Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 385: Early Present

It was true that I had ample opportunities to tell Bradon about it, but it was also true that bringing it up would ruin the romantic and joyful mood between us and whatever we were in the middle of doing. Bradon came home early and in time for dinner every day, as if it was a change in habit. We spent time together just like regular couples—staying at home, watching movies, taking a dip in the pool, walking together in the garden, and doing many other things just to enjoy each other’s company. It felt like we were making up for all the lost time.

...

**Around a week later**

Diana’s brewing plan kept me on edge. The secret preparation for the royal engagement announcement was in full swing. As for me, I spent a lot of time mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Each peaceful day that went by felt like the perfect calm before a raging storm. One day, I woke up to find Bradon sitting on the side of the bed, his eyes on me as if he was waiting patiently for me to wake up from my slumber.

"Good morning," I mumbled in greeting as I tried to sit up in bed. The look on Bradon’s face told me that something was amiss, although I wasn’t sure what it was. My first fear was that perhaps he had found out about the upcoming engagement between Desmond and me. Just when I was preparing the words to explain myself, Bradon spoke up first.

"There’s something that you have to see," Bradon said coldly.

"Did something happen?" I asked, unable to hide my concern.

"You should come and see for yourself," Bradon said as he stood up from the bed before offering me his hand.

I let him support and pulled me to my feet before following him out of our bedroom.

"I don’t know if you planned this, but it is all over the news, so I suppose that it’s true," Bradon said as he led me in front of the large television in the living room.

I stared at the news being presented on the screen as an indescribable wave of emotions washed over me. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was feeling—a mix of surprise, shock, happiness, relief, and also a sense of fear overwhelmed me all at once.

"It’s finally happening," I mumbled to myself as I kept staring at the television in disbelief at what was unfolding.

"The final decision has been made to disqualify Mr. Alnault from the election. The party is under discussion regarding the new candidate that will run for prime minister," the news reporter announced diligently.

"Your father must find this announcement quite shocking," Bradon said without a hint of sympathy.

He shot me a look, and I could feel him silently asking if I knew that this was supposed to happen. The truth was that I did know it was supposed to happen, but not until after my engagement to Desmond. The timeline was definitely off from the plan we had agreed on, not that I had anything to complain about.

"I want to see his face so badly right now. This might be the first time in God knows how long that I actually want to see my father face to face," I said before I let out a small laugh.

"He’ll definitely give an interview about this," Bradon said with certainty.

So far, according to the news reporter, my father had refused to make any comments about his abrupt disqualification from the election. Regardless of the reason, it was already clear that his political career had been ruined without a chance of revival.

"The royal family has already abandoned the Alnaults," I said before I felt the corners of my lips twitching, and then I was smiling brightly as if I was embracing the beautiful break of dawn.

As if Desmond could see me watching the news at that very moment, he gave me a call. I stared at the phone vibrating in my hand for a brief moment before connecting the line.

"Did you like the present I prepared for you? Hopefully, you didn’t mind receiving it a little earlier. I figured the earlier, the better," Desmond said smugly. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Are you sure about this? This news is going to create unrest right before what we have planned," I pointed out as I suddenly started to feel quite worried.

"Don’t worry. Trust me, this is all for the best. After all, it would create even more confusion later on," Desmond said with clear satisfaction, and I knew that things were going his way.

Desmond was good at many things, and playing politics was definitely one of them. Now that he had shown that the royal family no longer supported the Alnault family, everyone would be speculating and also expecting that my relationship with Desmond would come to an end. Precisely when everyone thought that, Desmond and I would announce our engagement, taking our relationship to the next level.

"You sure like to stir up trouble," I said, shaking my head slowly from side to side.

I could hear Desmond laughing loudly from the other end of the line, and I could only imagine the satisfied smirk on his face.

"You know I hate it when things get boring. I’ll see you real soon. Take care till then," Desmond bid me farewell briefly before the line disconnected.

"Should I order the guards to shoot your father on sight? I’m pretty sure he’ll be crawling here on his hands and knees to beg for your help," Bradon asked sarcastically, but the look in his eyes told me that he was quite serious with his suggestion.

"Why would you do that? I thought I just told you that I wanted to see him face to face after all this time," I said before I burst out into laughter.

–To be continued...