The Substitute Bride

However, for Nick the company he got that evening was rather best-be-avoided and embarrassing for him; all the more because he was not even expecting this impromptu rendezvous.

The evening went by as usual. Nick frittered through the time watching the sky as it changed into a beautiful pallet of colors at the dusk—ultimately blending it all into a peaceful star-studded black night sky. Soon, it was dinnertime. Nick got down from his bed and walked to the restroom. When he came out, he spotted Cassie standing in the ward waiting for him with an insulated lunch box in her hand.

'She has brought me dinner. I remember this lunch box. She brought me the chicken soup in it. She must have cooked dinner for me, ' he speculated inside.

He heaved a deep and suppressed sigh. He approached the bed and sat down on its edge pretending to be oblivious of the fact that Cassie cooked dinner for him. He remained quiet as Cassie took the food out from the lunch box and set the food on the table in front of him.

"You're going to eat steamed pork ribs and steamed fish for dinner. Light food is good for your recovery..." Cassie smiled as she piled the food on the dinner plate and served it to Nick.

Nick remained silent observing those dishes. 'It turns out my assumption is true.

It looks more like a home-made meal than the take-out food sold outside or which I ate from the canteen before, ' he introspected. It was light food, but the smell was tempting. Nick began to feel hungry at the sight of the delectable in front of him. The moment, the food was set in front of him, he did not even look up at Cassie for a single moment. All he wanted to do was dig in and he did so.

He relished each and every bite of the home cooked food. When Cassie saw the satisfied look on his face as he ate the food, a soothing smile broke on her face. She watched him intently. Although she didn't utter a word, her gaze was soft and obsessive as if she was confessing her love to him through her eyes.

No matter how much Nick might have liked the food prepared by Cassie, the lovelorn look on her face made him uncomfortable. In fact, he tried hard to resist his impulse to throw Cassie out of the ward. Enjoying the palatable food, he kept telling himself, 'It's okay. Cassie is my nursing assistant. She is just doing her job.

I will pay an extra salary for those meals after I am discharged from the hospital.'

He avoided eye contact with Cassie as much as he could and took deep breathes to calm himself down slowly.

After dinner, as Cassie was clearing the table, Nick got out of the bed silently and walked out of the ward. Cassie hastened to clear the table and followed right after him. Nick walked out of his ward and came to the garden area

ome other person? I don't think so," Rachel bellowed at Holley.

She could only vent out her anger on her.

Holley was rendered speechless. She didn't know how to retort.

'She has a point. Lance can't be trusted. But no one can help Tarason Corporation except him. After all, he is the second most influential figure in Y City after Charles, ' she mused.

"We have run out of options. We have to try our luck. If you don't want to go with me, you can pack up your things and quit your job. Even if you are not there with me, I can help my company through this!" Rachel declared as she threw Holley a stern look.

"Ms. Bai, you are getting me wrong. I will not leave you and you know that. We will work together to pull Sheryl down..." Holley hurried to explain. 'When could I stop sucking up to this difficult woman?' she sighed. Of course, Rachel was the last straw of support for her to come up on her feet once again and she could not afford to offend her.

"Just stop it now. I will not be fooled by your sweet words anymore. You've made so many promises to me. But have you ever kept one?" Rachel snorted. Evidently, the alliance between Rachel and Holley seemed to be falling apart. However, Holley had her own vested interest to patch up with Rachel.

"You're right. I have reflected on the events in the recent past a lot these days. And I feel that we have to stand together with each other all the more because of that. Otherwise, how could we teach Sheryl a lesson?" Holley followed with a flattering smile. "You have a point. We do have no other choice. Please wait a minute. I will fix my make-up and then we can go together. I have confidence that we will meet him today!"

Upon hearing Holley's words, Rachel heaved a sigh and calmed down. She remained silent as a mark of compliance with Holley's suggestion.