The Substitute Bride

Sheryl patted her son on the back to comfort him. She said, "Mom is not tired. I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Aunt Isla, let's go. Mom wants to sleep. We have to get back home," Clark pleaded. 'Sher is so lucky to have him, ' Isla thought to herself after hearing Clark's request. 'He's sweet and considerate. He even wants to go back home early so that Sheryl can get more sleep. Oh, how I envy Sher! My kid knows nothing except how to annoy me and create troubles, but Clark? Clark is such a sweet little boy.

It's so strange for me to hear such things from him. He's so little, yet he knows stuff. He knows how to care for his mother and sister. His words often surprise me. As adults, we don't understand how Clark is so mentally mature. Sometimes, I wonder why and how these words could come out of the mouth of a little boy.'

"Okay, Clark. Let's go back home," Isla said as she patted Clark on the head. Then she took Shirley's hand. Together, they all walked toward the car.

Sheryl silently watched this exchange. It warmed her heart. 'What am I so upset about?' she wondered to herself. 'With Clark and Shirley around, I'm the happiest person in the world. I'm perfectly fine with or without Charles, as long as my kids are with me.

Now that I've thought things through, I realize that it's best for everyone if I divorce Charles. I've just been too sensitive and emotional recently. That is probably why I can't let this relationship go at once. But I believe I can get over him. Yes, I can.'

When they got home, Sheryl sent the kids to bed and watched them fall sleep. Then, she silently walked out of their room to get some sleep herself.

At Dream Garden, Charles had just gotten home.

After he had left Sheryl at the Bureau of Civil Affairs, he immediately went back to work. However, he just couldn't focus.

Thinking about what Sheryl had done rendered him nervous and absent-minded the whole day. 'Why?' he thought to himself. 'Why does she want to finalize the divorce in such a short time? Why is she in such a hurry to get the kids away from me?' These questions played over and over in his head all day long. Consequently, he could not accomplish anything at work.

By the time he got home, he assumed that everyone in Dream Garden was already fast asleep. However, contrary to his expectations, Leila was awake. Charles saw her standing in the living room when he opened the door.

"What are you doing here? Did something happen to my mother?" Charles asked in mild surprise when he saw Leila. He thought her waiting for him in the middle of the night had something to do with Melissa's illness.

Leila quickly shook her head and said, "Don't worry, Charles. I'll take good care of Melissa. I won't let anything happen to her." She spoke with such firmness and confidence that it surprised Charles. He thought, 'Why is she saying that to me with such certainty? Is she better than the doctors? Can she cure Melissa's cancer? No! She can't do anything!

She did not get a response, so she decided to continue, "Charles, you..."

Suddenly, Charles interrupted, "Alright, that's it. Mother, it's time for you to go to bed." He frowned, staring at Melissa.

Upon seeing Charles' reaction, Melissa finally decided to stop talking. She thought to herself, 'It took me a lot of courage to say what I said just now. Luckily, he feels sorry for me right now, and so he listened to all of that. If Sheryl had still been in Dream Garden, I wouldn't have said such things. In Charles' heart, she was the only woman and the only innocent one in the world. I should stop now, lest my relationship with Charles turn sour again because of that bitch.'

"Okay. If you don't want to listen, I'll stop talking. Head back to your room now, Charles, and sleep tight," Melissa said, trying to sound considerate and gentle.

Charles too didn't want to say anything else. He bid Melissa goodbye and walked out of her room.

Leila saw Charles walk out of Melissa's room. When she saw that he had gone into his own room, she silently walked toward Melissa and asked, "What did Charles say?" She already knew that Charles and Sheryl hadn't finalized their divorce, but she pretended not to know it.

While she had been waiting for Charles to leave the room earlier, she had come to the decision that she urgently needed Melissa's help in order to become Charles' wife. She thought to herself, 'If I keep wasting time like this, Sheryl might get another shot with Charles. They might get back together one day. Then, all my efforts would be in vain. I won't let that happen!'

Melissa looked at her and shook her head. She reached out and grabbed Leila's arm, saying, "I'm sorry, Leila. Rushing things won't help. Look, they have decided to get officially divorced at the Bureau of Civil Affairs. That's a big step. They'll get divorced sooner or later. Marriage is a serious thing, so they can't break it off so easily. They might have a lot of things to talk about."