The Substitute Bride

Leila was more than thrilled at this prospect. Her delight was shown on her face. She eagerly nodded at the woman as she briskly folded the underwear which she had picked. Meticulously, she placed them into the paper bag and printed an invoice for her. Even now, there was a part of her that was afraid the woman might change her mind.

But nothing of that sort happened. The woman paid her bill readily and now Leila could finally heave a sigh of relief. She passed the bag to her and decided to indulge her into a conversation.

"Wow, look at your hands! They are extremely delicate! You must give them special attention. Would you mind telling me about your daily hand-care routine?" Leila asked.

Women were generally interested in skin care, hence Leila figured that was the right place to begin.

"Really? You're so sweet! I don't have a routine actually, but I make it a point to apply hand cream before going to bed every night. I have been doing it for a while now. Why don't you give it a try?" the woman replied and flashed her a friendly smile.

Earlier, Leila had detected something mysterious in the woman. Hence she felt herself give out another sigh of relief once she received this friendly answer. 'Thank God! For a second I thought she would sprint out of here. But this woman is speaking to me like she is an old friend of mine, ' Leila thought. Her earlier feeling of skepticism was replaced by relief.

Now their conversation started to flow smoothly. It began with a simple topic of hand care and slowly reached important issues like house rent. They both vented about their indignation at rising room rents. Lost in conversation, they didn't even realize the time pass by. In the end, they conveyed their regret for not having met sooner. In spite of the attachment, the woman didn't reveal any private details about herself. Every time Leila attempted, she would quickly dodge it by changing the topic.

As of now, Leila only knew that the lady's family name was Bai. Everything else was still a mystery.

Anyway, Leila shrugged off these thoughts. She had no reason to worry about her personal life. All that mattered was the fact she came into her stop and purchased her commodity. Moreover, they had a wonderful time together.

When the woman informed she had to leave, Leila wasn't done talking. But at the same time she knew it would be rude to hold her back.

"It was lovely talking to you, Ms. Bai. Please do come here again. I believe we'll have lots of fun!" she urged again and again.

"Of course, I can't wait to see you again, Leila! I love your shop and the col

e much better!" Cora explained.

Now Cassie's puzzlement intensified. Her mouth was wide open with shock. She had never expected that Cora would say such a thing.

It would have made sense if Cora was here to put in some good words for Jordan. After all, they were bonded by blood. As of now, Cassie was her good friend. If a relationship was formed between Cassie and Jorden, then they would become a family. But the mere thought of it brought traces of anxiety on Cassie's face.

"Why do you care? That is my private life," she questioned in a low voice, devoid of any emotion.

In the past, Cora had never intervened in her personal life. But recently, there was a sudden shift in her behavior.

She has gotten extremely bossy.

"Please don't get me wrong, Cassie. I am doing it only because I truly care for your wellbeing," Cora went ahead and explained. "Do you remember the time when our male colleague asked you out? No matter how hard he tried, you refused to go on a date with him. After many failed attempts, he dropped the idea and married someone else. Later everyone came to know he was going after two girls at the same time. When he realized you wouldn't give him a chance, he trapped another girl. When I asked you whether you'd known it before, you told me that your instinct guided you. "

Cora took a small pause to calm herself down. In a gentle voice, she continued, "Cassie, now answer my question. Are you blind because you're in love? Can't you see what I am seeing? Look what has happened to you. This withered and pale girl standing in front of me is not the confident, independent and bight Cassie that I know!"

After hearing this speech, Cassie was utterly shocked. She had no idea how to react.