The CEO's Secret Replacement Bride

The Secret Luna Threatened to Expose

The ride back to the Hale mansion was quiet. The street lights outside the car window flashed by, casting alternating light and shadow on Asher's face, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.

Elena sat beside him in the back seat, her mind still stuck on what happened at the banquet just now. She could still feel the warmth of his arm around her waist, the faint cedar scent on his body lingering at the tip of her nose, making her heart beat fast even now. She stole a glance at Asher from the corner of her eye, just in time to meet his gaze.

"What are you looking at?" Asher raised an eyebrow, his tone still cold, but there was no anger in it.

"Nothing." Elena quickly looked away, her cheeks turning red, "I just... thank you for helping me out at the banquet just now. If you hadn't stood up for me, I don't know what would have happened."

Asher snorted, looking out the window, his voice awkward: "Don't get me wrong. I didn't help you because I care about you. I just don't want others to laugh at the Hale family for marrying a liar. If you lose face, I lose face too." He paused, then added in a low voice, "What's more, Luna is the one who is at fault. I won't let anyone bully the Hale family's people outside."

The Hale family's people. These five words made Elena's heart skip a beat. She bit her lower lip, trying to suppress the sweetness that surged up in her heart. She knew she shouldn't have unrealistic expectations about this marriage, but Asher's occasional gentleness always made her uncontrollably sink.

When they got home, the maid had already prepared hot ginger tea. Asher took a sip, then looked at Elena, who was standing beside him at a loss, and frowned: "Why are you standing there? Sit down and drink. You were standing at the banquet for three hours, aren't you tired?"

Elena nodded and sat down on the sofa opposite him, holding the warm ginger tea cup in her hands, the heat seeping through the porcelain into her palm, warming her cold fingers. She took a small sip, and just as she was about to speak, her phone rang suddenly. It was the hospital calling.

She pressed the answer button quickly, and the doctor's joyful voice came from the other end: "Miss Carter, your mother's surgery was very successful! The kidney transplant matched perfectly, and she is out of danger now. She will be transferred to the general ward tomorrow, and she can be discharged from the hospital in half a month if she recovers well."

Elena's eyes instantly filled with tears. She had been holding on for so long, and finally, her mother was saved. "Thank you doctor! Thank you so much!" She choked up, hanging up the phone, tears falling down her face, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and cry softly.

Asher looked at her crying, frowned, and waved his hand to dismiss the maid. He took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and threw it at her: "Don't cry. It's a good thing your mother's surgery was successful, what are you crying for?"

Elena picked up the handkerchief, it was made of soft silk, with the unique cold cedar scent of Asher's body. She wiped her tears, her voice still choked: "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy. I thought... I thought I would lose her."

Asher looked at her red eyes, like a little rabbit that had been wronged, and for some reason, his heart softened a little. He gestured to the assistant standing beside him: "Transfer another 200,000 dollars to her card, use it for her mother's follow-up medical expenses and nutrition. Make sure the hospital arranges the best VIP ward and the best special nurse to take care of her."

The assistant nodded and turned to leave. Elena stared at Asher in shock, she didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. "No, no need, the Carter family already paid the surgery fee, I can work part-time to earn the follow-up expenses myself..."

"Shut up." Asher interrupted her coldly, "You are Mrs. Hale now, if you go out to work part-time, others will think the Hale family can't afford to support you. Don't make me laugh. This money is not for you, it's for the sake of you serving me these days. Don't think too much about it."

Just as Elena was about to say something more, her phone vibrated suddenly, it was a text message from an unknown number. She opened it, and the content made her face turn pale instantly, the blood on her face fading completely: [Elena, you think Asher protecting you is enough? I know your biggest secret! You are not even James Carter's biological daughter! Your mother cheated on him back then, and you are the bastard she gave birth to with another man! If you don't leave Asher tomorrow and return the position of Mrs. Hale to me, I will post all the evidence on the Internet, so that everyone in the city knows that you are a wild child of unknown parentage, and see if the Hale family will still want you as their daughter-in-law!]

Elena's fingers trembled so much that she almost couldn't hold the phone. This was the biggest secret she had hidden for more than ten years. When she was 10 years old, she accidentally heard her stepmother scolding her mother, saying that she was not her father's biological daughter. Her mother had cried and told her to never tell anyone about this, otherwise they would be kicked out of the Carter family.

How did Luna know about this?

"Your face is so pale, what's wrong?" Asher noticed her abnormality, frowned and asked, reaching out to take her phone to see what was going on.

"No! It's nothing!" Elena quickly pressed the phone off, stuffed it into her bag, her face forced a smile, "It's just a spam message, nothing important. I'm a little tired, I'll go back to my room to rest first."

She stood up quickly, turned around and walked towards the stairs, her steps flustered, as if she was running away. Asher looked at her back, his eyes narrowed slightly, his expression cold. He had already seen the words "wild child" and "secret" on the screen of her phone just now, even if she hid it quickly.

He took out his phone and sent a message to his assistant: [Check who sent Elena a text message just now, and what content it is. Also, check all of Elena's background information from childhood to adulthood, especially her life experience, I want to see all the details tomorrow morning.]

Putting down the phone, Asher looked at the direction of the second floor where Elena had left, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the wheelchair slowly, his expression unpredictable. He didn't care if she was the biological daughter of the Carter family, but he hated that others had secrets from him.

Elena closed the door of the guest room, leaned against the door panel, and slid down slowly, her heart beating wildly. She couldn't let Asher know this secret. If he knew that she was not only a substitute, but also a wild child of unknown parentage, he would definitely drive her out of the Hale mansion, and might even stop her mother's treatment.

She buried her face in her knees, tears falling down again. She had just felt a little bit of warmth, was she going to lose it all so soon?