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The Substitute

Author: Lady Aston
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-20 22:26:32

‘What’s wrong with this man?’

Emily thought, still trying to be her calmest.

“Brian… His name is Brian, my best friend.” Emily replied coolly, keeping her shaking nerves to herself.

“Oh… what a handsome man to be just the best friend!” Margaux Shell butted in, obviously trying to hit on something. Her right brow curled upward as she hooked her arm to Charles. Emily could clearly see that Margaux was flirting with Charles, and her being so nosy was to impress him. “The way I see it, he likes you, my dear. Don’t be so blind because you two are a good match.” Margaux added, too clingy, to Charles's arm.

Charles quickly moved his arm away from Margaux. One could tell that he was irritated and in a bad mood. He went away without saying anything.

In a few minutes, Brian came back with bottles of water.

After giving everyone, he went to sit in the corner with Emily.

Charles went back inside, and the first thing that caught his eye was Emily laughing with Brian.

He didn’t know why this girl m
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  • My Darling Superstar   Heavy Hearts

    Emily stepped out of the university gates, her bag slung over one shoulder, her steps slow and heavy. The sun was beginning to dip behind the buildings, casting long shadows across the pavement.A sleek black car pulled up beside her, its windows tinted, its engine purring.The back seat window rolled down.“Emily! Get in!” Nancy’s voice rang out, cheerful and commanding.Emily blinked. Nancy was no longer in a gown but dressed in a crisp white blazer over a silk blouse, her hair pinned back in a chic twist. She looked like she had stepped out of a fashion editorial.Before Emily could protest, the driver had already stepped out and opened the door for her.She hesitated at first but slid in.Charles.He was seated at the back of the car with Nancy, dressed in a dark button-down, sleeves rolled up, his watch catching the light. His gaze met hers—deep, unreadable—but he said nothing.Neither did she.She quickly looked away and sat down, folding her hands in her lap as the door shut an

  • My Darling Superstar   Shadow Behind The Spotlight

    Charles sat alone in his room, the lights dimmed low, the silence pressing in like a second skin. The door was locked. The world outside—Nancy was sleeping in the guest room.In his hand was a glass of whiskey, half-melted ice clinking softly as he swirled it. He hadn’t touched it in minutes.His mind was elsewhere.With her.Emily.He saw her expression when Nancy appeared—how her smile faltered, how her body stiffened, how her eyes, wide and unguarded, filled with something that twisted his chest.She had looked… lost.No. Worse.She had looked betrayed.He brought the glass to his lips but didn’t drink. His jaw clenched. His fingers tightened around the crystal.He had kissed her.He had kissed her like he meant it.Because he did.Charles leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply through his nose. His head tilted back, eyes closed, and the memory came rushing in like a wave he couldn’t stop.Her smile. Her mesmerizing eyes.Her warm skin.The way her lips trembled just before he

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    The drive back to the Adam estate was quiet, but not the kind of silence that weighed. It was the kind that lingered after laughter, after kisses, after something real had been shared. Emily leaned her head against the window, her fingers still tingling from where they’d laced with Charles’s in the water. Her lips still burned from his kiss.Charles glanced at her now and then, a soft smile tugging at his mouth. He looked different. Lighter. Like something inside him had finally exhaled.The sky was deep indigo by the time Charles and Emily returned to the Adam estate. The long driveway was bathed in soft golden light from the mansion’s sconces, and the air was cool, still carrying the scent of pine and distant rain.They stepped out of the car together, still in their matching couple shirts, still smiling like they had just returned from a secret honeymoon. Emily’s cheeks were flushed from the wind, her heart still warm from the waterfall, from his kiss, from the way he had looked at

  • My Darling Superstar   Paradise

    The first light of dawn crept gently through the thin curtains, casting a soft, golden hue across the small room. Dust motes danced lazily in the air, and the ceiling fan spun in slow, sleepy circles above them.Emily stirred first.Her lashes fluttered open, and for a moment, she didn’t remember where she was. The bed beneath her was too firm, the sheets too plain, the air too still. But then she felt it—the steady rise and fall of a chest beneath her cheek. The warmth of an arm wrapped around her waist. The familiar scent of him—clean, faintly woodsy, and unmistakably Charles.She blinked slowly.Her hand was still in his.Their fingers were still laced, even in sleep.She tilted her head slightly and found herself tucked perfectly into the crook of his shoulder, her body curved into his like they had always belonged there. His other arm was draped protectively around her, his grip loose but present, like even in sleep, he didn’t want to let go.Charles was still asleep.His face wa

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  • My Darling Superstar   Alive Again

    Emily stood barefoot beside the car, the warm sand curling between her toes. The salty breeze tousled her hair as she looked out at the endless blue, her eyes wide with wonder. She inhaled deeply, the scent of the ocean wrapping around her like a memory.Then she turned to Charles.He stood there, hands in his pockets, watching her with that unreadable expression—half amusement, half something deeper.Without warning, Emily stepped closer.So close that their shoulders brushed.And then—on her toes—she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.A whisper of warmth.A spark.Before he could react, she was already pulling away, her eyes gleaming with mischief.“Yeahhh!” she shouted, throwing her hands in the air like a child set free.She ran toward the water, her laughter echoing across the shore, her hair flying behind her like a banner of joy. The hem of her dress fluttered around her knees as she splashed into the shallows, spinning once, arms wide, face tilted to the sun.Char

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