The Substitute Bride

Since Clark had brought up what had happened, Sheryl couldn't ignore it. But, to avoid worrying her children, she decided to lie to them. Shifting her gaze from her son to her daughter, she smiled brightly and said playfully, "When did you guys start to have secrets? Shirley, Grandma didn't curse me last night. She was just upset and needed to be comforted. So I asked you to go to bed first, and then I talked to her to make her feel better before going to sleep."

She might have fooled her daughter with the white lie, but Clark didn't buy her story. Instead, he suspected that Sheryl might have gotten into a big fight with Melissa.

"Mom, it wasn't the first time that Grandma had been mean to you. We all know it. How about..." After a pause, he bit his lower lip and continued earnestly, "Mom, how about we move out of here? I hate to see you being bullied." He raised his voice when he spoke.

Sheryl was taken aback by his bold proposal. She already knew that her son was sensible and intelligent for his age, but this went above and beyond her expectations.

'Move out!' Sheryl urged herself.

The fact was, this thought had dawned on her many times. To get rid of Melissa, she considered moving out of this house with her children and husband more than once. That way, she could live a peaceful and undisturbed life with her family.

However, she found it hard to bring up the idea in front of Charles. Her husband couldn't bear the thought of leaving Melissa alone.

Even though Melissa was unfriendly to her, she was still Charles' birth mother. Sheryl understood that Charles might feel guilty if he had to leave his old mother behind to live with his wife and children.

Hence, Sheryl had given up that idea for the sake of Charles. She thought that everything would be okay as long as she ignored Melissa's provocation.

But she didn't expect Melissa would go so far as to take it out on her daughter. Shirley had only broken her vase, but Melissa threw a tantrum and yelled at her.

At the thought of this, Sheryl drew in a deep

Then when I get back home, I'll prepare some refreshments for her. I bet she won't be arriving at this hour."

As Sheryl agreed to entertain Leila, the old lady nodded in agreement.

'The show is about to begin. I'll let that bitch go now, ' she sneered.

Watching Sheryl drive out of the gate, Melissa grinned cynically and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello, Leila, where are you?" Melissa asked.

Leila had just stepped out of her condo. Knowing she had something important to deal with today, she had gotten up earlier than usual.

"Aunt Melissa, I'm on my way. I'll be there in half an hour. Please wait a little while," she replied politely.

"Fine. Drive carefully. Oh, and make sure you have that thing I asked you to bring. I'll teach her a hard lesson," Melissa said eerily.

'How dare Sheryl defy me! If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll think I'm afraid of her, ' she thought.

Upon hearing this, Leila arched her eyebrows slightly. She responded flatly, "Aunt Melissa, rest assured. I have it with me."

Leila felt fidgety and a bit scared. She wasn't sure whether she had made a wise decision.

She had originally gotten close with the old woman in order to win Charles' heart, and marry into the Lu family. But as she spent more time with her, she was beginning to think that Charles wasn't as close to his mother as she had imagined.