The Substitute Bride

Small children should be kept away from issues involving adults. The slightest conflicts among the adults have a profound impact on their little, innocent hearts, yet they can't help the situation in any way because they are far from understanding the complexities. Hence, the best thing is to stay away from it altogether.

"Come on now. Let's go home. We will come and pick Mom up tomorrow, and then we will all go home together!" Charles said as he led two children out of the room. The boy and the girl left the room one after the other with their eyes fixed on their mother.

After they had left, a sudden emptiness and silence filled the room. Sheryl started to feel rather uncomfortable as if the quietness was the only thing left in the room after her kids and her husband left. She could feel a sudden void in her heart. She wondered how much the three of them meant to her.

Lost in her own thoughts, her eyes suddenly fell upon Cassie who was standing silently beside the door with a pale face.

"Cassie? Why don't you come in?" Sheryl greeted Cassie with a smile and asked her to come in.

It occurred to Sheryl that when Nick visited her the day before, Cassie did not come. She wondered why Cassie didn't come. But then she thought that Cassie might be busy with something more important. Initially, Sheryl decided to ask Cassie about it but then stopped as she marked Cassie's demeanor.

"Sher," Cassie said after she came into the room. Sheryl stared at her face as she walked close to her bed. Cassie came close to Sheryl and stood still. The fact that she was not behaving like her usual self did not evade Sheryl's eyes. She was too timid at the moment. Much opposed to her jovial and talkative self, she looked disturbed and distracted.

"What happened?" Sheryl took Cassie's hand in her own and asked with a lot of concern. "Did someone treat you badly? Or is it about your work? Do you have any problems?"

"I...I..." Cassie choked as she said. Her eyes swelled up with tears and suddenly she broke into an uncontrollable sob. Gradually, her weeping became louder. Sheryl became more and more anxious to see Cassie in that state.

Sheryl grabbed Cassie's arm and made her sit down. She patted her back to calm her down. "What happened? Did someone do something bad to you? Tell me. I will kick that bastard's ass off him."

Sheryl's mind was getting clouded with all sorts of evil thoughts. At first, she thought that Nick must have done something bad to her. But Sheryl took Nick as her brother, so she would not say anything about it to Cassie directly.

After crying her heart out for some time, Cassie finally stopped and looked at Sheryl. "Sheryl, do you think that I am so weak that everyone can bully me and disrespect me as they like?" Her voice choked as she spoke.

Sheryl cupped Cassie's face in with one hand and picked a tissue with the other han

om Sheryl once again.

"Nick said..." Sheryl paused for a moment intentionally after Cassie mentioned Nick's name. She observed every move made by Cassie minutely. As Sheryl stopped for a while, Cassie looked up at her face anxiously, waiting for her to speak. Sheryl marked the eagerness on her face and continued, "Nick said that he missed you too. But because he just came back from a business trip and there were a lot of things he needed to deal with in his company, he didn't have time to see you. And, Cassie, if you are available, you can go to his home and visit him. He loves the soup you make for him and he enjoys the meal you make."

Cassie knew that Sheryl was making fun of her by pausing and triggering her curiosity. But after hearing her words, Cassie felt much better. She heaved a sigh and then there was a tinge of redness in her pale cheeks, which made her look more beautiful.

"Thank you, Sheryl," Cassie said sincerely passing a very dull smile.

"There is no need to thank me. I would really like to see that you and Nick are in a very stable and loving relationship," Sheryl said as she smiled.

But once again Cassie's face changed. There was a mark of pain in her eyes as if something stung her heart once again. But she didn't say anything else.

After Cassie left, Sheryl took a nap. And it was time for rounds.

The attending doctor of Sheryl took very good care of her while she was in the hospital. And he was really responsible.

He came into the room with some nurses and did a series of examinations to Sheryl. After that, he took off the stethophone and smiled at Sheryl. "Mrs. Lu, I think you've recovered enough. It will be fine for you to get out of our hospital tomorrow."

Although what the doctor said was much within Sheryl's expectation, she still said gratefully, "Dr. Liu, thank you for taking care of me. Thanks to you, I could recover so soon. Thank you so much."