The Substitute Bride

Nancy knocked lightly on Melissa's door and then came in. "Mrs. Lu, I made some porridge for you," she said gently.

Melissa, who was lying in bed, answered with her eyes half-closed, "Fine. I'll eat some."

Leila reached out to take the bowl from Nancy and came to Melissa's side. "Aunt Melissa, let me feed you, okay?" She scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Melissa's mouth.

"That sounds good. Thank you, Leila. You are such a good girl." Melissa smiled. The two went along with the act and performed a great play in front of Charles.

Since Melissa was sick, Charles knew that he couldn't leave her and go to work. However, he was also getting tired of seeing Leila and Melissa get along harmoniously, so he didn't feel like staying here with them.

"Mom, take care of yourself. I need to go over some important business files in my room," Charles said. Before Melissa could say anything, he simply took off and walked out of the room.

Nancy followed him out shortly after.

"Nancy, thanks for taking care of my mother. Please, get some rest," Charles said to Nancy and stepped into the study.

Meanwhile in Melissa's room, the sickly old woman asked Leila to put the bowl on the table after she had eaten her fill.

Now that nobody was there, they looked at each other with complacency. "Leila, you're such a good girl," Melissa said. "I know that you are much better than Sheryl. I'm sure Charles will change his attitude toward you after he sees you taking care of me for an entire day."

Melissa had pretended to be sick so that she and Leila could put up an act in front of Charles.

"Aunt Melissa, I'm so sorry that you have to pretend to be sick just to help me out!" Leila said with a guilt-ridden expression. She took Melissa's hands in her own, tears running down her cheeks.

Melissa wiped away the tears from Leila's cheeks and comforted her. "Leila, don't cry. I did it for you because I like you. I'm willing to make this sacrifice so long as you can become my daughter-in-law."

Leila was deeply moved by Melissa's words. She wrapped Melissa in an embrace almost immediately.

Today's incident was all a part of Melissa's elaborate ruse. Lying in bed, she thought about the relationship between Charles and Leila. She was worried because Charles didn't like Leila at all. If she allowed for the situation to continue, Sheryl would come back sooner or later. By hook or by crook, she had to do whatever she could to

e calling her. Did Melissa arrange someone to spy on her? Why else would she call her now at this very moment?

Sheryl didn't know what Melissa would say, therefore she decided not to answer the call. She rejected it straightaway, but to her surprise, Melissa kept calling her repeatedly.

Losing her patience, Sheryl decided to pick it up in the end.

"What do you want from me?" Sheryl asked coldly.

"Sheryl, you haven't divorced my son Charles yet! Show your mother-in-law some respect!" Melissa snapped at her. She called Sheryl to humiliate her since Charles and Leila were spending the whole day together in the same house. However, she didn't expect Sheryl to have the courage to ignore her call.

Leila, who heard Melissa's words, couldn't help but frown. Her eyebrows creased together.

'Are you crazy, old woman? Why would you remind her that they haven't been officially divorced yet? You're just giving her an excuse to come back!' Leila kept her thoughts to herself.

"Since you know that I haven't divorced Charles yet, you should make sure that your pet Leila behaves herself. Don't try to mess with me again!" Sheryl spat in fury. She knew that it was impossible for her to reconcile with Charles, so she didn't need to be polite to Melissa anymore.

"Sheryl, are you threatening me?" Melissa sneered in a high-pitched voice.

Leila winked at Melissa to remind her not to lose her temper, which was exactly what Sheryl wanted to see.

Sometimes Melissa's impulsive outbursts would cause Leila to question her intelligence. As foolish as she was, how did Melissa manage to marry Charles' father in the first place?