The Substitute Bride

"Ms. Bai, are you okay?" Holley walked up to Rachel as she watched Charles drive away in his car.

"Holley, did you get all the pictures?" Rachel asked gravely. She didn't care about whether she had injuries or not. At that particular moment, she was only interested in the photos that Holley took.

"Certainly. You can rest assured. The photos are clear and I bet you'll be pleased with them. With those pictures, you can make up your story without having to worry that someone won't believe it," Holley assured Rachel as she put the camera in front of her. After Rachel browsed through the pictures, her mood switched from bad to good instantly.

"Well, then...I think it's about time we return to Tarsan Corporation!" she proposed.

Both of the women got into the car and immediately drove back to Tarsan Corporation. Holley was the driver, while Rachel was in the passenger seat. On their way there, Rachel grew impatient as her sidekick failed to mention the pictures, which made her feel uneasy. "So, when do you propose that we should meet Sheryl and show her the photos, Holley?" she inquired.

"Wait...Don't be in such a hurry. We need to be patient. After all, Sheryl is having a hard time. She is very upset and if we show her these pictures, she might dispose of them out of anger. I think it's best we show them to her at a point when she is over her current feelings," Holley suggested.

With a twisted expression on her face, Holley continued, "Ms. Bai, you must have no idea how terrible it feels to have one's healed wounds reopened. However, Sheryl will understand soon."

"Okay, that's fine. We can wait," Rachel replied with an evil smile.

Thinking about what Holley said, she agreed that she wanted Sheryl's suffering to be prolonged. Thus, she was willing to wait for the perfect moment.

"I will first review these pictures," Rachel murmured with a beaming smile. Taking the video camera out of her handbag, she started looking through the photos. 'I have to admit, Holley is an expert photographer. She didn't even capture Charles' face, so no one can see his expression, ' she praised inside.

Rachel knew that people had endless imaginations. Even though Charles' facial expression couldn't be seen in the pictures, the happy and affectionate look on Rachel's face displayed that she was in love with him and that they were having an affair.

W

ntioned his meeting Rachel to Sheryl.

"We are the same as we were before," Sheryl replied flatly. When she responding to her friend, there was a trace of depression in her eyes that Isla noticed immediately.

"Jeez!" Isla didn't know what else to say.

'We are grown-ups now. Once we make a choice, we are permitted to take responsibility for it, along with the consequences that come with it. Perhaps Sher made the right decision. She let it go this time, so they could move on with their lives. A good example is a man that decides to start a business. There is no expectation about making a fortune or going broke because of his bold decision to start his own business. However, there's still a lot of responsibility that he needs to bear, ' she pondered.

"What are you trying to say?" Sheryl asked with a frown.

"Well, nothing. Sher, you need to keep your eyes open and stay positive. Sometimes things might be more complicated than they look. Do you understand?" Isla consoled her friend. She didn't know how to convince Sheryl. She only picked up on bad vibes coming from Sheryl.

'At this point, Sheryl should remain careful. She can't afford to make a mistake now, especially not after everything that happened. Otherwise, she might lose everything this time around, ' she thought worriedly.

"I see. Come on, let's get back to work," Sheryl urged. She didn't want to talk about her husband's cheating, nor make any further comments.

"Fine. Of course. You're the boss and I will listen to you. I will pay attention to nothing but work," Isla responded resignedly.