Substitute Bride Of The Retarted Billionaire

Axel

"Here. Please hold it." As soon as Gillian arrived in front of her room, she handed the platter filled with two bowls of noodles and poached eggs to Steve.

Steve nodded and hurriedly collected the platter. His lips parted to say a word, but before he could, Gillian turned and entered the room at a fast pace.

Gillian took a look at herself in the mirror and began to fix her look and clothes. Seeing the red fingerprint marks on her face, she sighed and quickly applied makeup to that certain part of her cheek to conceal the mark.

Once Gillian was sure that she was presentable, she strode towards the closet in a long stride. Gillian had always been a fan of keeping favorite snacks in her bag for easy access.

Gillian picked up a bag and opened it. She took out a favorite bar of chocolate and a lollipop and put them into her pocket before making her way out of the room.

"Thank you." Gillian flashed Steve a smile and hurriedly collected the platter from him. “Can you bring me to the young master's study?" She asked

“Yes, Miss.” Steve bowed and immediately led the way to Augustus' study.

Gillian's eyes darted around the mansion in awe. She can't help thinking that the person in charge of the house's interior decoration has good taste.

"Miss, here we are." As soon as Steve arrived in front of Augustus' study, he bowed and pointed at the closed door.

Gillian nodded and gently opened the door before walking into the study. The study was decorated in a monotone color. It had a bookshelf filled with books. an expensive antique table and chair, etc.

Augustus sat behind the computer, his brows furrowed, his eyes dim and unfocused, and his index finger kept tapping the table rhythmically.

Gillian's heart ached at the sight she saw. If she had known that her departure would cause such sadness for Augustus, she'd have written a letter to him.

Gillian slowly made her way to the absent Augustus. She gently placed the platter on the table, hoping to catch Augustus' attention, yet she failed woefully.

An amused glint flickered past her eyes immediately. She parted her lips to tease Augustus, but before she could, she froze.

The documents placed in front of Augustus were filled with multiple scribbles of 'Gillian, wife,' in Augustus’ handwriting, and the screen was also filled with the same thing.

An emotion Gillian had never felt before began to seep into her heart, and her eyes warmed with tears. This person was the only person, apart from her mom, who was eager for her presence. That showed care and warmth for her.

Gillian was so overwhelmed by the strong emotions that before she could get a grip on her emotions, she had already bent slightly and placed a kiss on Augustus' right cheek. "Welcome gift." She conveyed, her voice emitting a thin stutter and whisper due to embarrassment.

Gillian's eyes turned moist and limpid, and her face reddened so much that it felt as if it could drip blood with just a touch. Gillian’s heart kept racing, overwhelming her. She couldn’t help thinking that she had taken advantage of the great Augustus Albrecht.

Feeling the warm kiss, Augustus' brows furrowed, and his hand touched his cheeks absentmindedly. He suddenly realized something, and he snapped out of his daze.

Augustus' eyes lit up, and he turned to Gillian as if he had just realized her presence. He grabbed Gillian’s hands immediately. "Wife, you're back!" He exclaimed, his lips curving up with joy.

Warmth bloomed in Gillian's heart, and her lips unconsciously curved up in a smile—her embarrassment diffusing within the blink of an eye.

"I'm back," Gillian admitted with a smile. She extended her hand and patted Augustus’ black hair. "Young Master hasn't eaten. Let's eat." She stated

Gillian picked up the clean chopsticks placed next to the bowl of noodles and placed them into one of the bowls of noodles.

She placed the bowl of noodles right in front of Augustus and set the other bowl of noodles aside.

Augustus' eyes lit up, and his black eyes were fixated on Gillian intensely. He extended his hand but retracted it quickly as if he were afraid that he'd be disappointed. "Wife cook it?" He pressed his lips together in agitation.

"En." Gillian nodded straightforwardly.

Augustus beamed, and his eyes seemed to be filled with stars. Gillian's eyes were unconsciously stuck to his face, and she couldn't help but get attracted. Her heart began to race, and her face flushed.

