The Substitute Bride

Shirley squinted and then rubbed her bleary eyes. She looked up and blinked innocently at the woman who was calling her name. Anyone's heart would have at the sight of this cute and adorable little girl.

'Her voice sounds so familiar to me. I remember seeing her several times when I was in my home, ' Shirley thought hard. Her head seemed to stop functioning as well as it used to and she wasn't sure of anything. No matter how hard she tried to recollect, her brain just couldn't react in a normal state.

After staring at the woman that looked kind and wore a welcoming, happy face when she looked at her, Shirley remembered that she was one of the family's servants. Then without any hesitation, she leaned her head forward and buried herself into the servant's arms. Shirley began to cry happy tears mixed with laughter, and her little arms held onto the servant tightly. Soon her happy tears became sad erratic ones, and she cried louder and louder, which began to draw the attention of many people.

The people passing by became startled by the child's sudden outburst of tears which touched them and made them feel sad for her. They could tell by the way she howled that she had suffered great trauma in her heart. Soon more and more people gathered curious to see what had happened to that little girl.

Feeling a little self-conscious by the gawking crowd, the servant patted Shirley's back and comforted her in a soft and gentle tone, "Shirley, it's okay. There is nothing to worry about anymore. You're home now. Don't cry. You are going to see your parents and brother. Do you want them to see your teary face?"

The servant's tender words had soothed Shirley's mind. Gradually, Shirley ceased to cry as she slowly loosened her grip on her arms. She kept sobbing, but the tears stopped welling up in her eyes. When she raised her head and stared into the servant's eyes, Shirley became a little bashful and quickly dropped her head again. The servant beamed and kissed the cute little girl on the forehead and said cheerfully, "Shirley, let's go inside. Let me hug you up and take you in." Even though Shirley wasn't her daughter, she had grown to love and care for the little girl. The servant also felt great despair and concern when she went missing. Now that Shirley had finally returned home, she couldn't feel happier for Charles and Sheryl.

As she smiled down at Shirley, she thought in her heart, 'The poor child must have suffered so much during these past several days. Thank God that this innocent little girl has returned home safely.'

Shirley nodded her head with a shy little smile and unfolded her arms, ready to be picked up by the kind servant. When the servant bent down to pick her up, she was shocked to find how light she was. She secretly sighed. 'My poor little girl. These days have taken a terrible toll on you. I have to make plenty of nutritious meals for you every day so you can get your health and strength back as soon as possible.'

With an unhappy frown on her face, the older woman enter

. Although she was out of danger now, she still huddled in the safety of her father's warm chest, her trauma and ordeal still haunted her and made her panic.

Charles didn't know how to respond to his daughter's miserable account of what happened. To comfort her, he tightened his grip on her to dispel the panic in her mind. Shirley's words sent a chill up his spine, and Charles' grip around his daughter also comforted him to know that she was safely in his arms now.

"Shirley, don't be afraid! No one will dare hurt you! Because your mommy and I won't allow the same thing to happen again! We won't let you out of our sight again!" Charles promised as he stressed each word.

The kidnapping had almost broken Shirley, but it almost destroyed Charles as well. However, as a husband and father, he had to endure whatever happened or would happen to his family. With a determined look he swore inwardly, 'My dearest Shirley, I swear to you that from now on I won't allow anyone to harm a single hair on your head!'

Before the kidnapping, Shirley used to be a happy child full of life who had a smile for everyone. However, the trauma in her heart had left her fearful and trembling.

Charles only had contempt and resentment in his heart for the one who caused his daughter to suffer so much. He cursed, 'Leila, you are the one who did this to my daughter! You have left irreparable damage in my daughter's heart! You will pay dearly for what you have done soon!'

His eyes were ablaze with anger, and his sad face turned into a gloomy one.

The doctor had arrived shortly afterward with his medical bag to Dream Garden, and a servant quickly showed him the way to Shirley's room.

"Oh, Doctor, please! My daughter has been through a terrible ordeal, and I'm worried about her physical condition. Please check her health."  Once Charles saw the doctor, he was eager to let Shirley have a full medical examination. He was afraid that Shirley might have been physically hurt when he was not around to protect her.