The Substitute Bride

"I have something to do here," Charles replied flatly. Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a woman. His eyes automatically turned into slits when he saw her. When he saw the rattled look on her face, a thought flashed through his mind that she deserved this.

The moment he finished his work, he went to Sheryl's workplace to pick her up only to find the cleaning staff. After a few inquiries, he learned that his wife entered a private room. Moreover, they gave him the directions to the private room where his wife had gone.

He was shocked to see the scene unfolding in front of him as he entered the room. Only his hands were visibly active as he clenched his fists while he was staring at Oliver, for he was momentarily immobile. Oliver's hand was raised up ready to slap Sheryl. Then something clicked at the back of his mind. He wanted to dash forward to beat the crap out of that bastard!

Then his eyes landed on Sheryl; somehow it softened the fury he was feeling. He started to regain his composure.

"What's going on?" he asked instead. His cold, hard voice suddenly was heard in the room. Oliver's hand froze a bit in midair, and remembering his intention, he suddenly put his hand down. "Are you guys having a party or something?" Charles continued asking emphasizing the word "something". And he didn't plan on stopping. This time, he looked at Oliver, since no one liked to answer him, and continued saying, "I heard noises here as I was walking by the hallway."

"Here is the thing, Mr. Lu," Oliver started to explain as he gave Charles his best flattering smile. "This girl here said she was your wife, which we know is impossible. We took what she said as a joke and we were amused by it," Oliver continued with his explanation.

When Charles didn't reply, Oliver continued to joke. "You better keep this from you wife. Otherwise, she will not be happy about this and will set her wrath upon you." Then, Oliver laughed out loud, finding his joke very funny.

Controlling the fury building up inside him as he listened to the lamest joke he had ever heard, Charles started nodding slightly and replied, "You are right." 'I am going to teach you a lesson you will never forget!' he thought. This time, he frowned, with an intent to reflect worry as an effect. "I came here straight from work. I am looking for my wife. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find her. I intended to drive my wife home. Perhaps you know where I can find her?"

"Mrs. Lu is here?" Oliver asked in surprise. He glanced around and whined, "Come on, Mr. Lu. Why didn't you introduce your wife to us? You should have. That way we could have treated her to a meal."

"My wife is shy. She wants to keep a low profile. Whatever my wife desires, I grant. So I just let her be," Charles replied. This time, he looked at his wife. He gave her a hard look. This was what he was trying to explain to her about keeping a low profile. Instances liked this would surely happen more in the future. And he didn't want a repeat episode of this ever again!

Sheryl saw the look on her husband's face, and that look sent shiver down her spine. To stop this trouble from getting bigger, she walked to Charles' side with her head lowered, not saying a word.

Still, after several seconds passed, Charles didn't say a word to Sheryl. 'He is really angry this time. I bet he blames me. Oh well, really, there's no one to blame but me...' she thought.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked in a surprised tone, emphasizing each word. He scowled as he noticed Sheryl standing beside Charles. Sternly, h

Oliver felt so scared that his knees trembled violently. And because he couldn't control the trembling anymore, his legs turned limp and he collapsed on the floor.

In the business world, it was no secret how much Charles loved his wife. So it was no surprise on Oliver's part to see Charles acting like this. But still, he couldn't stop feeling not to be scared for his life. He knew that he offended him by offending his wife. He messed up big time this time.

He looked up at Charles. He started to sweat. His forehead started to glisten. The trembling was not only on his legs anymore. His whole body started to shake. "Mr. Lu, I know that I made a mistake. I didn't know that she is your wife. Otherwise, I wouldn't..." He started defending himself.

For the second time around, he was cut off while he explained himself. But this time, it was Charles. "But she told you, right? What I couldn't understand is why you didn't believe her!" Oliver was trying very hard to come up with an explanation. But his mind froze as he was intimidated with Charles' look. It was malfunctioning!

"I..." Oliver tried to answer but failed. He was speechless! He decided to remain silent in the midst of chaos. Anyway, there was wisdom in silence. Less talk, less mistake.

Sheryl pitied the man on the floor despite of his attitude to her. This time, she mediated. She lovingly held Charles' arm and whispered, "Come on, honey. Just let him go. He didn't hurt me. You arrived just in time."

Charles didn't want to leave Oliver just like that without punishing him for what he had done to Sheryl. He glared at her angrily and then said, "I will deal with you later."

Sheryl stuck out her tongue and said playfully, "Don't get mad at me, honey. I have already learned my lesson." Since it was almost dinner, she added, batting her eyelashes for effect, "I am hungry. Can you take me out to dinner right now?"

Seeing her doing drove Charles' anger away. After all, Sheryl seldom played cute in front of him. With a resigned expression, he sighed, "What should I do to you?"

She knew Charles very well. That was why, in times like this, she knew how to soften him to not be angry anymore. That was also the reason why he couldn't keep being mad at his wife. For those who really knew them, they could say that she could twist her husband in her fingers, just by using her feminine wiles.