Subconsciously, Gillian’s eyes were fixated on Augustus' movement and expression nervously, wanting to know if Augustus would like it or not.

This wasn't the first time Gillian had cooked or gifted a person with her meal, but this was the first time she was nervous about how her food would make a person react!

Augustus carefully picked up the chopsticks with a solemn expression, yet his whole steps revealed elegance. It was as if he never wanted to make a mistake throughout the whole course of eating.

He carefully picked up the thin noodles with the chopsticks and ate them carefully. In the next second, his eyes lit up with joy.

Unconsciously, a smile blossomed on Gillian’s face, and she secretly exhaled in relief, glad that Augustus liked her noodles.

Although Gillian acted as if she were calm, she presented her noodles to Augustus. Augustus was raised in luxury and had always eaten the best of the best, which made Gillian afraid that his taste buds might reject her food.

Augustus gripped the chopsticks firmly, and within a few minutes, he completed the bowl of noodles and poached egg.

Upon seeing the empty bowl in front of him, Augustus furrowed his brows, his eyes turned downcast, and his lips drew into a thin line.

Gillian secretly chuckled at Augustus' adorable expression. She propped her head up and patted his head softly. “Do you like it?” She inquired, and her face brightened in happiness.

Even though Gillian had just experienced negativity a few seconds ago, somehow, when Gillian was in Augustus’ presence, the sadness seemed to dissipate.

Augustus’ fingers gripped themselves tightly, and he pressed his lips together. He lowered his head and nodded twice. “Yes.”

Gillian’s lips curved up in a wide grin, and intense happiness seeped into her heart. She ran her hands through Augustus' hair the way he would like it. “You want more?”

Augustus’ eyes lowered, and his lips pressed against each other tighter. His body became tense; he grabbed his hands together and stayed silent, different emotions flickering past his eyes.

Gillian couldn’t fail to capture nervousness, fright, etc. in Augustus’ gaze.

Gillian’s heart ached at the sight. She could notice that Augustus wanted more, but he felt tense to say so.

Gillian retracted her hand from his hair and carefully smiled at Augustus. “If young master doesn't tell Gillian, Gillian can't know.” Gillian softly coaxed, her eyes fixated on Augustus’ every expression.

Augustus’ brows knitted, and his lips drew into a line as if he were in thought. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Gillian with cautiousness. “Can I?”

Upon seeing Augustus’ cautiousness, Gillian’s heart felt as if it had been stabbed. She quickly pinched her palm to suppress herself, and she feigned a caring smile.

Regardless of what he might have experienced in the past, it’s fine as long as he is slowly able to learn how to express himself to her. She rubbed his head endearingly.

“Yes. Here.” Gillian placed the second bowl of noodles and poached egg in front of Augustus immediately.

Augustus' brows furrowed, and he raised his head to stare at Gillian in bewilderment. Augustus believed that the second bowl of noodles was supposed to belong to Gillian. He shook his head and placed the bowl in front of Gillian in return. “Wife, eat.”

Understanding what Augustus meant, Gillian beams sweetly—her heart invaded with sweetness. Despite that Augustus was still hungry, he cared about Gillian so much that he'd rather watch Gillian eat the bowl of noodles than eat it himself.

Gillian snapped out of her thoughts and returned the bowl of noodles to Augustus. “I’ve eaten. It belongs to the young master.” She firmly enunciated one after the other without batting an eye to make Augustus believe her.

Although the butler had already vouched for Gillian, she was ordered not to eat by Renata, and the last thing she wants is to get the butler in trouble by disobeying the commands.

Augustus' brows furrowed, and after a few seconds, he nodded. Within a few bites, the bowl was empty.

Gillian rubbed Augustus' head endearingly. “If you want, Gillian will cook it for you, okay?” She coaxed

Augustus' eyes lit up, and he nodded his head immediately. “En,”

Gillian stood up, uncapped a bottle of water, and poured the water into a clean cup of glass before handing it to Augustus.

