The Substitute Bride

"Charles, was this intentional? You are well aware of my hatred for Leila, yet you chose to ignore that! Why you did this to me?" Sheryl stopped, unable to go any further. Tears were about to flow.

After a long pause, her face contorted to an angry expression. She looked at him and shouted, "Get out!" She couldn't stand it anymore. Charles seemed to be making the same mistake again and again. With a glare, she pointed towards the door and gestured for him to leave.

Dumbfounded, Charles didn't know where Sheryl's rage came from.

Realizing that Charles hadn't budged in spite of her shouting, she stamped her feet angrily. Then she took a quilt from the bed and decided to leave.

Now Charles understood why she was leaving. He quickly took hold of her hand to stop her.

"Sher, stop being so unreasonable!" Charles blurted out. He had drunk too much and didn't feel himself at this moment. To him, Sheryl's company was very much needed. An argument was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't bear to go to sleep without Sheryl by his side.

However, Sheryl's fury surged through her as she watched him behave irrationally. He clutched her tightly. Without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped him right across his cheek. His grasp on her hand loosened. Then she took the opportunity to run away from the scene.

Drunk, Charles had trouble keeping his balance while moving around. Yet he was determined to chase Sheryl. He saw Sheryl rush into the guestroom. Before he could join her, she closed it with a loud thud. And Sheryl carefully locked it from inside.

Charles rapidly knocked and started to kick like a maniac but to no avail. His shouts fell on a deaf ear. No matter how hard he tried, he received no response.

Being aware that he might disturb the kids' sleep, Charles decided to stop. He leaned his head against the door and used a gentle tone. "Sher, can you please open the door? Let me talk to you!"

Still, there was no response.

The drunkenness started to take control of Charles and he became impatient. Without being able to think properly, he began to knock using all his might.

Unable to take it anymore, Sheryl sat with her hands clasped around her ears. After a long while, peace and quiet reigned and Sheryl knew Charles must have given up. Indeed, he had retreated back to his bedroom. Even so, she didn't obtain any joy from her victory. Feeling not sleepy at all, she walked out on the balcony and blankly stared into the distance.

Sheryl sat there for what felt like hours. When drowsiness finally caught up wit

h and nodded her head.

Before leaving the garden, she shot Nancy a thankful smile. Her hands were tightly clasped around the cup of hot water.

Soon, Sheryl arrived outside the bedroom. Before she pushed the door open, she composed herself a little. She didn't want to look nervous even though she was.

She pushed the door open and the scene that came into her view stunned her. Too shocked, her hands began to tremble vehemently. She lost her grip and the cup tumbled to the floor, shattered into pieces.

By instinct, Sheryl raised her hand to cover her mouth as she exclaimed with utter shock, "Ahh…"

She couldn't believe what she had seen. In her eyes, such a ridiculous scene was supposed to take place only in her dreams. Then anger and humiliation rose to the peak in her heart.

The sound of the cup breaking had awoken Charles.

He rubbed his eyes before he sat up to look around. When he found Sheryl standing right in front of him, his drowsy expression immediately turned pale. He rubbed his eyes once again to check whether his eyes were playing a trick on him. No matter how hard he looked, the face that met his eyes was no one else's but Sheryl's.

Much startled, Charles whispered in his heart, 'If Sheryl is standing in front of me, then who is the woman lying in my arms?'

Charles whipped his head around. He spotted Leila snuggling up to him. To make the situation even worse, Leila now was completely naked and Charles had just put his hand on Leila's waist. A second look wasn't needed to decipher such a carnal scene. Sheryl was no dummy. She knew what she was seeing.

Charles' eyes dropped to his own body. He was astonished to find that he was naked, just like Leila.