The Substitute Bride

"Baby, it was my fault. I won't do it again. But the next time you see me thinking, refrain from disturbing me, okay?" Walter said in a serious tone.

"All right, I got it. Dear, I'm so sleepy. Can we sleep now?" Cecilia asked softly as she buried her head in Walter's chest.

"Sure," Walter smiled. Then, he hugged Cecilia tightly and closed his eyes.

Since he had already asked the local police director to solve that one particular problem for him, he could now rest assured. He was alarmed upon seeing who called earlier. Luckily, it wasn't a difficult task and it was ironed out in no time.

Feeling relieved, he decided to sleep. He didn't know Nick or Cassie, and he meant them no harm. But it was their misfortune to have offended someone they shouldn't have.

Nobody could save them now.

Early the next morning, the day started badly for Sheryl.

The first thing she had to deal with when she woke up was a call from the police station.

She had thought that it was a mistake, but the phone kept ringing. She had to answer it. "Hello?"

"This is the police. I'm calling from the station. Do you know Nick Ge?" a cold voice asked from the other end of the line.

There was a hint of arrogance and impatience in it, but Sheryl didn't mind. 'A public servant should always preserve his status, ' she comforted herself.

"Nick? Yes, I know him. What's wrong? Is he in trouble?" Sheryl asked with urgency. A call from the police station didn't mean well for Nick.

"Get some money ready to bail them out!" The police officer instructed Sheryl coldly and then hung up the phone before she could find out more.

"Bail them out?" Sheryl muttered to herself.

She realized that she broke out in a cold sweat. 'Oh my God! What happened to him?' she couldn't help wondering. 'And why did the police officer say "them?" Does this mean he's in trouble and he's not alone?'

She had just talked with Nick on the phone the day before. He had told her that his relationship with Cassie was going perfectly well.

'Didn't he go on a date yesterday? How did he end up in the police station?' Sheryl thought in a panic.

She decided to immediately go to the police station instead of worrying herself and overthinking. In a matter of minutes, she was ready to leave.

"Sheryl, you are up very early today. Please wait for a moment. Breakfast will be ready very soon," said Joan. Joan felt quite surprised to see Sheryl up much earlier than usual. She hadn't gotten everything ready yet.

"Joan, I

want...want to stay here...any longer!"

Sheryl knitted her eyebrows and looked at them. Her eyes were full of worry.

"Sher, please save Cassie. Please! Please get her out of here! She won't survive half a month in this place. I'm willing to be punished for twice as long, if that means she gets to go," Nick pleaded.

Then something occurred to him. He was still confused, but in a moment of sudden realization, he said, "Wait! There's something wrong. It was Jordan who provoked us. He started the fight! I know Cassie hit him over the head, but she was only trying to save me. I was also hurt yesterday. Why is he being treated like an innocent victim while we are locked in here as prisoners?"

His words made sense. Sheryl also felt that something was fishy about the situation. But right now, she didn't have any clue as to what it was.

"Don't worry. I'll try to figure it out," Sheryl reassured them. Even though the case and the police's treatment of Nick and Cassie were suspicious, Sheryl had no choice but to leave them there for the meantime.

After Sheryl left, she started calling up people whom she thought might be able to help shed light on the case. However, to her disappointment, none of them were able to help. Everyone she called either said they were incapable of helping or that they didn't have the right connections, especially to the higher-ups.

In a word, all of them turned her down with different excuses.

Sheryl got more and more frustrated after the more calls she made.

Finally, she started to doubt her social relations. She began to think about who her real friends were and why no one could help her when she needed them.