The Substitute Bride

"There's still something that we need to discuss in detail. You said you would be busy in the afternoon. Are you free to meet around noon then?"

Lewis wanted to have lunch with Sheryl, but he thought it would be better to ask indirectly as opposed to being straightforward.

Sheryl nodded her head in agreement.

They continued their discussion about business even as they left the office. Lewis' car was parked in front of the building. As they approached the car, the driver quickly started the engine and Lewis gestured for Sheryl to get in. However, what they didn't know was that just a few feet away sat Charles in his own car, watching everything.

The previous night, he had thought long and hard about his relationship with Sheryl. So he decided to go to her to talk about it in person.

Charles had been waiting outside the building for Sheryl. His plan was to greet her the minute she walked out of the gate and surprise her. But to his dismay, he found Sheryl leaving with another man.

Sheryl looked so happy talking to the man she was with. Despite not having seen the man before, it all looked pretty clear to Charles. They were looking at each other and talking so intimately—obviously they weren't just friends. Immediately, he grew angry. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Snorting, he thought to himself arrogantly, 'How dare you, Sheryl! You had just asked for a divorce yesterday, and here you are, already moving on with another man! How could you do this to me?'

Charles felt angry and helpless. He was the CEO of Shining Company. He was brilliant and capable, but at the moment, he felt like he was going insane. Jealousy never did look good on anyone.

Sheryl and Lewis chose a restaurant nearby.

Lewis had everything prepared in advance. He took every opportunity to display his sincerity and attentiveness to Sheryl. He paid attention to every detail and made sure he never overstepped any boundaries. Sheryl seemed to be very pleased. The meal was lovely and the conversation went on smoothly. Lewis seemed to have left a good impression on her.

Just as they were about to leave their table, Charles suddenly showed up.

He stood in front of Sheryl and looked down at her. With a blank face, he asked, "Why didn't you answer my call?"

Taken aback by Charles' sudden appearance, Sheryl recalled that she had set her phone on mute.

She didn't want to explain this because Charles was being so accusatory. It irked Sheryl. She was reminded of when she had herself tried to call Charles and he hadn't answered his phone.

According to her, Charles had no right to come here and question her, and she didn't need to explain herself to him.

"Mr. Lu, don't you

eck on things for a while. I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you for a bit."

Recently, Leila had had a lot on her plate. She still had to take care of Melissa, even though she knew that the latter was faking it. They had planned this together. To ensure it would go well, Leila stayed by Melissa's side to help her keep up the ruse. In addition to that, she still had to run the store.

"Go on, deal with your stuff. I'll be fine, don't worry about me!" Melissa did a quick stretch to show how healthy she was.

"Okay, Aunt Melissa, I'm going! It won't take too much time. I'll be back soon," Leila said.

"Just go! Don't worry about me!" Melissa urged Leila.

With a smile, Leila quickly left without turning back.

Right away, she rushed to the nearest cafe in the neighborhood. This was the spot where she and Holley had planned to meet. Earlier, she had asked Leila to come.

Leila was eager to see Holley. She was running out of ideas and she needed her help to think of new plans against Sheryl.

Holley arrived there before Leila did. She was starting to get a little impatient. She made sure this was apparent as Leila grabbed a seat and sat down in front of her. Holley whined, pulling a long face. "You're so late! I thought we were going to meet at three! Look at your watch! What time is it? Do you not value time? Do you think my time is as unimportant as yours?"

"Why didn't you leave if you were tired of waiting? I didn't ask you to wait!" Leila didn't want to show her any sympathy. She was still catching her breath after rushing over here. She just wanted to sit down and relax! But here was Holley, whining like a three-year-old.

Holley decided to let it go. She could tell that Leila was in a bad mood. As a peace offering, she pushed her cup toward Leila. "How's it going so far?"