CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 28

Emmett tilted his head in her direction, and the expression on his face remained unresponsive to her glare. "I'm here to pick you up. What do you think?"

He cocked up his eyebrow, explaining it to her as if he was talking to a three-year-old. "Do you think I just happened to be here and suddenly decide to visit the Moore family to play your driver?"

Despite his cold words, Alyssa remained unfazed. She scrutinized his expression, looking as if she was interrogating a thief rather than one of the most eligible bachelors in Hoover City. "Don't mess around.”

“You can think whatever you want anyway it doesn’t affect me.” Emmett grinned as if he didn’t care about what she would think.

Originally, Emmett had no intention of picking her up. That was actually just an excuse of what he came here to do.

He just wanted to meet the other members of the Moore family. Although he had married their daughter, he had never personally met them. And the scandal about their family had gotten quite popular. It may not affect him at this time, but it affected his wife. It was just far too troublesome.

Alyssa had already proven herself as a woman with her own strengths and capabilities. She was not considered as a troublesome wife. But if the other members of her family were to get even more troublesome, he wouldn't mind taking care of them himself.

Just as Alyssa was about to say something in response, she saw Aurora and Jason came down the stairs. They were later followed by Skylar.

Although she had no idea what they were talking about, she could tell it wasn't anything good. They gazed at her as if she had just terrorized their most prized possession. Digging her fingernails into her palm, she simply steadied herself for what's to come.

“Skylar, come here and greet Mr. Justin.” As soon as Jason finished speaking, he beckoned for Alyssa to follow him. "Alyssa, I have something to say to you. Come with me for a second."

"All right, Dad." She followed him.

Skylar walked to Emmett, was about to take Alyssa's place by his side. But just as she was about to do so, he moved away. He stared at her like she was nothing more than a speck of dirt in his windshield and shut coldly. "Stay away from me.

Skylar was stunned for a while. She remembered that the time she had first seen this man outside their gate, she had taken the initiative to invite a man into their villa for the first time. Yet instead of appreciating her forwardness, he simply drove away.

This man was too cold and indifferent!

What the hell did this man see in Alyssa? What was so good about her? Why was such a handsome and powerful man so willing to come all this way from the mountains just to fetch her? So many thoughts ran through her mind, but she couldn't answer them.

…

On the other side of the villa, Alyssa followed her father into the study. Her head was bowed this entire time. As they went deeper and deeper into the corridors, the atmosphere radiating around them

became darker and colder.

The kindness and understanding slipped from his features almost immediately and Jason asked gravely. "What's your relationship with Justin?" novelbin

"Nothing. I have nothing to do with him." Alyssa shook her head in innocence.

"The last time you've come to home, your mother and Skylar saw what you did in the car!" Jason yelled through gritted teeth, slamming the palm of his hand onto the desk. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were flashing with unrestrained anger. "Don't you dare lie to me! Tell me, what the hell is your relationship with that man?"

The loud noise made Alyssa a little scared.

“Now that you have married Emmett, you just need to be his good wife. Why do you hook up with his cousin? Not only would this damage our reputation, but this would also destroy you!"

Alyssa sneered in his heart. She had never seen Jason care about her so much before.

Alyssa sneered in his heart. She had never seen Jason care about her so much before.

The only reason he had brought the topic up was that it could implicate their entire family. It seemed that everything with them was like a business transaction.

When she looked up, there was an innocent expression on her face, “I never hooked up with him.”

When Jason saw her ugly face, there was a trace of distain in his eyes.

It was doubt that he and Aurora both were beautiful. With his outstanding and defined looks and Aurora's soft features, he thought that Alyssa would've been a beauty meant to be reckoned with. How could they have such an ugly daughter like her?

If he had not tested the DNA, he would have suspected that Alyssa was not his biological daughter.

She was so ugly that she didn’t have the qualifications to hook up with men. And even if she did, there was no way Justin would even agree to it. The man would've slapped her senseless even if she had the courage to offer herself.

But he didn’t show what he thought. After all, Alyssa was still useful to him.

"That's good. When you have the time, why don't you bring your sister to the Lawrence family? Help her make friends. Emmett's cousin isn't that bad, so I'm sure they'll make a good match."

A good match?

Alyssa looked at Jason with puzzlement. “Doesn’t Skylar have many friends? She still has Henry.”

“You don’t need to put your mind on this.” Jason looked at her coldly, “Now get out.”

“Yes.”

Alyssa lowered her head and paid attention to her shoes instead. This was usually how it went in this household. If her father or mother ever scolded her, she'd put her tail in between her legs and say

nothing. In this house, she was defenseless. A ghost could speak louder than her.

