Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 445: The Path Forward

"Many things happened that I needed to sort out. It’s all good now, so there is nothing for you to worry about," Bradon said before he smiled slightly at me.

"I don’t think you know how I feel. For a moment back there, I honestly thought that I needed to call off the wedding. In fact, I was in the middle of calling off our wedding when you suddenly turned up," I said before pressing my lips into a thin line and blinking my eyes rapidly.

I could feel tears stinging the back of my eyes, and I knew that I was about to burst into tears and lose all control of my emotions. The frustration and all the panic that I felt at that moment came rushing back to me and made me feel extremely uneasy. Although it was true that Bradon turned up just in time for our wedding to proceed, it didn’t change the fact that I was so close to being forced to call off our wedding because I had no idea where he was.

"I don’t want to sound like I’m a demanding person or anything, but today was our wedding. We had this planned, and even if we cannot make this day perfect, at least you should have turned up on time," I told him as I continued to fight my urge to break down and cry.

Bradon looked at me with a very sympathetic look in his eyes, but it wasn’t his sympathy that I was after. What I truly wanted were truthful explanations and answers to my questions. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Why were you late exactly?" I asked bluntly.

"Something came up," Bradon replied softly.

"Is this something that you can’t tell me about?" I asked.

"I had to make some urgent arrangements with Desmond’s team. It was his idea," Bradon said before grinning at me.

"Are you trying to tell me that Desmond is the one behind all of this?" I asked with squinted eyes.

"It’s not like I exactly want to blame the king of this country or my friend, but if you want to put it that way, then I guess it isn’t wrong," Bradon replied.

I let out a sigh when I realized that perhaps we were nothing more than pawns in Desmond’s game. Perhaps Desmond was just toying around with us, but something told me that there was something more that I didn’t understand.

"Do you think he did that intentionally so that you would be late to our wedding?" I asked, curious to find out Bradon’s take on everything.

"I don’t think he is that petty. Some of the things that were discussed were necessary and had to be done in a timely manner. Maybe he was getting me used to the idea of making sacrifices on personal matters for the greater good," Bradon replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

If Bradon had any hard feelings against his friend who was now the king, he did not openly show it. What he just said made me narrow my eyes in suspicion even more.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" I inquired once again.

"Desmond wants me to play a very active role in the politics of this country. Of course, that is because he wants to use me to help with his regime as king," Bradon explained before pausing.

"I think I get that. He can get you to help him push his agenda and whatever changes he wants to see in this country, but that would also mean..." I said as my suspicion quickly became confirmed.

I trailed off because I didn’t dare voice what was exactly in my mind. The prospect of it truly happening made my entire body shiver and made goosebumps form on my skin. Bradon must have realized that I had finally caught on to what was truly happening because he nodded his head firmly at me a few times.

"He wants me to become the next Prime Minister," Bradon concluded.

I could tell that with Desmond’s public support, it wouldn’t be that difficult for Bradon to secure his place as the next Prime Minister of this country. It was then that I truly understood the real reason why Desmond wanted to be there at our wedding.

No matter what, the news of his announcement was going to leak out to the public. I also knew that this was just the start of what Desmond had planned because it wouldn’t go beyond him to make even more public announcements.

"Why? You’ve always been helping him behind the scenes," I asked as my brows furrowed even further.

"He told me that it is time that I stop living in the shadows and step into the light. Honestly, he’d been telling me that for a while now, and I guess now that he is king, he’s really pushing me," Bradon said before letting out a soft sigh.

"Being pushed around is really unlike you, even if the one pushing is Desmond of all people," I replied.

"For once, I actually agree with him on this one. Many things have changed, but the most important thing is us," Bradon said as he took my hand into his.

My heart leapt in my chest when our eyes met. The sincere look of care in his eyes as his gaze held mine made it hard for me to breathe for a moment. I knew that he was serious about us and that, in his own way, he was putting us first.

"I figured that this is the best for our future. I also know that you’re concerned, and that is only natural because you’re not sure what is awaiting us in our future. In fact, I’m not certain either because I’ve never lived in the public spotlight before," Bradon said before pausing.

This time I was the one who gave his hand a squeeze of comfort and encouragement. It was probably the first time that I realized that I wasn’t the only one who felt lost in the situation.