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

"Mia Kane, stop messing around. Preston has never been one for women."

Chase Lockwood frowned, displeased. In his eyes, Mia Kane is still his woman, and she can forget about ever escaping him in this life.

"Mia, why don’t you sit over here with me? Last time was just a misunderstanding. I apologize. There’s so much I want to say to you, from the bottom of my heart..."

"And who are you? Are we that close? Don’t use my nickname. It’s disgusting."

Mia Kane shot back immediately.

Vivian Lynch’s face went pale, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

"Vivian, don’t mind her. Once Preston kicks her out, she’ll behave..."

Chase Lockwood’s lackey, Tyler Shaw, started to speak, but his eyes went wide before he could finish.

Mia Kane sat down right next to Adrian Preston, who surprisingly said nothing to stop her, as if giving his silent approval.

"Preston..."

"Hm? You need something?" Adrian Preston asked coolly, leaving the other person speechless.

Chase Lockwood frowned, glaring menacingly at Adrian Preston. "Let’s not just sit here drinking. How about a game?"

Unafraid, Mia Kane nodded in agreement.

She rarely played these kinds of games, so she lost the very first round.

Vivian Lynch exchanged a subtle glance with Tyler Shaw, who then announced the dare in a loud voice, "Kiss one of the men here for three minutes!"

Mia Kane frowned. Vivian Lynch is ruthless. It would be inappropriate for her to kiss any of them.

"If you want to forfeit, the penalty is three shots of hard liquor."

"She’ll drink."

To her surprise, Chase Lockwood had spoken up, making the decision for her.

Mia Kane had been planning to drink, but his words instantly set her off. Who the hell does he think he is, making decisions for her?

"I choose to do the dare," Mia Kane replied with a smile.

Everyone else waited eagerly to see who Mia Kane would choose to kiss.

Although Mia Kane resembled Vivian Lynch, she was prettier. At five-foot-five with a delicate frame, she was still curvy in all the right places. Her face... was also more strikingly beautiful than Vivian Lynch’s.

Any man would be lucky to get a kiss from Mia Kane.

Mia Kane stood and walked slowly past the men, starting with Adrian Preston.

The last one in the line was Chase Lockwood. She stopped in front of Chase Lockwood, looking at him with a smirk. Why does he look so grim? she wondered.

She started to walk past him, intending to go to Adrian Preston, but Chase Lockwood suddenly grabbed her wrist. "I’ll do the dare with you."

"Chase..." The smile on Vivian Lynch’s face froze instantly. She felt like she’d just shot herself in the foot.

Mia Kane turned back to meet Chase Lockwood’s menacing gaze. He lowered his voice, so only the two of them could hear. "Mia Kane, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

"Your friend was the one who made the dare. What does that have to do with me?"

Mia Kane pushed him away and walked straight over to Adrian Preston. In front of everyone, she gathered her courage, straddled Adrian Preston’s lap, cupped his face, and kissed him.

She had only intended it to be a brief peck, but just as she was about to pull away, Adrian Preston’s large hand gripped her hip while the other clamped around her waist, making it impossible for her to escape.

Not only that, but he seized the initiative, prying past her lips and teeth to tangle his tongue with hers. Her eyes flew open, her mind a chaotic mess. She wanted to struggle, but then she heard his hoarse voice. "He’s watching."

Those two words were enough to make her stop struggling.

Even though she was terrified, she stopped resisting the kiss. Adrian Preston became even more dominant, stealing the air from her lungs until her head buzzed.

They had no emotional history, so how could his kiss be so fervent and wild?

His arms tightened around her, as if trying to merge her into his very bones and blood, to make them one.

She could tell Adrian Preston wasn’t a very skilled kisser; he left her lips red, swollen, and sore, and he’d even bitten her tongue.

But his passion was so intense that it was impossible to resist.

As they kissed, he seemed to learn quickly, practice making perfect. They kissed until she was breathless, and a soft moan escaped her lips involuntarily.

CRASH—

The sound of something shattering startled her.

Only then did Adrian Preston release her, his gaze sweeping over to Chase Lockwood.

It was Chase Lockwood. He had shattered a red wine glass. Shards of glass littered the floor, and the scarlet liquid spread out like a pool of fresh blood.

Chase Lockwood stared darkly at the two of them. "Three minutes are up. Isn’t that enough for you?"

"Oh dear, my apologies. I lost track of time." Mia Kane feigned composure, but in reality, she didn’t dare look at Adrian Preston.

"What’s wrong, Chase? Getting angry?" Adrian Preston said, raising an eyebrow.

Chase Lockwood poured another glass of wine. "You’re overthinking it. I don’t go picking things out of the trash."

When Mia Kane heard this, her blood ran cold. He just compared her to trash.

"What about you, Adrian Preston? You want to pick up my trash?"

"Who knows?" Adrian Preston neither confirmed nor denied it, and the atmosphere in the private room grew strange.

Everyone glanced back and forth between Chase Lockwood and Adrian Preston. In the end, it was Vivian Lynch who broke the stalemate. "Let’s keep playing."

The game resumed, and unexpectedly, Vivian Lynch was the next one to lose. As the loser of the previous round, Mia Kane got to issue the challenge.

"I choose Truth."

She was at Mia Kane’s mercy; she couldn’t possibly choose Dare. Who knew what Mia would do to her?

"Were you aware that Chase Lockwood and I have been together for the past three years, and that by coming back now, you’re playing the role of the other woman?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the atmosphere in the room became suffocatingly tense.

Vivian Lynch’s face turned several shades paler. "I didn’t know Chase was seeing someone..."

"Miss Lynch, everyone here is one of Chase Lockwood’s closest friends. They all know about you two. Are you sure you want to lie?" Mia Kane cut Vivian Lynch off, her gaze sharp as a knife.

Vivian Lynch’s lips were pale as she looked beseechingly at Chase Lockwood. Did they really expect her to admit, in public, that she was the other woman?

Chase Lockwood downed three glasses of whiskey in a row. "She forfeits. I’m drinking in her place."

"Alright, alright, on to the next round."

Seeing his chance, Tyler Shaw quickly tried to move things along.

Mia Kane clenched her fists. She could have forced Vivian Lynch to admit it, but Chase Lockwood was determined to protect her!

She hadn’t done anything wrong. They were the ones in the wrong! Vivian Lynch, for knowingly becoming the other woman! And Chase Lockwood, for being a cheating traitor!

They were the ones who deserved to be ridiculed, so why was she the one taking the blame?

They played a few more rounds, and to her surprise, Adrian Preston lost. She had a feeling he’d lost on purpose, deliberately slowing his hand signal just enough to lose.

The challenger was Chase Lockwood.

The two men were at opposite ends of the seating arrangement.

"Truth or Dare?" Adrian Preston asked, smiling at Chase Lockwood.

"Let’s go with Truth." Chase Lockwood decided for him.

"Alright. Ask away."

"Do you... pick up trash?"

Chase Lockwood’s gaze was burning as he stared at him.

All eyes fell on Adrian Preston. His posture was relaxed, almost languid, and a faint smile played on his lips—the very picture of a third-generation heir.

Everyone understood the question was a callback to the earlier exchange.

Mia Kane’s heart tightened.

Adrian Preston’s gaze landed on Mia Kane, and his voice rang out, clear and bright.