The Substitute Bride

Isla stole glances at Sheryl as she poured out what was in her heart to her. She cautiously spoke her mind. She wanted to gently tell her things in case Sheryl was displeased by anything that she said.

"I don't understand. Melissa is your mother-in-law, but she rejoices in your misfortune. Now, a car accident has happened to Charles, yet she continues to hold you accountable. I don't know what this woman is thinking about, that makes her act so badly."

As Isla kept criticizing Melissa for her conduct, which, in her eyes, was unbecoming of a senior, she finished peeling the orange in her hand. When she was ready to pass it to Sheryl, Sheryl's pale face was the first thing that she saw.

At that moment, Sheryl wore a gloomy face and sat in silence. It was as if she had been struck with a spell that had taken away her soul.

Isla understood it was a shattering blow to her heart that such a tragedy had happened to her husband, Charles.

She took action at once to comfort Sheryl. In the middle of the process, someone knocked on the door.

By reflex, Isla turned and lifted her eyes to the door. After being permitted to enter the room, a tall, familiar silhouette appeared in the doorway, blocking out the light from the hall.

Surprisingly, Lewis had made an appearance. Isla had actually called him and asked him to pay a visit on the sly.

Sheryl gave him a rather surprised look as if she hadn't expected Lewis would be bold enough to see her during such stressful circumstances. It was too inopportune for him to visit her now, as far as she was concerned. They were in the spotlight of both the public and the press, so such a visit could only be considered reckless. There was no doubt that it might discredit both of their reputations to a further extent!

"Ahhh! Mr. Xu, I didn't expect to see you! You are here just in time! Sheryl needs extra care. Please help me keep her company. You can stay here while I go out to buy some food." Isla deliberately found an excuse for leaving to create some privacy for Lewis and Sheryl. Clearly, she was not subtle enough to conceal her intention. She made this sudden request as soon as Lewis arrived, so she was being quite obvious.

To make it less obvious, Isla didn't leave the ward immediately. Instead, she stopped at the door for a moment before she went out. She had made a decision on behalf of Sheryl without asking for permission in advance. She dreaded the fact that Sheryl might get irritated at her for setting up the visit.

However, her decision hadn't come from nowhere. In Isla's mind, Charles had Leila around him to keep him company, but Sheryl was alone and in distress. Isla had worried that Sheryl wanted a man to be around, instead of a friend like Isla. Struck by the idea, she had picked up her phone and dialed Lewis' phone number without hesitation.

Still, there was another reason for Isla's choice in action. If people from the Lu family knew that Sheryl had another man who cared about her, that would certainly send a bit of alarm through all of them. Besides, if Sheryl made up her mind to forget Charles, and was ready to start a new life with someone else, Le

nce, and I'm willing to wait for her answer."

Isla smiled upon hearing Lewis' words. His stern face looked so funny to her. With a shake of her head, Isla urged, "Then why are you in such a hurry to leave? Sheryl is weak right now. A man like you is exactly what she needs by her side! You should stay by her side and whisper some sweet words in her ear to comfort her!"

Lewis didn't say a word. He only hung his head in silence. After a while, he started to shake his head and sighed. "As Sheryl's best friend, you don't know a lot about her."

Isla was confused as to what he meant. She didn't fully understand what Lewis meant by that.

With another sigh, Lewis still didn't say another word. He turned and left. Watching his receding figure, Isla let out a sigh of her own. She thought to herself, 'Lewis is a good man, but he is not brave enough to truly strive for Sheryl's love!'

Coming back to her senses, Isla knocked on the door before she entered the sickroom.

"Sher, did you ask Lewis to leave? Why would you do that?" Isla pulled a face as she questioned Sheryl. She wanted to make her feel a little guilty.

She had acted as an intermediary to provide Sheryl with such a rare opportunity, but Sheryl had just wasted it!

"Did you call Lewis to come over on the sly? Why did you do that? Don't you know that I am still Charles' lawful wife? How can I accept another man's love at a time like this?" Sheryl ignored Isla's resentful look and shot her own grievances back at her.

In Sheryl's eyes, Isla was very reckless. Under the current circumstances, the rumors about her and Lewis were still a trending topic out there. Every news outlet was reporting on the suspected affair and the pictures of them together were widely spread on the internet. The wise choice for Sheryl was not to see Lewis to avoid causing any additional trouble! How could Isla not see that?

Sheryl wouldn't have expected that Lewis would take Isla's suggestion seriously, or that he would have appeared in her ward. Didn't he worry that his reputation might be ruined to a further extent because of this?