The Substitute Bride

Charles had no other choice than to accept Melissa's request. He knew that Melissa wouldn't take no for an answer. In fact, she could even ruin this dinner, which Sheryl had so meticulously prepared.

"Mom, there is no need to tidy up the guest room. Let the servant do the job later. You should taste these wonderful dishes. Sher has cooked them all for you," Charles said with a faint smile. Sheryl's last hope was gone now. She sat silently next to Charles. The sting in her heart after knowing that she would have to share the same roof with Leila, was clearly visible on her face. On the top of that, Charles' smiling face at Melissa's suggestion worsened her state of mind. Charles' words fell like stones on her, hitting her heart. She could not believe her ears.

Humiliated and heartbroken at Charles' behavior, Sheryl thought to herself, 'What is he doing? Doesn't he know I dislike Leila? Has he forgotten the series of unpleasant events that we have been through because of Leila? How could he accept Melissa's unreasonable request so easily? Even without asking me for my opinion!'

The more she thought of it, the angrier she got. If it weren't for Melissa being discharged from the hospital today, she would certainly keep Leila out of the door. Now she tried not to anger Melissa, lest Melissa might get ill again. She swallowed the grievance but it made her lose her appetite completely.

Observing the upset look on Sheryl's face, Leila and Melissa couldn't be more delighted. That even boosted their appetite and both of them relished the meal with great interest.

The delicious meal prepared with so much love could not eradicate the malice from the hearts of the people who shared the table. They were all full of counterfeit smiles, contriving conversations and sarcastic words.

Sheryl finished her food, left her seat and walked back to her bedroom without uttering a single word. She was in no mind to spend even a second more at the table, facing the sham countenances. She thought it would be better to wait for Charles in her room and ask for an explanation from him when she was with him in private, no matter how much longer she might have to wait.

It was over half an hour that Sheryl had been waiting for Charles, yet he hadn't come back to her. With every passing moment, the wait became more and more difficult. Sitting alone on the bed, Sheryl started to become anxious.

Melissa was well aware that Sheryl would be waiting for Charles. Hence, she left no stone unturned to prevent Charles from leaving the table. The very thought of Sheryl alone and anxious made her heart jump with joy. She twisted her lips in a sarcastic smile as she thought of it.

"Ouch! I feel a sharp pain on my shoulder. Could it be the after-effects after Sheryl pushed me down the stairs? Oh, my god! It hurts so much!" Melissa turned towards Charles and whined in an aching voice. With a flinched face, she lifted her hands to massage her shoulders. She creased her brow and feigned a painful look.

"Are you okay? Aunt Melissa," Leila promptly asked with much care.

"Mom, are you okay?" Charles sprang up from his seat and walked toward Melissa with a concerned look on his face. However, he could not help being skeptical about Melissa's sudden occurrence of pain. He thought to himself, 'What's wrong with her? Just a while ago, she was enjoying her food. There was no sign of illness in her. How come she starts feeling the pain all of a sudden?' However, seeing Melissa was really in distress, Charles pushed back the conflicting thoughts and became concerned for his mother. After all, in his view, there was no need for Melissa to pretend to be in a state of illness, just to draw her son's attention.

Charles grew more and more anxious as he saw his mother writhe in pain. After a while, he advised with concern, "Mom, let's go to the hospital. You should get proper medical attention before it is too late. Let's not delay!"

"That's not that necessary. Besides, I am tired of lying in the hospital. I think it just needs some massage. Charles, would you mind massaging me for a while?" Melissa said as she squinted her eyes in distress as if she urgently needed someone to massage her shoulders.

Charles' face became grim. He fidgeted for a while in hesitation at the request. His mind was occupied with the thoughts of Sheryl waiting for him in the bedroom. Helpless, Charles decided to stay with Melissa for a while to make he

rley. Feeling ignored, Charles would even deliberately act childishly to earn the same love as the children from Sheryl. As these moments came alive in her mind, Charles' true love for her needed no further testimony. It made her feel guilty and regretful for questioning his love. In an instant, she was filled with remorse and her eyes brimmed with tears.

However, there was disappointment and desperation as well that Charles had brought to her in all these years. Just as those beautiful memories, the unpleasant recollections hurt Sheryl as much.

There had been umpteen numbers of times when Charles chose to be compliant towards Melissa and misjudged Sheryl, held her responsible for family disputes and even kept quiet when Melissa hurled false blame at her. And now this Leila! Was Charles blind or mindless to be so casual and accommodating towards people who deliberately created trouble in their family? Why did he do that? These led to small grudges that piled up in her heart. She had spent countless nights in despair, sleepless, with tears washing her cheeks relentlessly.

Sheryl heaved a deep sigh. No! Charles' love for her was still not enough, and his trust over her was still not as strong as she had thought it to be. Otherwise, how could he believe in what Melissa and Leila said, instead of having faith in her innocence? When Leila and Melissa made up that farce to set her up, why would his first reaction be to doubt her instead of trusting her?

The thought of that moment was shattering for Sheryl. How much she longed for a firm and confident look in his eyes that would establish the fact that he had unflinching faith in her! Charles would never know how much that would have mattered to Sheryl. If he could not trust her, how could they stand by each other through thick and thin and face the difficulties that laid in front of them?

Whenever Charles cast a skeptical look toward her, he hurt her feelings, and even worse, he left her alone to deal with the situation which was beyond her explanation.

For all these reasons, she was afraid that their love would be running out sooner or later.

"Of course, I love you. Sher. No one will ever be able to take your place in my life! I have always tried my best to save you from any harm, haven't I?" Charles said in a stern tone as he looked into her eyes. He came closer and held her in his arms. He caressed her hair and cupped her face with his warm hands. As he held her close, he noticed how fragile and light Sheryl felt. Her voice trembled and she seemed to be using all her strength to utter each word as she spoke.

"Really? How would you explain this? You know that I have not been fond of Leila ever since I have known her! She had even kidnapped our children! Why would you agree to let her enter our house? How do you expect me to live with her under the same roof?" Sheryl mustered all her strength and challenged Charles, as she started to question him with her cold eyes.