Substitute Bride: Utterly Pampered by Her Billionaire Husband

Chapter 1521: Holding Her While Sleeping

Celeste Linden had finally had a few quiet days. Ever since Ethan Barnes had taken Carlotta to the hospital that day, the two of them hadn’t come back. Word was that Carlotta’s mental state was really bad—whenever she was awake, she’d make a scene about killing herself.

Afraid something might happen to Carlotta again, Ethan stayed by her side the whole time and never came back.

Celeste stayed in her own room like she was waiting for a sentence to be passed. This tug-of-war between Ethan and Carlotta would decide who got the final victory.

Maybe the mental pressure was too much. Celeste’s sleep had been getting worse, and on top of that her appetite was already poor, so at night she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"Miss Linden, what’s wrong?" the maid asked quickly, suddenly nervous.

Celeste pressed a hand to her lower abdomen. "My stomach hurts a bit—tss—it really hurts."

Her face was starting to go pale, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Since Ethan wasn’t home, the maids had been extra careful taking care of Celeste, terrified something might happen to the baby in her belly and Ethan would hold them responsible.

Now seeing her like this, the maid panicked on the spot. "Miss Linden, I’ll call the doctor right now. He’ll be here soon. Hang in there."

Celeste lay on the bed, and the doctor arrived quickly. After examining her, he said, "Miss Linden, your unstable emotions lately have affected the fetus. There are now slight signs of a miscarriage, so from now on you must stay in bed and rest as much as possible to protect the pregnancy."

She had signs of a miscarriage?

This was Celeste’s first child. Ever since she’d decided to give birth to this baby, she’d sworn she would protect him well and give him all her love. So now that there were signs of a miscarriage, she was filled with guilt.

"Okay, doctor, I understand. Thank you."

The doctor walked out.

Celeste drifted off to sleep on the bed. The maid brought in a delicious dinner, but seeing that Celeste was already asleep, she could only carry it back out. The room fell silent.

She didn’t know how long she slept. In a groggy haze, Celeste vaguely felt a dark figure standing by the bed, like someone was there.

Who?

Celeste’s eyes flew open. She hadn’t seen wrong—there really was someone by the bed. It was Ethan Barnes.

Ethan was back.

It looked like he hadn’t washed up for days. His shirt and trousers were wrinkled, and the stubble on his face hadn’t been shaved in a long time. He looked utterly exhausted, though that did nothing to diminish his inherent sharp, handsome features.

"Why did you come back?" Celeste’s eyes were still a bit sleepy. She tried to sit up.

But Ethan reached out and gently brushed her cheek. "Don’t move. Just lie down."

Celeste lay back. She glanced at the time—it was already past midnight. He’d actually rushed back in the middle of the night.

"How’s Carlotta?" she asked softly.

Ethan’s eyes were dark and unreadable. He pressed his thin lips together and said hoarsely, "Her emotions are still unstable. The doctor suggested I take her to a psychiatrist."

Celeste lowered her long lashes. "Then you should go back and stay with her. If she wakes up and finds you’re not there, she’ll definitely be triggered again."

Ethan’s fingertips stroked the soft skin of her face. She’d had red spots on her face before, and later they hadn’t been treated, but somehow in this period all those spots had faded away, revealing a fair, beautiful face again, gentle as water.

"Celeste Linden, you’re pretty magnanimous. But right now I’d rather see you jealous over me, wanting me to stay with you," Ethan said with a helpless curl of his thin lips.

Celeste instinctively turned her face away, dodging his touch. "You know what I want."

She wanted him to let her go.

As soon as those words fell, Ethan went silent. A few seconds later, he asked, "What’s going on with your stomach? How did you end up with signs of a miscarriage?"

Celeste placed her small hand on her belly. "I don’t know either. But I’ll protect the baby."

"Mm. I’m going to take a shower," Ethan said, turning to go into the bathroom.

Celeste lay quietly on the bed. In fact, she really hated this version of Ethan. She still preferred the Ethan from before.

The Ethan who’d locked her up and broken her legs.

The Ethan who’d slapped her and told her she was just a stand-in.

The Ethan who’d only treated her as a pawn he could use, who didn’t care whether she lived or died.

The Ethan now in front of her felt like a stranger.

He’d never been the devoted type to begin with, so why bother pretending to be so deeply in love? Celeste’s red lips curled in a mocking smile. She wasn’t going to fall for it anyway. All she wanted was to leave this place with her child.

While her thoughts were running wild, Ethan had already finished his shower. Wearing a black silk robe, he came out, lifted the covers, and climbed into the bed, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Celeste’s body stiffened. She’d thought he would leave soon; she hadn’t expected that not only would he stay, he’d actually get into her bed.

What was he trying to do—sleep here with her tonight?

Feeling the tension in her body, Ethan buried his head in her long hair and kissed it twice, hard. "Relax. I won’t do anything to you."

Celeste shifted a little. "But...aren’t you going back to the hospital? Carlotta’s still there. If she doesn’t see you, she’ll..."

Her words were cut off with a muffled sound.

Ethan had turned her face toward him and leaned down to seal her red lips with his.

Celeste immediately pressed a hand against his chest, trying to push him away, but Ethan easily caught her slender wrist and pinned it to the bed, then deepened the kiss.

Celeste didn’t close her eyes.

Ethan let her go. "Dummy, close your eyes."

Celeste, on instinct, opened her eyes even wider.

Ethan chuckled. "If you stare at me like that, I’ll end up wanting to do something bad..."

Ah.

Startled, Celeste let out a small cry and immediately squeezed her eyes shut.

Heh.

Ethan laughed under his breath, a faint warmth rippling between the two of them.

He rolled onto his back and lay flat, his strong arm looping around her slender shoulders to pull her into his arms. Then he closed his eyes. "Sleep. I’m tired."

He just wanted to hold her and sleep quietly for a while.

Celeste watched him. He must have been exhausted; he fell asleep quickly. When he slept, all his usual arrogance faded away, and he looked much more pleasing to the eye.

She quietly raised a small hand, reaching to touch his handsome face.

But just as she was about to touch him, her fingers froze. She didn’t understand what she was doing.

Celeste withdrew her hand. Her stiff body had already unknowingly relaxed. She closed her eyes in his arms.

The two of them fell asleep.

...

The next morning, they were woken by urgent knocking on the door outside.

"Sir, something’s wrong, there’s been an accident. The hospital says Miss Carlotta didn’t see you and got triggered again. She’s already climbed up to the rooftop and is trying to jump!"

Ethan shot up from the bed, instantly awake.

Celeste opened her eyes as well. By then, the man beside her had already thrown back the covers and gotten out of bed, racing out of the room.