…

At the dinner table, it was like everything had gone back to normal.

Jason kept asking Emmett about his position in the company, wanting to dig information on his strong background. After all, his parents were part of the Lawrence family. He was surely prestigious.

"I haven't seen you in Hoover City before. Have you just returned from overseas?"

Emmett glanced at Jason and said slowly. “Yes. I just came back and found a position in the Lawrence Corporation."

Jason’s eyes lit up hearing this and he showed a gentle smile. “What about your parents? Are they still working overseas?"

Not bothering to talk with him anymore, he passed his bowl to Alyssa. "Alyssa, help me get some soup."

The last thing he wanted was to talk to a bunch of social climbers. The reason why he was so intrigued with the woman beside him was that she was different from all of them–always blunt and honest. She never wanted anything from him.

Alyssa looked up and stared at the bowl in front of her.

His fingers were long and slender, and they looked great posed around the edges of the porcelain

bowl.

Alyssa was fascinated and once again realized that ‘Justin’ was a real and noble master.

Taking the bowl, she glanced up to see that his ink-like eyes glinted with impatience.

She didn't say a word. Instead, she got up and poured a bowl of soup for him before placing it right beside his plate.

“Thank you.” He seemed to smile, but the corners of his mouth did not have an obvious radian.

Alyssa looked at him in a daze, “Don’t mention it.”

Were these rich and noble masters good at acting?

Jason was left ignored, and his expression soured almost immediately. Although he wasn't as rich as the Lawrence's, he certainly wasn't poor. Not only that, but he was actually quite well-known around the upper class himself. To be disregarded so casually was enough to make him grit his teeth, but he didn't say a word.

He observed the way the two interact. It was obvious that Justin seemed a little familiar with Alyssa, so it was only right that she was the one who could introduce Skylar to him.

As for Skylar’s current boyfriend, Henry, the man was nothing but a spare tire! A temporary choice to erase her boredom.

Jason had an idea and was about to speak.

However, before he could, Emmett quietly glanced at him and placed his utensils on top of his empty plate. "I'm full. We should go."

Not bothering to give any of them a time to reply, he stood up and nodded at them in acknowledgment. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Although he was giving thanks, it sounded more like he was giving orders.

The atmosphere around them had reverted to its icy self, and everyone found themselves freezing in response. Even Jason found himself at a loss for words.

For them, Justin was the most arrogant man they had ever come across.

However, even Alyssa had to admit, that his personality and appearance were quite charming.

As soon as this thought appeared, her fingers trailed across her swollen cheek. Alyssa thought that she may have been beaten foolishly by Skylar. Otherwise, how could she think that ‘Justin’ was charming?

“Dad, I’ll go home.” Alyssa bowed her head. Although she had wanted to leave hours ago, she still had to put up an act.

Jason didn’t have the chance to say his thought, which made him feel uncomfortable. He could only get angry with Alyssa.

He glared at her and yelled in anger. “Go out!”

Alyssa endured, lowered her head and walked out with her bag. Hopefully, this would be the last time she was ever invited to this hellhole. However, after what had happened today, she greatly doubted it.

Jason, with Aurora and Skylar came out to see them off. They all had wide smiles on their faces. But it was really a petty that they wouldn't be winning any Oscars with those expressions.

Therefore, power was a good thing. Even if ‘Justin’ did not show him any respect, Jason still had to see him off with a smile. It was as if the entire incident hadn't happened at all.

The three of them stood at the door of the villa. “Mr. Justin, we welcome you next time.”

Emmett looked at them with a faint smile on his face. It was obvious that he didn’t give any admiration for their good behavior. He then turned to look at Alyssa who was standing in front of the car, and said in a low voice. “Get in!”

Alyssa tried to pull the rear door, but she couldn’t pull it at all.

Sshe looked at ‘Justin’ in surprise.

Emmett frowned and said impatiently, “Stupid! Do you want me to be your driver?”

Of course, she didn't. In reality, Alyssa didn't want to sit next to him, afraid of what else he'd try to her. However, not wanting to piss him off any further, she didn't have any other choice.

The car slowly drove out, and there was silence in the car.

Elllena couldn't help but feel that Justin had come to the Moore Villa with no reason at all. Given that

she had ended things on bad terms with Emmett, it was impossible that he had asked his own cousin to pick her up. But then again...it wasn't as if he'd come here just to have a good talk with her either.

“Was it true that Emmett asked you to pick me up?” After thinking about it, she couldn’t think of any other purpose for him to come to Moore’s home.

Emmett looked straight ahead and said in an indifferent tone. “What do you think? Do you think I wanted to come here?”

Alyssa seemed to understand, “Oh, I see.”