My Substitute CEO Bride

"Happy birthday!"

The sound of party crackers being pulled rang out.

Members of the Lewis family popped out from behind the door, and they were accompanied by Theo, Sienna, Tatiana, Melody, and several others.

Nash was surprised by the number of people who suddenly appeared.

Hera grinned victoriously.

"Haha, look, look! He got scared!"

"Hahaha, you're right! This is the first time I've seen Nash get this scared!" Theo was grinning so widely that the corners of his lips were about to reach his ears. Everybody seemed particularly chuffed about the fact they had managed to frighten Nash. "W-What are you guys doing?" Nash asked, unable to make sense of things as he scratched his head.

Harrison stepped forth and explained what was going on.

"We heard from Hera that it's your birthday today, so we decided to surprise you. What do you think? Are you happy?!"noveldrama

Seeing how excited everyone was, Nash put a smile on his face. However, his gaze darted around sheepishly as he stuttered out his next sentence, "Oh! Yes, I'm really happy! Thank you so much!"

There was a reason for Nash's forced happiness-he had no idea when his actual birthday was and had never been really bothered about it. When he lived with his mentor in the mountains, the date he got adopted was set as his birthday. However, that day was like any other day to Nash, and he had never been fussed about birthdays since he was a kid.

"Thank you. I really mean it," Nash said while drawing in a deep breath, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

Everybody took their seats.

They were all around the same age, other than Harrison and Lauren.

They all belonged to the same circle, so the conversation flowed smoothly.

Just then, a knock was heard from the Lewis estate's front door.

After the door opened, a young man with his hair pulled back into a braid walked in. He wore a suit that seemed to clash with the rest of his features, which were set in an excited expression. In his hands were two bottles of expensive wine. "Oh my, oh my! I'm here to offer my congratulations to Master Nash for making it to another year!"

"C-Congratulations?" Theo asked, a look of disbelief on his face as he gazed at the young man who gave off the air of a ruffian despite his neatly dressed appearance.

As the young man walked in, the look on everybody's faces tensed slightly.

Harrison whispered, "Nash, who is this?"

"Please give me a minute." Nash could not determine who this young ruffian was either. However, since he was able to see his spirit back when he was at the Northern Territory's borders, that meant his powers were no force to be reckoned with. His powers might be even more powerful than his own.

"I've spoken to Francis, and he said you aren't his disciple. Please explain that," Nash said carefully.

"Gosh, that makes me so sad, Master Nash. Are you treating me like some sort of terrorist?" the young man said as he walked toward Nash, the creepy-looking smile never leaving his face.

"Tell us why you're here. What do

you want to do? And who are you?" Nash said coolly. It should have

been a happy day, but the

youngster's sudden a

caused him plenty of discomfort.

"Gosh, don't be so cold, Master Nash. I have no ill intentions."

had

Then, the youngster leaned toward Nash and whispered, "I'm just here to wish you well on behalf of my master. Oh, and on your father's behalf as well."

Nash grabbed the young ruffian roughly. He could not calm down after hearing his father brought into the conversation.

"You! Who on earth are you?! What is Francis Dunn trying to do?!"

"My name is Mosley. I have no idea what my master wants to do, sorry. I've been banished from his guidance." "My father! Where is my father?!"

"Allow me to give you some advice, Master Nash. If you don't want the rest of your family murdered, I'd advise you to stop looking for your father," Mosley said as he gazed at Nash's family.

Nash let go of Mosley before he asked his next question carefully.

"D-Do you know something? Is that why you've been banished?"

"Well, about that..." Mosley began nonchalantly.

"Master Nash, has your father never asked you to be careful of Francis?"