The Substitute Bride

"Aunt Melissa, Charles is the only man I love. It's my lifelong dream to be his wife. Please don't laugh at me," Leila blurted out and lowered her head, looking at her fingers bashfully.

Meanwhile, Melissa said nothing. She only smiled contently, hearing exactly what she expected she would hear.

But what Melissa said left Leila scratching her head—she was dying to know what exactly Melissa was implying. But when she lifted her head, she found that she had her eyes closed, wearing a self-satisfied expression of joy. All Leila could do was bite her lips and swallow down her curiosity.

On the way to the hospital, Leila looked at the passing views to try and distract her from obsessing over her own thoughts, thinking hard about what Melissa was going to do.

Even though she didn't have any clue at the moment, Leila figured that Melissa must've had certain intentions.

Sensing that her utmost goal was once again out of her reach, Leila felt her heart sink into her stomach. Although Melissa wasn't the perfect ally, a little bit of support was better than nothing.

If Melissa could teach Sheryl a lesson, then Leila wouldn't have to lift a single finger. And if Charles was pissed off, Melissa would take the heat—Leila would get off easy. All she needed to do was wait and see.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Leila went over her plan again. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to hide her excitement.

Stealing a glance at Melissa, she hoped that she could lend her a real hand this time and push her closer to her life's dream.

There wasn't anything Leila wouldn't give to get the chance to marry into the Lu family. After waiting for such a long time, it killed her to even see Charles, unable to do a thing.

The same question plagued her heart every time, 'Will I ever get a chance to marry him?'

All she could do was answer her own question.

'Yes, he will!'

Clenching her fists alarmingly tight, she had to stop herself from screaming out loud.

Meanwhile, in her ward, Sheryl was lying in the bed and staring at the ceiling.

In the passing days, she couldn't sleep well, no matter how much the doctors urged her to rest well for her recovery. Before the day her dear daughter came back home with her, it became impossible for her to have a good night's sleep. The thought that Shirley could be suffering alone somewhere out there could keep Sheryl up forever.

Every night, as she lay awake in her bed, her daughter's sweet, lovely face would appear before

ate you!"

This time, Leila didn't stop her. On the one hand, Melissa was too angry to reason with anyway, and Leila had no intention of being cannon fodder. On the other hand, it rather delighted her to see how much Melissa hated Sheryl.

Instead of drawing fire upon herself, Leila merely took a seat and enjoyed the show. Smirking at the scene, she tried hard not to clap and cheer.

"I shouldn't be the one to tell you this. But you deserve to lie here in the hospital! I've never met such a shameless woman in my life. Everyone will be better off if you rot here for the rest of your pitiful existence! Save us the trouble!" At this point, Melissa was just letting words slip from her mouth without thinking. With her hands on her hips, and her face twisted, she looked like a furious gargoyle glaring down at Sheryl.

While the whole episode unraveled, none of them noticed a figure stepping through the doorway. A coldness came at them, harsh enough to freeze time.

"Mom, leave her alone! There couldn't be a worse time for you to lash out and say whatever you want like this. Get out!" Charles thundered from behind them. While he was already suppressing the anger in his voice, his tone was already frightening enough to stun Melissa silent.

He was already in an awful mood, not having found his daughter yet. Too frustrated and impatient to do anything else, he went to visit Sheryl in the hopes of finding a moment of relief. Nothing could've displeased him more than to find what he had just witnessed, his own mother hurling insults at the woman he loved most. Feeling so exhausted, he had the impulse to drag his mother outside by the collar himself.