The Substitute Bride

Isla's sore words and aggressive attitude caused Charles a great amount of grief. He closed his eyes for a second and heaved a deep breath. He was not the kind of man who expected everyone to understand him. Since he only cared about Sheryl, he would put in the effort of explaining everything to her, but he wasn't going to afford Isla the same treatment even though her words carried a lot of weight with Sheryl.

"I've got nothing to do with that woman. Please stop thinking in that way about me," Charles said, rubbing his temple.

"What way? Then why does she keep showing up in your house?" Isla refuted directly.

"Look, I'll explain everything to my wife myself. Please leave us alone." Charles tried to walk away, hoping to find Sheryl again.

However, Isla blocked his way again. She crossed her hands over her chest and looked at him from toe to head. "Mr. Lu, pardon me for speaking frankly. I suppose you need to get rid of Ms. Zhang before going to Sheryl."

"I will and I don't need you to tell me what to do." Charles' headache was driving him crazy.

He knew that Isla was just being hard on him for the sake of her best friend. Although he was starting to lose his patience, a part of him felt relieved to see how much Isla cared for Sheryl.

He sighed inwardly for not being able to check up on how Sheryl was doing.

At the same time, deep in his heart he knew that Sheryl wouldn't talk to him if she was right here right now.

His mind wandered back and forth on what to do, and then he finally decided to give up. The only thing he could do was wait for Sheryl to calm down.

"Fine. I'm leaving. Since she doesn't want to see me, I'll explain to her later. Please take care of her for me. Call me if she needs anything," Charles said sincerely.

Isla, however, was deeply annoyed at him for giving up so easily, mistakenly assuming that Charles was leaving because he felt guilty to confront Sheryl. "Save it! I'll take good care of Sheryl and the kids, but not for your sake!" she yelled at him.

Having never been shouted at like that, Charles put on a long face immediately, but he had to take it. Isla was Sheryl's friend, and it would be unreasonable of him to offend her now. Maybe he would need her help later.

He pressed his lips together tightly and turned around without uttering another word.

Isla watched him leave and then went up to their office.

Sheryl was sitting on her chair and waiting patiently, her mind as still water.

She looked at the door when she heard it open from the other side and found that it was Isla.

"Were you expecting Mr. Lu? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you!" Isla shouted, assuming that Sheryl was still thinking about Charles and would forgive him eventually.

Sheryl shook her head slowly, the hope fading away in her heart. Stubborn and reluctant to admit her true feelings, Sheryl forced a bitter smile an

the remoter to block the sunshine.

Before long, Shirley fell on her mother's lap. Clark wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulders and asked, "Mommy, are you going to leave Daddy?"

Clark was more mature than his peers, and always perceived things like an adult would. Thus Sheryl could discuss a lot of her problems with Clark when Shirley was not listening.

"I'm thinking about it. Clark, will you blame me if I divorce your father?" asked Sheryl nervously. She could neglect her own feelings, but not the kids'. If they were opposed to her divorcing Charles, she wouldn't know what to do.

Clark was silent for a while and Sheryl could see that he was struggling with his thoughts. "Mommy, have you thought it through?" he asked, fixating his eyes on his mother.

"Clark, I didn't come to this decision without consideration. You've seen what was going on in Dream Garden these past few days. I'm too tired to deal with it, and I want to spend more time with Shirley and you. Your father, he has the right to pursue his own happiness. If he's happy with Aunt Leila, why shouldn't I give in? What do you think? Do you agree with me?" Sheryl explained seriously.

Clark then nodded, having only a hazy notion. "Mommy, it's your life and it's up to you. I respect your decision."

"Thank you, honey. I'm a lucky mother, right?" Sheryl drew him close and kissed him on his forehead.

Relaxing comfortably in the afternoon sun, the three of them fell asleep on the couch.

Meanwhile, in her office, Isla had found a place for Sheryl and the kids. She even made the down payment directly. She knew what Sheryl liked and what she disliked, and so she chose the place without even informing Sheryl, knowing that Sheryl would be satisfied with her choice.

"Phoebe, where is Sheryl?" Isla ran into Phoebe, who was just on her way out of the office. She waited anxiously for Phoebe to reply, scared of hearing bad news.