Augustus collected it and raised the cup towards his lips to drink, but before he could.

The door to the study was suddenly opened from outside, and a tall, handsome man in a black suit strode in. The man is in his twenties, and he has an outstanding and chiseled face.

Upon seeing Gillian in the study, the man paused in his tracks as if he were taken aback by the sight of her, but in the next minute, he strode towards them and bowed to Gillian and Augustus, respectively. “Young master, young Miss…”

Before he could complete his words, his eyes unconsciously darted to the document on the table.

Axel’s eyes narrowed, he gnashed his teeth together, and his expression turned cold. “Young master!" His voice raised a notch due to fury.

Axel picked up the document and skimmed through it one after the other. The more he skimmed through it, the darker his expression.

In the end, he slammed the document hard on the table in exasperation.

BANG!!!

Augustus jumped slightly and began to tremble at the noise. Gillian’s face contorted in an unhappy frown immediately.

Axel ran his hands through his hair before he pointed at Augustus in unhappiness and exasperation. “Young master, you failed to work for three days yet turned the documents into a mess. How can you play around with company files?” He roared in fury.

Augustus’ head lowered, and he twisted his finger, trembling.

Axel's eyes turned cold, and he scoffed immediately. What the hell? When did the young master turn this way? Is the young master playing him?

Axel massaged his brows and picked up a document. “This is an important document for tomorrow’s meeting; how can you fill it up with...” He paused and sighed in exasperation before taking a side glance at Gillian.

Seeing how Augustus continuously trembles at Axel’s chiding, Gillian’s heart pangs with pain. She hugged Augustus and began to pat his back to comfort him.

Gillian directed a sharp glare at Axel due to fury. “What are the company staff paid for if they can’t even work in young Master Augustus' absence? The young master is sick; how could you keep bringing in documents? He shouldn't even be playing with the computer so brazenly. Did you even care about him? Did you even care about his health? He is already going through a lot; please reduce the workload.” Gillian muttered

Does Gillian think that they haven’t tried to reduce it as much as they could? If it wasn’t for Augustus having a unique signature and signs... Thinking about everything made him exasperated.

Axel's lips twitched, and his gaze fell on the trembling Augustus.

Clearly, Augustus was the one in the wrong, yet Axel was scolded and made to look like a bad person.

Axel was so infuriated that he wanted to let out a curse, but he could only suppress it and obediently reply, “Yes, young mistress.”

“Thank you.” Gillian flashed Axel a bedazzling smile and separated from Augustus immediately. Augustus' body became tense at the separation.

Gillian sighed and gently ran her hand through Augustus's hair, comfortingly causing him to squint and beam in joy.

Upon seeing Augustus relax, Gillian exhaled, parted from him, and picked up the empty, dirty plates, chopsticks, and platter. “Young masters should continue. I’m leaving.” She stated and turned to leave.

Augustus extended his hand and quickly grabbed Gillian’s hand causing her to stop. His eyes landed on Axel cautiously, as if Axel were a bad guy.

Axel almost spat blood. Young master, you’ve only known this person for less than forty-eight hours; how can you trust her more than someone you’ve known for life? Axel can’t help thinking that he has been betrayed.

Gillian flashed Augustus a comforting smile. Recalling something, she reached out for her pocket and took out the lollipop and chocolate bar before handing them to Augustus. “Here. Gillian will be back soon, okay?” She tried to coax

Augustus’ brows furrowed. After a few seconds, he nodded his head and collected them from Gillian. Gillian smiled and walked out of the study.

As soon as Augustus’ eyes landed on the chocolate bar and lollipop, his lips curled up in a smile, and his eyes twinkled with joy. He suddenly extended them towards Axel with cautious eyes, as if he were telling Axel to help him open it, yet telling him not to try to steal it from him.

Axel's lips twitched, and he almost let out a curse. Does he look like a man who’ll do such a dirty act? As if he were ever interested in sweets!

Nevertheless, Axel collected them and unwrapped them before handing them to Augustus.