandfather, who immediately came to ask about their relationship, whether they had fought, and so on.

Worried she would make Grandfather anxious, Mia Kane had no choice but to let Adrian Preston continue staying in her room.

Adrian Preston also knew they couldn’t keep sleeping separately, or it would be hard to answer to his grandfather.

But on nights like these, the moment he closed his eyes, he would think of Mia Kane beside him, and he could barely contain his burning desire.

He went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, waking Mia Kane. Listening to the SPLASHING sound of water, she realized he had been in there for a long time.

’He’s been so strange these past few days, like he’s deliberately avoiding me and doesn’t want any contact.’

She wanted to go back to sleep, but the constant SPLASHING made it impossible. She glanced at the time—he had been in there for half an hour and still hadn’t come out. ’He’s not in some kind of trouble, is he?’

Worried, she went to the door and knocked. Perhaps Adrian Preston couldn’t hear her over the loud sound of the water.

She turned the doorknob and found it unlocked.

"I’m coming in."

Mia Kane pushed the door open and saw Adrian Preston soaking in the bathtub, fully clothed, with the showerhead still running.

Water had long since overflowed onto the floor.

She waded through the puddles of water, intending to turn off the shower, only to discover the water was cold.

The tub was filled with cold water.

’He’ll definitely get sick if this keeps up.’

She quickly turned off the faucet.

"Adrian Preston, what is wrong with you? Taking a cold bath in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Just then, Adrian Preston opened his eyes. The corners were bloodshot, and his gaze seemed to pierce straight into her soul, making her heart tremble violently.

She sensed a hint of danger and subconsciously tried to back away, but the man’s strong, powerful arms wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her directly into the tub.

The bathtub was large enough that it didn’t feel crowded with both of them in it.

She felt cold, and her body trembled, instinctively drawing closer to something warm.

Only then did she realize that Adrian Preston’s body was hot...

...still hot, even after soaking in cold water for so long.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Can’t you tell?"

His voice was hoarse.

Mia Kane’s cheeks flushed slightly. "How... How did this happen..."

"I don’t know."

His voice was low, tinged with a bit of suppressed anger.

Adrian Preston let out a deep breath, realizing the situation was far from simple. He was afraid he would do something even more reckless.

He looked at Mia Kane with a complicated expression, truly wanting to act on impulse just this once, regardless of the consequences.

But... he didn’t dare.

He pushed her aside.

"Don’t worry about me. Get out."

"Are you sure?"

"I’ve already been soaking in a cold bath for half an hour, and it hasn’t gone down. I’m past the point of being satisfied with empty, superficial gestures."

"Then what do you want?"

"What do you think!"

Adrian Preston rasped.

"Get out, and don’t come back in!"

Mia Kane understood. Even if she were willing to give it to him, Adrian Preston wouldn’t take it. He was fixated on that final step—it was a line he would not cross.

She didn’t know why he was like this, but if he didn’t want her, she wasn’t going to shamelessly throw herself at him.

Mia Kane left, and Adrian Preston continued to soak in the water.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that he finally emerged, completely drained.

He had sweated profusely, finally venting the unholy fire within him.

He had to find the person who drugged him. Otherwise, this would be the death of him, despite his perfectly healthy body.

The next day, he caught a cold from the chill and went directly to the hospital for a full physical, wanting to find out what drug was wreaking havoc in his system. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He even thoroughly investigated the people he trusted, including Theo Thorne.

As it turned out... the problem was Theo Thorne.

Theo Thorne was responsible for his lunches at the group. He had been adding potent traditional Chinese medicinal herbs to his food and the water he usually drank.

Theo Thorne quickly confessed, "This was all ordered by the Old Master! If I didn’t do it, he’d throw a fit, crying and making a fuss, saying it was all for the sake of you and Ma’am’s happiness."

"Sir, I wasn’t trying to harm you! I controlled the dosage. It’s a normal amount for an average person. If you take it for years, you’ll be full of vigor, and you and Ma’am will have eight kids in ten years..."

"Enough!"

Adrian Preston’s expression was grim.

Even if Mia Kane were willing to have children, he couldn’t bear to see her suffer.

He exercised year-round, so his physical condition was already better than the average person’s. He was in peak shape and didn’t need any supplements at all.

Even a normal dose for a normal person was too much for him.

That’s why it became a problem.

He had almost lost control.

Thank goodness he’d found the culprit. Otherwise, he really didn’t know how this whole mess would have ended.

"Cut out the medicine."

"But what about the Old Master..."

"Can’t you lie? Do I look like I need that stuff?"

"How would I know? You’d have to ask Ma’am."

Theo Thorne muttered.

"Your year-end bonus is gone."

Adrian Preston said, his face dark.

Theo Thorne scurried out of the office, crestfallen, and ran right into Mia Kane.

"Ma’am, you’re here."

"I came to see him. How is the investigation going? Was there someone with ill intentions around him?"

Theo Thorne awkwardly explained the whole situation. Mia Kane didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So it was true that it’s hardest to guard against a thief in your own house.

’Adrian Preston must be so frustrated right now.’

"I’ll take you over, Ma’am."

Theo Thorne led her to the president’s office, just in time to see Shannon Preston entering with an old man.

Theo Thorne’s expression changed.

"That old coot Chairman Zane is here again."

"What’s wrong?"

"Didn’t the Lockwood Group just cancel their partnership with us? The Lockwood Group didn’t get off easy either. They were the ones who proposed breaking the contract, so their losses are even greater than ours. And even though we received a huge compensation package, we had also invested money, manpower, resources, and a lot of effort, all of which is now down the drain."

"The board did a rough calculation. The Preston Group lost several hundred million in total from this canceled contract. It was clearly Chase Lockwood who announced the cancellation, but now he has the gall to say he’ll give us an option—that you, Ma’am, go to his door and apologize to settle things. He’s so shameless."

"He wants me to go and apologize?"

Mia Kane was stunned.

"Ma’am, you didn’t know? Adrian didn’t tell you?"

This time, it was Theo Thorne’s turn to be dumbfounded.