Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 400: Protective Husband

I was certain that just as many people hated her and blamed her for going against societal norms, there were probably just as many people who admired her, either openly or secretly as her fans. Perhaps to them, our sisterly duo act was the spice they needed in their endlessly boring lives.

"Don’t you feel better from just seeing how everyone is welcoming us with open arms?" Diana continued before she raised her hand to wave at someone that she knew.

"Fine. I admit that you got your point across," I said as my eyes scanned the crowd that had gathered for the party. I could feel Bradon tensing at my side, and I knew that he had just spotted the two people that I least wanted to see at that moment.

"Did you know about this?" I turned to ask Diana without hiding my shock.

"That they’ll be here? I guess not, but why does it matter? You’d have run into them sooner or later. If you ask me, the sooner the better," Diana said with a careless shrug of her shoulders.

I narrowed my eyes as I glared across the room at the two figures that were quickly making their way towards us, while my mind wondered if I should just turn and run. My parents were the last people that I expected to see that evening.

After the unexpected turn of events that went directly against my father’s plan, I was certain that they had been laying low and hiding away from the public’s eye. I was very sure that nothing was going their way, and that they were extremely desperate. That was how I knew that their appearance today wasn’t a coincidence and that they probably had something up their sleeves that they thought would help turn things around for them.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! I didn’t know that you were invited. I guess the host is truly kind to everyone, regardless of their social standing and their particular situation," Diana greeted our parents enthusiastically.

"I don’t have time for this attitude of yours. I will deal with you later. For now, I’ll be talking to your sister," the man who used to be my father said before turning to glare fully at my face.

"My wife has nothing to talk to you about," Bradon replied protectively before I could say anything. His words caught me by surprise, but it was nothing compared to the warm feeling that bubbled inside my chest as his arm rested protectively around the small of my back.

"If you do not want to discuss this in private, then I guess this is your choice. You can stay as well, because this also involves you," Mr. Alnault said to Bradon and me.

"What is it?" I asked, although I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to find out. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"The Vulkan family has decided to annul the union between our families," he announced, without keeping his voice down.

I would be lying if I said that the news was shocking to me and that I hadn’t seen it coming. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that it was part of my plan to expedite the downfall of the Alnault family. As expected, the Vulkan family wanted nothing to do with the Alnault family now that they had fallen from grace. I guessed they couldn’t have their only heir married to a scandalous woman with no backing.

Despite already knowing that, hearing it from my father made me feel unexpectedly uneasy inside. I told myself that it was part of the plan, and that meant that my time with Bradon was quickly coming to an end, just like it was supposed to. I reminded myself that no charade was supposed to last forever, and just as Diana had returned to being herself, I had to return to my real life as well.

"What does that have to do with us?" Bradon asked, completely unaffected. I turned to him with widened eyes, taken aback by his words.

"It has everything to do with you. You’re a fake. You’re not Anthony, and according to your father, you’re not even supposed to exist. This marriage has already been dissolved," Mr. Alnault said coldly before letting out a scoff, as if dismissing Bradon’s existence altogether.

A loud slapping sound rang out right at the same time that I felt an intense stinging pain in the palm of my right hand. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about what my father had said that drove me so mad with anger, and perhaps it was every single word that came out of his mouth, including the fact that I had to come face to face with him that made me uncontrollably furious. I usually didn’t like to resort to violence, but at that moment, I had to say that I didn’t feel even an ounce of regret after slapping my father hard across the face. It felt like one thing for him to insult me, but quite another and a different scale of damage for him to insult Bradon.

"How dare you say something like that? How dare you!" I said as I raised my right hand again.

I was so blinded by rage and consumed by my intense desire to strike out that for a moment I completely lost sight of where I was or even who I was, and perhaps it didn’t really matter. My body reacted instinctively, almost as if in self-defense, although the one that I was protecting was Bradon. I only realized after the episode was over that what I did was quite silly, considering the fact that Bradon probably did not need me to defend him, especially physically.

"That’s enough, honey. You’re going to hurt your dear hand, and I don’t think that you want to waste your precious time for a trip to the hospital to get your hand examined," Bradon said to me calmly as he took my right hand in his and inspecting it for any injuries.

–To be continued...