(Not) The Billionaire’s Replacement Bride

Gerald glanced back at the documents in his hands. This man wasn’t a stranger to him. He rubbed his temples. Is the world really this small? Instead of decreasing, the problems seemed to be multiplying.

“Where was the last place she was seen?” he asked his assistant.

“From the toll data, she just exited toward the rural area, Sir,” his assistant replied.

Gerald furrowed his brow once again. Where could they possibly have gone? What was in that town? “Instruct everyone to search for her. Whatever it takes. Whatever the cost. She has to be found today,” he ordered.

His assistant nodded again and left.

Gerald returned home around eight in the evening. He hoped he could avoid Axel, so he waited until the child’s bedtime. His grandmother seemed to be relaxing in the living room with the remote control in her hand, while his mother was engrossed with her tablet, probably shopping online, as was her habit.

“Any news?” Mrs. Rosaline asked, even before Gerald had a chance to set down his work bag.

“**My men are still searching,**” Gerald replied. He sat in the massage chair in the room, trying to relax his muscles that had tensed from a day’s work and thinking about Ariana.

“**Axel has been asking about her since earlier. Be prepared for his onslaught tomorrow,**” his grandmother replied.

Gerald groaned and massaged his throbbing temples. Perhaps out of exhaustion, Gerald unintentionally closed his eyes there.

At eleven o’clock at night, Gerald woke up and saw his middle-aged assistant sitting on the couch. “**Sir,**” the man nodded politely at him.

“**Any updates?**”

“**Our informant is searching for their whereabouts. They didn’t find Miss Ariana. But they managed to locate a man named Chris. One of the National Park area managers said they saw Chris. He became the focus because of the expensive vehicle he used.**”

“**National Park?**” Gerald furrowed his brow.

“**National Park. It’s a Camping Ground area, Sir.**”

“**Then? Did you follow him? Are Ariana and that man there?**” Gerald asked sharply. The middle-aged man nodded. “**Prepare the car and driver. We’re going there right now.**” Gerald got up from his seat and was about to go upstairs when his assistant stopped him.

“**But, Sir.**”

“**What else?**”

“**The journey there is quite far and time-consuming. Even if we go now, there’s a possibility we’ll arrive there in the early morning.**”

“**I don’t care. What matters is that I have to see it for myself.**” Gerald answered. With quick steps, Gerald half-ran up the stairs to his room on the second floor.

He changed his suit into a sweater and jeans, haphazardly stuffing his spare clothes into a small backpack he found in the corner of his closet. If the girl didn’t want to come back, Gerald would follow her wherever she went. Or perhaps the situation would change depending on the circumstances later. Gerald just had to be prepared for all possibilities.

Chris. Chris Alessandro. He needed to know what kind of relationship existed between them. Were they just friends? Or more than just friends? And if it was more than just friends, Gerald would separate them, no matter what it took.

Gerald descended to the ground floor. His assistant was still standing in his original position, as if he hadn’t moved since Gerald left him.

“The car and driver are ready, Sir,” he said. Gerald nodded and led the man out of the house. The driver opened the rear passenger door, and Gerald got in, leaning back. While the driver took them to their destination, he would use this time to recharge.

The journey was indeed long. After exiting the highway, they entered a small town road that became even smaller, only wide enough for one car. Rows of houses turned into lush trees. It might appear beautiful in the daytime, but at night, it seemed eerie.

The car turned toward a large gate. The National Park guard opened the gate for Gerald’s car. Gerald didn’t even bother to get out of his vehicle. A man knocked on the window, and with a specific code, he signaled for them to follow him.

Gerald’s driver maneuvered the car, following the man. After a few minutes, the car came to a stop, and the man knocked on the car window again.

“Miss Ariana is in the lower part of this area, Sir. To get there, we need to descend some steps and walk quite a distance,” he announced. Gerald simply nodded. He accepted the large flashlight handed to him – a flashlight that would illuminate their way during the journey to the lower camp.

Gerald glanced at his watch; it was three in the morning. He was sure that at this moment, Ariana and the man were sleeping soundly inside their tent. The guide stopped behind two tents facing the river, away from the road.

“This is their tent, Sir. They’re using the National Park’s tents.”

Gerald just nodded. The guide then stepped back, but didn’t leave Gerald and his assistant. The man merely gave Gerald some space to figure things out.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Gerald approached, standing between two closed tent flaps. He glanced left and right, guessing which tent Ariana was in. He noticed a pair of sneakers outside one of the tents. Seeing the sneakers on his right, he convinced himself that it was Ariana’s tent.

He opened it slowly, turned off his flashlight, and placed it outside before entering. And there she was, his wife curled up inside her sleeping bag. Despite the chilly weather, Ariana seemed peaceful in her sleep.

Gerald unzipped the sleeping bag carefully, trying not to wake Ariana. But she was surprisingly sensitive; moments before he reached the end, she opened her eyes.

“Who are you?” she shouted loudly. She woke up quickly and moved back into the tent’s corner, unable to go anywhere as Gerald blocked the only entrance and exit.

“It’s me, who else,” sneered Gerald.

“Y-You! How can you be here?” she asked loudly.

Gerald chuckled mockingly. “Because of money, darling,” Gerald mocked. “Now, the hide and seek game is over. Let’s go home, shall we? Your son has been looking for you ever since you left him with me three nights ago.”

Ariana widened her eyes. “He’s not my daughter; I never even gave birth to a child. And I’m not a wicked woman who would abandon her own child if I ever had one,” she retorted harshly.

“You’ve been her mother since I made you my wife. And you accepted that, didn’t you?”

“No, I never accepted it. And I never will. He’s your child and will be Karenina’s when she returns.”

“He’ll be my child, but he won’t be Karenina’s. Not ever,” Gerald replied with suppressed anger.

He then grabbed Ariana’s leg and tried to pull her, but Ariana kicked back.

“Go away. I will never return until I know where Karenina is,” she refused. Her voice was louder now. One more notch and it would turn into a scream.

“What’s going on here?” A voice interrupted Ariana’s rebellion. Chris half-bent, opened Ariana’s tent door with sleepy eyes. “You?!” His gaze focused on Gerald.