A SUBSTITUTE BRIDE

She looked at Lucas softly and said softly,

“Thank you, Lucas. The candy is very sweet.

– Aunt.

Lucas’ eyes were round and filled with stars.

Lyana held Lucas and entered the villa with Matriarch Sanchez.

As the three of them arrived at the villa, Elle heard footsteps coming from the stairs in the distance. She looked up and met Vincent’s deep eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Lyana’s heart raced uncontrollably.

She quickly looked away. Her expression was calm and indifferent and she looked at Lucas with a smile.

Matriarch Sanchez was sensitive enough to sense that something was wrong with Vincent and Lyana’s eyes. Thinking these two had come into conflict, she thought she and Lucas couldn’t stay here anymore.

She walked over to Lucas’ side and took his other hand. She smiled at Lucas and said softly:

“I’m taking you to pick some grapes, okay?”

Lucas’ eyes were filled with impatience. He looked up at Lyana and asked seriously:

“Auntie, do you want us to go pick grapes together?”

Lyana didn’t want to face Vincent now either. As she was about to accept, she heard Matriarch Sanchez say,

“Lucas, Aunty Lyana has something to say to Dad. Let’s go out first.

Lucas turned to look at Matriarch Sanchez. Seeing Matriarch Sanchez nodding, he immediately let go of Lyana’s hand obediently and said,

“Aunty, then talk to Dad nicely. Grandma and I are going to pick grapes. I’ll give them to you when I get back.

A trace of confusion crossed Lyana’s face. She smiles at Lucas and nods.

When Matriarch Sanchez ushered Lucas out, she glanced at all the servants in the room.

In an instant, only Vincent and Lyana remained in the living room.

She looked at Vincent with a complicated expression, not sure if she should tell him that she already knew Lucas was her child.

However, the next moment, Lyana thought about it. Even if she told Vincent about it, it didn’t seem to make sense.

After some thought, she decided not to mention it.

As Lyana was about to find an excuse to go back to rest in her room, she heard Vincent ask:

– How was your conversation with your friend?

Lyana was slightly stunned, not understanding what Vincent was saying. The next moment, she remembered that to go out, she had pretended that she was going to have tea with a friend.

She looked up at Vincent and was about to speak when she saw his serious expression.

Was Vincent trying to find out who she was with?

– It was good.

Vincent’s dark eyes were fixed on Lyana.

She felt uncomfortable under Vincent’s sharp gaze. She had the nagging feeling that Vincent already knew what she had been doing outside.

“I’m going upstairs to rest first.”

With that, she headed for the stairs.

She had just taken two steps when Vincent grabbed her hand.

A trace of confusion shines in Lyana’s eyes. She turns to look at him.

Vincent looked at Lyana with a deep gaze. He pursed his lips slightly and asked

“Won’t you ask me something?”

Her heart skipped a beat in her throat.

Why would he ask that?

Did he know what she had just done?

How was this possible?

He had stayed at home.

If Vincent knew that she had used her hair and Lucas’s for a paternity test, he would certainly have stopped her from doing it because he wanted to cheat on her.

Lyana recalled Matriarch Sanchez saying that Vincent hated when others asked him about his past.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

Lyana gave a weak smile and shook her head.

– No.

Vincent’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hesitated for a moment before letting go of Lyana’s hand. His voice was low and lonely.

“Then rest well at home.

“Okay,” Lyana replied and went upstairs.

Vincent stood on the ground with a depressed expression. Looking at Lyana’s back, which was gradually disappearing, he sighed softly.

She probably wasn’t ready to discuss this subject with him yet.

She still needed time.

In fact, he also needed time.

He didn’t know how to explain this to Lyana.

Lyana returned to her room. After closing the door, she locked it without hesitation.

Exhausted, she put her bag on the table next to her and lay heavily on the bed, breathing a sigh of relief.

She stared blankly at the white ceiling. Thinking about Vincent and Lucas’ relationship, her heart was in shambles.

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

Lyana gets up and heads for the door, tired. When she opened it, she saw Matriarch Sanchez standing outside.

“Grandmother,” Lyana greeted.

– Lyana, do you have time?

Matriarch Sanchez asked kindly, a loving smile on her face.

When she heard Matriarch Sanchez’s words, she nodded.

Matriarch Sanchez entered the room and sat down on the couch. She patted the empty seat next to her, motioning Lyana to sit down.

Lyana walked over to Matriarch Sanchez and sat down.

Matriarch Sanchez takes Lyana’s hand and places it on her knee. She looked at him tenderly and said softly:

“Lyana, when you got married into the Sanchez family, we weren’t able to arrange a big wedding for you. You and Vincent were secretly married. We did not succeed at the time. It was hard for you.

Lyana gently shakes her head.

She also hoped that her marriage would remain a secret. After all, her relationship with Vincent…

Lyana pushed all distracting thoughts to the back of her mind and stared at Matriarch Sanchez without blinking.

Matriarch Sanchez sighed softly and said helplessly,

– It’s thanks to you that Vincent’s condition stabilized. He suffered a lot in the past, that’s why he became like that. It is a mental illness that is not easy to treat.

Lyana was slightly stunned. She didn’t expect Matriarch Sanchez to mention Vincent’s childhood to her now.

She still remembers the last time Matriarch Sanchez wouldn’t say it.

“Actually, I should have told you about these things the last time you asked me.

She sighed softly, her eyes filled with grief and sadness.

She had wanted to wait for Vincent to tell Lyana, but now it seemed better for her to tell.

Lyana remained rooted to the ground in silence, calmly waiting for Matriarch Sanchez to continue.

She held Lyana’s hand tightly and sighed again. She says sadly,

“Actually, he is very pitiful. When he was young, his parents didn’t love him either. He always felt superfluous.

When Lyana heard Matriarch Sanchez’s muffled voice, her expression turned serious.

– After Vincent’s parents gave birth to his older brother, Christian. For some reason, the two fell out and lived separately. Ever since I was young, Vincent was raised by me. The two were accompanying Christian for his birthday, but the two were still arguing. Sometimes they even broke things. There were a few times when Christian was so scared he cried.

At that moment, Matriarch Sanchez’s eyes were filled with pain. She pursed her lips and continued,

– Children are sensitive. Christian witnessed many arguments between his parents. Then his personality changed, and he contracted leukemia soon after.

Hearing Matriarch Sanchez’s words, Lyana was stunned.

How could this have happened?

Leukemia?

Vincent had a nagging feeling that he was the extra.

Vicki has always been insecure and stuck to her.

Could it be that Vincent was born to…

The following words from Matriarch Sanchez confirmed Lyana’s guess.

– After the couple discovered that Christian had leukemia, they finally stopped arguing. For Christian’s sake, they planned to have another child. When the time comes, this child could provide Christian with a bone marrow transplant and other needs…

At that moment, Matriarch Sanchez’s eyes turned red and her voice choked out.

Lyana thought of Vicki’s innocent face and how he said he never ate candy. At that time, she had thought that Vincent’s parents were afraid Vincent had cavities, and they didn’t want to let him eat candy.

However, she didn’t expect Vincent’s parents to treat him solely as Christian’s source of medicine.

Is that why Vincent had become like that?

Matriarch Sanchez struggled to suppress the sadness in her heart and continued:

– At the time, to save Christian’s life, it was the only solution. At that time, I thought that if they had another child, their relationship would be reconciled. But later I realized how wrong I was.

Lyana was also stunned.