The Substitute Bride

"We are family. With family, thanks are not necessary," Andy replied reassuringly. After a short moment of silence, he looked at Sheryl and added, "Don't worry. I will inform you once I hear anything."

"Thank you very much." Sheryl made sure to express her gratitude. She bid Amy goodbye before going back to Dream Garden. When she arrived, she was surprised to find Charles already standing at the gate, waiting for her.

Sheryl couldn't believe it. She looked at her watch. "It's so late. Why are you still up? You didn't need to wait for me." After such a long day, Sheryl felt beyond exhausted. In addition, she was not at all ready for surprises. Finding out that Charles hadn't slept either definitely was a surprise.

Charles held Sheryl's hand and said, "I heard about…" Suddenly, he was unsure about how to proceed. But looking at Sheryl's eyes, he found his voice again. "I heard about what happened to Sue," he continued.

Sheryl did not respond. Charles kept his eyes locked on Sheryl and added, "Don't worry. I have someone investigating this matter. And I will let you know as soon as I hear anything new."

"Thank you," Sheryl managed to say softly. The weariness in her voice rang in Charles' ears.

Somewhere in the east of the city, light from the moon illuminated the roof of a deserted garage.

Sharp pain shot across Sue's lower back from her hands being tied behind her back. She straightened her back to get rid of the pain. Immediately, it was gone. But she knew it wasn't for long. A few feet from her sat Allen and Peggy. Peggy had managed to find potatoes from God knew where and had roasted them promptly. After carefully arranging them on a makeshift plate, she handed a bunch of these over to Allen and said, "My son, at least have a bite. It's only a matter of time before we get out of this damned place."

"For the last time, stop forcing me to eat those disgusting things!" Allen exclaimed, pushing Peggy's arms away. Some of the potatoes, still smoking, fell onto Peggy's hands and arms before falling to the ground and rolling in the dirt. Peggy yelped in both pain and shock.

Hearing Peggy's shrill cry of pain, Allen quickly realized he had hurt his mother. He immediately felt guilty and went to her aid. "Mom are you..." He looked for signs of burns or bruises on his mother's skin. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm fine." Peggy shook her head slightly. She held on to the makeshift plate, which now held much less food for the both of them. Then she put on a big smile and added, "It's nothing. It's just that they were still too hot. I will be feeling much better later on. Don't worry."

Allen then heaved a deep sigh of relief. "You can have those." He motioned at the remaining potatoes. "I'm not hungry anyway."

"I know you must be sick of having these potatoes every single day." A breath of resignation escaped Peggy's lips. Allen didn't want to look at

u don't need to worry about anything. I…"

"You shut up!" Peggy did not let her finish. She was fuming. Peggy's breathing was now ragged. She took a moment to calm down. After a deep breath, her lips curled into a smile. "I'm getting the feeling you're not hungry at all. That's fine. More food for us."

With a sardonic smile, she stood up and told Sue, "If I knew you were going to be such a heartless person, I would have killed you the minute I gave birth to you. Allen is your brother. I can't believe you want to just throw him in jail rather than help him out."

"I…" Sue didn't know what to do. Trying to ignore her mother's hurtful remarks, she continued to explain, "Mom, I'm really trying to help him. He can't keep doing these kinds of things over and over!" When Sue heard these very words come out of her own mouth, her emotions got the better of her and hurt turned into spite. "This is for his own good! Why can't you understand that? I know you are a mother and I know you love Allen, but I don't know you can be this stupid!"

"You bitch!" Allen, who had just finished smoking the remaining cigarette, rushed toward Sue. He heard, loudly and clearly, what she had just said. A deafening slap landed on Sue's face. Allen's voice filled the garage. "I leave for a while and you develop the nerve to talk like this to our mother!" He chuckled. "Oh, I think you're tired of living. Let me help you with that."

Sue's consciousness was fading. Her body, trying to protect itself, curled into a ball without her even knowing. In her head was a loud, painful ringing. Before she could even react, Allen began kicking her. Fortunately, the first few kicks landed on her legs, not on her belly.

Sue's body involuntarily shook with every kick, but this did nothing to help Allen feel any better. He was about to go again when Peggy pulled him back and said, "That's enough. You'll risk her life and ours if you kick her again."