Oliver's Substitute Bride (Oliver and Jessica)

Lambert also came to Hayden's studio, but he was a teacher there. Hayden was getting old, and he was glad to have such an excellent helper. But Lambert only came to the studio on weekends, and if Jessica came, he would come.

And Oliver heard about that.

This woman surprised him again.

One day, at the dinner table, while the three of them were eating quietly, Tina suddenly said, "Sister, I went shopping yesterday and bought some things for the babies. I bought some for your baby too. After the meal, I'll ask Nanny Winnie to send them to your room.” Jessica glanced at her. She didn't know what Tina's real purpose was, so she said coldly, "No, thanks, you can keep them for your baby."

Jessica didn't expect Oliver to allow Tina to go out freely, which made her uneasy. She wasn't worried about Tina's actions, but if Tina could get help from Marina, she might not be able to deal with them. She knew Tina and Marina must have been planning something.

"Mr. Williams, you can't blame me for being selfish. I've bought something for my sister's baby but she refused my kindness.” Tina said. Oliver glared at Jessica, who was eating with her head down. "You don't need to do that. She doesn't deserve your kindness.”

Jessica paused. She didn't expect Oliver to say something so harsh to her in front of Tina. She felt humiliated.

But hearing his words, Tina was greatly satisfied. "Mr. Williams, I did that because you asked the butler to pay for my bills with your card, so I think I should buy something for my sister. Mr. Williams, you're so nice. But my sister is not grateful to you at all."

Hearing them echoing each other, Jessica was no longer in the mood to eat anything. She threw the knife and fork to the plate.

As soon as she stood up, she heard Oliver snap, "Sit down."

The atmosphere was frozen. It was the first time that Tina had seen Oliver be so angry.

Jessica was also scared. After they visited her grandma, he really treated her well as he had said to grandma. They had been polite to each other, which made her think that this man had gotten rid of his bad temper. But he became the same Oliver as before.

Jessica knew she would get nothing if she kept going against him, so she had to sit down again.

Tina smiled and said, "Mr. Williams, don't be angry. Let's eat.”

Jessica said nothing, just lowered her head and continued eating.

She felt that eating with them was great torture.

After Oliver left, the tense atmosphere began to ease.

Tina laughed smugly. "Jessica, so this is how you and Mr. Williams get along. Has he abused you secretly? Let me see if you have bruises on your body."

Then she reached out to tear Jessica's clothes but was stopped by Jessica. "Take your hand away. Don't dirty my clothes.”

"I'l pay you if I dirty your clothes. No, it should be Mr. Williams who will pay you. Jessica, I feel sorry for you. You have to work even though you're pregnant. Even in front of me and so many servants, he treated you so badly. I wonder how he has tortured you secretly.”

Tina's laughter got smugger. She had thought that Oliver did all this for her.

"Tina, I have good news for you. I can sell it to you as long as you can ask Oliver to let me go, or you can try your best to pester him. The deadline is the day I give birth to the child.”

Jessica could tell that Oliver treated Tina better now and felt her more annoying. So it was the best time for her to leave.

"What news? I'm not a fool. Why should I help you?" Tina wanted to agree immediately, but she couldn't show that. Marina had taught her to think twice when saying something to Jessica.

Because in the past, Tina was always the one who was at a disadvantage when dealing with Jessica. But with Marina, the shrewd woman, behind her, her situation became much better.

Jessica said expressionlessly, “Don’t you want to marry Oliver? I can make you be Mrs. Williams.”

"Really?" Tina could not hide her joy.

"Really, I'll tell grandpa when the time comes. I promise you will marry Oliver."

Although Tina hated Jessica, she knew Jessica would not go back on her words. Besides, she wouldn't lose anything since she always wanted to get rid of Jessica.

In the afternoon, Jessica left GrandVille Apartments. Now she could not only go to the hospital but also the studio. Ever since she started drawing, she felt like she was slowly coming back to life. She knew what she wanted and didn't want to tolerate Oliver's moodiness anymore. Time flew. It was already early winter.

It was a windy and rainy day. The weather was very cold and wet. Jessica was walking towards the studio in a gray cashmere coat.

She was walking along a business street, which was one of the most prosperous areas in Birmingham.

The streets were crowded. Though the weather was not good, it didn't ruin people's moods. The street was lively. She stopped and sat on a chair by the side of the road. Looking at the flow of people, she began to imagine that she was one of them, living a free life.

Jessica was alone in a daze. There were still raindrops falling on the ground but a transparent umbrella was held above her head. She then looked up, meeting Lambert's eyes.

Jessica immediately stood up. "Lambert, why are you here?"

"It's raining, but there's a silly girl sitting outside in the rain. And I happened to find it's you."

"I'm sorry. But it doesn't rain heavily. You see, there are very few people on the street with umbrellas.”

Perhaps Birmingham was often cloudy and rainy, so people got used to it.

"You may get cold by sitting here. Let's have a cup of hot coffee to warm you up.”