The Substitute Bride

Leila had long been waiting for this moment. She thought to herself, 'Yes! This is the chance I've been waiting for.' Once again she made a pity face and started her persuasion. "Aunt Melissa, since my lingerie store is not doing that well, can you help me to get a job in Shining Company? If I get a job in the Shining Company, I can get a stable job and I can even watch over Charles for you!"

Melissa heaved a sigh and thought to herself, 'Oh, what a relief. I thought she was going to ask me for money. As long as it is not about me giving her money, that is okay.

But, why? Why does she want to get a job in Shining Company?

Is it necessary?' Melissa got a little confused about Leila's request.

Gauging Melissa's state of mind from her face, Leila decided not to push the matter any further. At the same time, Nancy was just about to finish preparing the lunch, so Leila went to help Nancy with serving the food to the table. After everything was done, Leila called Melissa, "Aunt Melissa, come and have lunch."

Leila left Melissa at the right time. It gave her the time to think over Leila's request and her mind did get occupied with it. She stood up and walked towards the table. But she was still lost in her own thoughts. As she took her seat and started eating, she was still thinking about what Leila said.

"Leila, you want to work in the Shining Company? Can you tell me why?" Melissa asked after a while.

Leila smiled inwardly as she saw her trick working on Melissa. She said with strong determination, "Melissa, let's think. Now, although Sheryl has left the Lu family, she still has some connections with Charles. Nevertheless, they were married for a long time and they had two kids. They are not going to stay apart so easily. But, if I am by Charles' side, Sheryl won't be able to approach Charles anymore. Besides, if I am here to help Charles, he will do better in his business. I will help the Shining Company to be better and better. You know about me, Melissa. No matter what, I will never betray Charles. I will help him with all my heart." Leila spoke in such a convincing manner that it felt like she was an absolute necessity for Charles as well as Shining Company at the moment.

Melissa was touched by her sincere words. "Yes, you are right," she said.

"Of course, Aunt Melissa. And you know that Charles doesn't like me very much right now. But if I can help him with his business, I might get his heart. He might appreciate me and think of me as a good woman as compared to Sheryl. This will help me get a better chance to become your daughter-in-law, right?" Leila said convincingly. She kept on persuading Melissa.

After some initial hesitation, Melissa agreed to Leila's plan.

She knew that after she got out of prison, she was never involved in the business of Shining Company. 'It's true that there is no one there to help Charles to run such a big company, ' she thought to h

anymore.

"Alright, then, Sher. Take care of yourself," said Nancy. After she heard Sheryl's words, she knew that there was not much she could do, so she could only hang up the phone.

Sheryl stood by the door, staring at the phone for a long time after the line got disconnected. Had it not been for Isla who came out of the room looking for her, she might have stood there for God knew how long.

"Who called? What happened? You don't look very good, Sher," asked Isla, worried.

Sheryl did not want to bring back the topic with Isla, hence she hid her emotions and went back to the room with Isla. She merely explained, "It's nothing. It's a crank call. It's nobody."

They went back to the room together and Isla believed what Sheryl said, so she stopped probing.

"Sheryl and Isla, you can go back home now. Cassie and I are perfectly alright. We will get out of the hospital tomorrow. You just need to remember to pick us up tomorrow," Nick said. He knew that Sheryl and Isla were at the hospital with him all throughout, and he was worried that it would influence their work, so he wanted them back to their company.

"Alright, Sheryl and I will be going right now. If you have anything, remember to call us!" Isla said. 'Since Nick and Cassie have recovered, why not give them some time together?' thought Isla.

However, out of Sheryl's and Isla's expectation, just after they left, Jordan came to the hospital.

The night before, Jordan learned from his sister that Nick and Cassie had been held in custody and they were in the hospital now. 'It's a great opportunity to humiliate them! I won't miss it out!' Jordan thought happily.

Just when Nick wanted to talk about what they would be doing after they got out of the hospital, the door of the room went open.

They thought it might be a nurse, but it wasn't. Instead, it was Jordan standing in front of them and smirking at them—a sight that they would never want to see.