(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

Ariana felt happy on her own. She safely arrived at the restaurant. Impatiently pounding on the restaurant door, she saw Amber looking at her with annoyance. “What are you doing here?” the girl asked without beating around the bush.

Ariana furrowed her brow, but then she entered her restaurant. “I can do whatever I want. This place is mine,” she replied simply.

“After your guy told me not to come back last night, now you’re acting all indifferent towards me?” the girl asked, annoyed. “Did he ask you not to come back?” Ariana asked, surprised.

The girl squinted. “If I go back, I’ll have to listen to an unpleasant voice all night long. That’s what he said.” Ariana furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Uhhh… Ahhh… Uhhh… Ahhh…” Amber said, pretending to moan. Ariana widened her eyes and then slapped the girl on the head.

“What kind of girl do you think I am?” she said. She chose to go upstairs where her room was. “Call Jody. Ask if he’s at the market yet. If not, tell him to pick me up. If he’s already there, tell him to wait for me,” she said as she undressed and tossed her clothes haphazardly into the laundry basket. She didn’t even bother to close the bathroom door, even though Amber was in the room. They were used to doing that.

“Why don’t you call him yourself? You’re making things complicated,” the girl grumbled, but then she reached for her phone and called Jody. “My phone is still confiscated by the BP teacher,” Ariana replied nonchalantly. She quickly took a shower and then changed into her favorite outfit, which was a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt.

“He’s at the market. He said he’d be waiting for you at the porridge vendor,” Amber informed before Ariana could ask.

Ariana just nodded. She then asked Amber for some money and walked out of the restaurant. The distance from the restaurant to the market was quite far, so Ariana had no choice but to take public transportation since Jody didn’t pick her up. She got on a minivan and saw schoolchildren wearing uniforms. A smile appeared on her face. Back then, she and Amber often came to school late because they left home at the last minute, and then the minivan they took had to wait at several stops until it was full. As a result, when they got off the minivan, they had to run to the school gate.

And on Mondays, if they were late, they had to endure being sunbaked or made to run around the field. Not to mention the punishment if they wore school shoes in a color other than black. Believe it or not, Ariana and Amber were troublemakers since high school. The most common rule Amber broke in high school was bringing a cellphone to school. As for Ariana, she often violated the school’s rule of wearing shoes in a color other than black.

Ariana even hid spare shoes behind the equipment cabinet. And Amber, she often hid her phone in one of the broken women’s toilets. Thinking about it made Ariana smile to herself. Those were the times they truly enjoyed as teenagers.

The minivan stopped right in front of the market. Ariana walked towards her favorite porridge vendor and Jody. The man was sitting, smoking a cigarette in his hand. And Ariana could tell that he had already finished his breakfast.

He waved when he saw Ariana approaching. “I missed the market,” Ariana said with a smile.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Ariana just laughed. “I’ve just been released. But who knows when I’ll be dragged in again,” she replied with a hint of bitterness. Amber, who was confused, just looked at the two of them alternately.

“What do you mean? Have you met Chris?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

Ariana just smiled. She chose to continue walking towards the kitchen and placed their groceries there, with Jody following her from behind. “Who else is there?” she asked, curious.

Ariana turned around and gave her a narrowed look. “Curious,” Ariana replied. After placing her groceries, she went out of the kitchen again and approached Chris and Amber. “My shoes, you didn’t throw them away, did you?” she asked hopefully. Instead of answering, Chris ruffled Ariana’s hair affectionately. “Ew, I’m asking for real. I like those shoes. You didn’t throw them away, did you?”

Chris took out the car keys from his pants pocket. “Get them yourself, in the trunk. You only exist to inconvenience me, don’t you?” he snorted. Ariana just chuckled and gladly accepted the car keys. “By the way, did you come here on purpose so early in the morning?” she asked again. Chris simply nodded.

“I was going to your house, but I was afraid your aunt would get mad. I was going to the apartment, but I didn’t feel like seeing her,” Chris nodded his head in Amber’s direction. “Hey, I came here and actually ran into you,” he said in frustration. Amber kicked Chris’s leg under the table. Chris winced and looked at her in annoyance.

“Oh, what does she want from you again? A foreign guy?” Ariana teased.

“She wants me to be her boyfriend,” Chris said with a chuckle. Ariana laughed along with him. “Don’t do it, Amber. She’s been used by Chamois,” Ariana said.

Chris stared at her with wide eyes and his hand on his chest. “Oh my god, Ariana. You haven’t seen me in so long, and you suddenly mock me for being used by Chamois? What do you think I am? A male goat?” he asked in mock surprise.

“Well, what’s the difference? You and ‘him,’ both used goods,” Ariana said as she got up from her seat and left Chris behind.

“Him? Who are you talking about?” Chris asked, puzzled. He followed Ariana from behind. Ariana walked towards the restaurant door and intended to take her belongings that Chris had brought from the car. She pressed the car remote’s button in her right hand, and at the same time, a luxurious black car approached and parked next to Chris’s car.

“There,” Ariana nodded her head at Gerald, who got out of the car in his expensive suit. “That guy is still around, too,” Ariana muttered, moving to the other side of the car to open the trunk.