The Substitute Bride

After circling around Dream Garden several times, Charles finally found Sheryl jogging along the sidewalk. He heaved a sigh of relief.

Sheryl showed no signs of showing down, so he quickened his pace to a quick jog and caught up with her. "What's going on, Sher? Is there anything you're unhappy about? Did you get into trouble? Whatever it is, please tell me and I'll help you solve it," he said quickly, taking long strides in order to be able to keep up with her. He still thought that Sheryl was facing some difficulties and just didn't want to trouble him.

But Sheryl ignored him and just continued jogging, not even bothering to look his way. Charles felt as though he was talking to a robot.

"Sher, what's wrong?" Charles asked again, puzzled.

He had lost count of how many times he had asked her that question. He felt as if he had asked that question more times this morning than he had throughout their entire marriage.

Sheryl continued to ignore him, which only made him worry even more.

Finally, he sped up and stood right in front of her, blocking her path. Sheryl had no choice but to acknowledge his presence. She came to a stop, glaring at him. He asked again for the umpteenth time, "Sher, what's the matter with you? Didn't you hear me talking to you?"

Sheryl's behavior was puzzling and scary at the same time. She wasn't angry, she wasn't stressed, and she wasn't scared—she was just different. It was as if she weren't his wife but just someone wearing her body. He had no clue what was going on and how to talk to her.

"Get out my way. I want to jog," Sheryl said in a distant, cold tone. It was as if she was talking to a complete stranger. Those few short words made it clear that she didn't want Charles anywhere near her.

"Since when do you exercise?" Charles questioned, as he reluctantly moved out of her way to let her resume her jogging. All of a sudden, he felt like the person in front of him was truly a stranger. He had no idea what was running through her mind and why she was so worked up. He was scared to ask her any more questions in case he ticked her off even more. If she went back into her shell and refused to talk to him, he would have no way at all to find out what was wrong.

"I have been neglecting my health for too long," Sheryl replied curtly. To be honest, she herself didn't know what was wrong with her. Just a few moments ago, she hated Charles with every fiber in her being. But when she saw Charles being so patient and persistent, she suddenly didn't have the heart to ignore him.

She couldn't bear to look at his face. She knew him well enough to know exactly what he was feeling just by his expression. Right now, it was a combination of puzzlement, disappointment, concern and also fear.

In fact, she wasn't annoyed by him following her and even his non-stop questioning.

At that moment, she realized just how much she loved Charles, to e

rong. Watching them enjoy her cooking while seeing them grow in front of her eyes was a great source of joy to Melissa.

She often fantasized about the bright future she had planned for the kids after she succeeded in kicking Sheryl out of the house. 'They will be running around every day, calling me Grandma and keeping me away from boredom. It will just be me, them and their father. Hopefully I can also get Leila to be a perfect daughter-in-law and also a good wife for Charles, ' she dreamed happily.

"Thank you for feeding the kids, Mom. You really shouldn't have troubled yourself. You can get some rest, I'll take them to school now," Sheryl said to Melissa politely. Even though she still didn't fully trust Melissa, Sheryl was grateful that she took such good care of her children.

The other day when Sheryl had gone to fetch Melissa from the hotel, they hadn't gotten along at all. Melissa had been unkind to Sheryl and the latter had snapped back. Neither of them had gotten over the hurtful words they had said to each other. Nevertheless, they had an unspoken agreement not to mention anything to Charles. It was none of his business and there was nothing he could do to fix it even if he did know about it.

Melissa did not dare to give Sheryl a hard time due to her warning. When Sheryl observed how well Melissa treated the kids, she slightly regretted her harsh words towards her that day.

"Thank you, Sheryl. Drive carefully and take good care of the kids," Melissa answered in a suspiciously cheerful tone. She hadn't intended to be so nice. In fact, she hadn't planned to even respond to Sheryl's words. But she had spotted Charles coming down the stairs and immediately put on her loving mother-in-law act, even managing to smile warmly at Sheryl.

Sheryl was initially thunderstruck by Melissa's friendly response. But when Charles came into her line of sight, she knew immediately that Melissa had ulterior motives.