The Substitute Bride

At Cloud Advertising Company

It was already late when Sheryl finally completed her daily task. On a normal night, she would take a deep breath of relief before she stood up from her chair, ready to leave for home. But tonight, she didn't look relieved at all. Sheryl failed to receive any response from Charles even after she called him countless times. She was upset at his indifference.

Sitting in her chair, she was in no mood to do anything, nor did she intend to go home yet.

Anxiously waiting for Charles to return her calls, Sheryl lost her appetite for dinner. What had kept him busy all day long was a great puzzle to her. She wondered what was so important that Charles was even willing to ignore his wife's calls.

Sheryl didn't want to shake off her faith in him, but after today's events, she had received nothing from him but disappointment.

To avoid missing his call unintentionally, she had constantly checked her phone. Now she felt stupid doing that.

Suddenly, as Sheryl was about to sink into more despair with regard to Charles, her phone started to ring. To her dismay, the caller ID showed an unknown number. Happily picking up the call, she found that it wasn't a man's voice speaking from the other end of the line. After a pause, she realized that it was Joan.

"Hello, Joan! Did the kids have dinner already?" Sheryl asked first.

Joan sighed helplessly. "Ms. Xia, the kids are upset. They cry for their mom, and I don't know what to do…"

Joan was in a dilemma. No matter how hard she tried to comfort Shirley and Clark, they wouldn't listen to her. Running out of options, she finally decided to call Sheryl to ask for help.

"Oh. That's okay. I am so sorry that the kids are causing you trouble. Please hand your phone to Clark. Let me talk to him," Sheryl said in an apology, feeling that she could no longer avoid her kids. She decided to talk to them.

"Mom, you always teach me to be honest. And I always have been. You promised me that Dad would come back and take care of me and my sister. But he's not here yet. Does he want to abandon us? Are you trying to hide the truth from me and Shirley?" Trying to stay calm, Clark threw one question after another at his mother. His words felt like sharp blades piercing Sheryl's heart.

Sheryl felt under fire. Clark had always been observant. She couldn't possibly hide anything from him for long. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she replied, "Oh, Clark, my good boy! How can you entertain that sort of idea? You dad is just busy, like I said earlier. When he finishes all his work, Mom will take you and Shirley to find him. Agreed?" Despite feeling depressed about how things are going, Sheryl tried her best to sound optimistic. Her kids needed her to be strong for them right now.

Listening on the phone beside her brother, Shirley started to get impatient. She reached out, attempting to grab the phone. Clark had already lost the will to continue chatting with his mother, not wanting to hear any more of her lies. Without letting Sheryl know, he tossed the phone to Shirley. "Fine, you talk with Mom!" Clark snapped at her.

"Mom, are you there?" Shirley asked. "I have so much to share with you. You know, today in school, Clark was rewarded with a little red flower for

her?'

Charles felt infuriated. He doubted if Sheryl was the same person he used to know. He felt so perplexed.

"Charles, do you hear me? I am asking if you will be available or not tomorrow!" Sheryl's patience finally ran out so she pushed him a little.

Her attitude shocked Charles once again.

In his thoughts, he mocked her. 'Maybe I am just a nobody to her. She probably doesn't even care about me anymore, because she doesn't even care to show any concern for my mother!'

Following his thoughts, Charles understood why Melissa was averse to everything about Sheryl, just as Sheryl was toward her. After all, hatred was a mutual feeling!

Feeling despair, Charles was disappointed as he replied coldly, "I have been busy these days. Work and accompanying my mother have taken over my daily schedule. Anyway, I am too busy to do anything else!"

Sheryl bristled upon hearing Charles' reply. Clearly, he was patently lying to her with his cheap excuse. She knew that it was easy for Charles to meet a person; it was just a matter of organizing his time. But Charles refused to do so.

"Really? Don't even have time to deal with our divorce?" Sheryl's words came out cold as ice.

Charles was astonished.

"Really? Are you serious?" Charles' tone sounded even colder. His ego was bruised. Charles' reply left Sheryl heartbroken, but now wasn't the time to show her frailty.

Pausing, she took a deep breath to be sober and calm.

"Yes!"

"Well, very good! Let's meet at the Bureau of Civil Affairs tomorrow!" Charles' heart sank at Sheryl's positive response. To show his determination, he also gave her a swift answer without hesitation. Then his heart ached at once.

Before Sheryl could completely realize what had happened, the line went dead.

She could only hear a series of beeps that came out from the receiver. Her heart was struck by the noise. She felt like it was out of control. It seemed like it was about to stop beating. Her heart had now turned hollow, as if she had lost everything.

Placing her hand onto her chest, she tried to alleviate the feeling.

To her surprise, Charles had agreed to divorce her. She didn't see that coming at all!