The Substitute Bride

Charles didn't notice anything strange with Sheryl's face until he saw her reaction. He grew anxious, however, when he realized that she was intentionally lowering her head to avert his gaze.

"Sher, what happened to your face? What happened tonight? Will you please talk to me?" Charles squatted down and gently asked Sheryl, who was sitting on the bed, twiddling her thumbs.

No matter how many times Charles asked or what he said to her, Sheryl just kept her head down and her mouth shut.

Having run out of patience with Sheryl, Charles came downstairs. When Melissa saw Charles, she tried to grab his hand for a chat, but he just ignored her. He waved at Nancy and she walked to him.

"Nancy, what happened tonight? Please tell me everything in details." Charles' voice was low and stern. It sounded like he was trying his best to suppress his anger.

Melissa recognized the timbre of Charles' voice and feelings of anxiety and apprehension arose within her. She was afraid of what would happen once Charles insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter. As if that weren't bad enough, Melissa knew that Nancy wouldn't have anything nice to say about her since she was on Sheryl's side. Anger took over Charles' face as he went upstairs. Melissa gritted her teeth in displeasure, almost certain that Sheryl must have gone behind her back.

"Yes, Mr. Lu." Every word Nancy said struck fear in Melissa's heart and made Charles angrier.

"At tonight's dinner, Miss Zhang complained that the dishes were too oily, so Mrs. Lu asked Sher to cook for her. Mrs. Lu was very picky and she scolded Sher, but she didn't say anything back. She just listened and remained silent. Then out of the blue, Mrs. Lu lost her temper and threw the dishes to the floor and slapped Sher."

Nancy reported everything to Charles, sparing no details. Judging by Nancy's words, Charles could feel her resentment towards Melissa and her sympathy for Sheryl in her voice.

As Charles listened to Nancy, his eyebrows furrowed and slowly a grimace spread over his face.

When Charles had heard enough, he cast a vicious glance at Melissa and said, "Mom, is that true?"

Melissa hemmed and hawed, deliberately avoiding Charles' eyes. "It's... it's not like that. Sheryl was the one who started it."

Unfortunate

s with her display of weakness.

Nancy, all the while, didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for Melissa at all. Melissa got what she deserved, nothing more, nothing less. After all the troubles she had caused, Melissa had to pay her dues on way or the other. Nancy hoped that Charles could understand what kind of person Melissa truly was so he wouldn't be fooled by her again. Otherwise, there would be no end to Sheryl's hardships.

After brief deliberation, Charles finally opened his mouth, "I don't care whether you are telling the truth or not. If this kind of thing happens again, you won't be allowed to stay in this house any more, I promise that. As for what happened today, I want you to apologize to Sher and tell her that you will never ever do that again."

'Me? Apologize to Sheryl? Are you out of your mind? I will never apologize to Sheryl. Who does she think she is?'

Melissa's face darkened with a mirthless glare. The fact that Charles wanted her to apologize to Sheryl was a bit over-the-top, even by his standards.

Charles continued, "Mom, if you have done something wrong, you need to fix it. You're not a child. I expect you to act according to your age."

Melissa and Leila had never seen this side of Charles before. It was as if he was engulfed in a ball of anger. Even his breath was cold and frightening. They wouldn't dare to get close to him, let alone cross him.

Finding no respite, Melissa had no choice but to agree to Charles' condition even though the reluctance on her face was obvious.