The Substitute Bride

Sheryl furrowed her eyebrows and muttered under her breath, "Mrs. Huang?" Sheryl was confident she knew this woman. She and Melissa had always played mahjong back at home, so she recognized her immediately. Sheryl then started to walk towards her and greet her.

However, startled by hearing Sheryl's voice, Irina stood up and stiffened for a moment. She was frozen on her spot, unable to decide what to do. Finally, before Sheryl could ever go near her, she pretended like she didn't hear anything and walked away as fast as she could without even turning around to look at Sheryl.

Apparently, Irina couldn't handle her guilty conscience and decided it was easier to avoid and escape any confrontation.

If only she didn't panic, she could have greeted Sheryl back in a normal and calm way, so Sheryl wouldn't feel odd, but Irina's over-reaction made Sheryl suspect her.

Nick's eyes opened wide in surprise when he saw a panic-stricken Irina walking away hurriedly. He turned to Sheryl, who had a frown on her face, and asked, "Sher, do you know that woman?"

Feeling strange and surprised, Sheryl stood frozen on her spot. She wondered why Irina behaved so weird. She was sure that Irina heard her and knew she was there. So, why did she run away from her? 'Maybe, Melissa has spoken ill of me to Irina. That's why she was so unwilling to talk to me.' Sheryl heaved out a deep sigh. Whatever the reason was, she couldn't figure it out.

She shook away these thoughts before she turned to Nick and replied, "Yes, I am pretty sure that she is one of my mother-in-law's friends. I haven't really associated with her, so maybe she just didn't recognize me. After all, we are just casual acquaintances."

Nick nodded and didn't ask any further for Sheryl didn't explain more, but he had a feeling that something was not right. Maybe, there was something they both neglected. In the end, they both shrugged it off and stopped thinking too much about the situation.

Nick and Sheryl exchanged goodbyes. After departing from each other, Nick decided not to drive straight home, but went directly to the hospital. As soon as his car was parked right near the front of the hospital building, he got his phone out and dialed Cassie's number.

Cassie's phone vibrated on her pocket, startling her during work. She took a look on the caller ID, and after learning it was Nick, she smiled and looked around to find a place to hide from her colleagues. It was a risk to take, since she was on duty. But it was Nick calling, so she just had to take it. She cleared her throat and answered, "Hello, Nick. What's up? How should I return the pleasure of this phone call?"

It was seldom for Nick to call her first. Usually, she made the call proactively, just so she didn't miss his call. That was why Cassie just had to take this call.

The corner of Nick's lips rose from ear to ear at Cassie's bright and sweet voice. He cleared his throat as well and asked, "By any chance, are you available right now? I want to meet you. I'm in the lobby."

"Right now?" Cassie's eyes widened and she immediately blurted out in surprise. She covered her mouth and looked around only to find that all her colleagues were up to their necks. It was one of the busy times in the hospital, because it was flu season. There were more patients than usual. With the limited number of doctors and medical staff in the

room. They were gossiping and complaining about the capricious temperament of Rachel. Holley decided not to go out yet and listen in.

"Don't you all feel annoyed? Recently, Ms. Bai always gets angry without even any reason. She even fired Marcelo for what? For speaking up for everyone else? Oh, and did you notice how the atmosphere in the company became tensed after Marcelo got fired? Plus, a few days ago, Holley had a row with her, and I heard that when her secretary was called inside, the tea pot was smashed by Ms. Bai," one said. There was no doubt that there was annoyance in her tone.

"Well, I say, she is just a useless butterfly. I felt relieved when Holley returned and even saved the company. It is fortunate for all of us, and you could really say that Holley is much better than her. She knows how to handle the workings of a company, and at least, we won't go bankrupt. Because of her, we are still employed," another said.

Clearly, the girls were newly hired, because they were not cautious enough to gossip carelessly about their boss in a public place. They didn't even check if there was anyone else in the rest room. Luckily, it wasn't Rachel, who was eavesdropping right now.

It was also until then that Holley noticed the change of personnel, since she had been busy catching up recently as soon as she came back. Thinking about it now made her realize that a few managers had left or were fired as well besides Marcelo.

Moreover, Holley didn't expect that Rachel would have created such a general turmoil during that span of time she was away. She knew very well now what made the company different, and it was all messed up. Then again, the odds were turning to her favor now. Thanks to her efforts that Rachel had given to her willingly without doing anything, Holley was now able to challenge her even more.

At the thought of this, Holley could not stop but feel elated. She felt more and more confident that she would be able to get what she wanted.

After the staff had left, Holley took this her cue to come out of the cubicle. She took her time to look at her beautiful reflection in the huge mirror and smiled.

With a dazzling grin on her face, she muttered to herself, "Holley Ye, here comes your chance."