The Substitute Bride

"Do you really think that I am that indecisive and careless in a relationship?" Sheryl was speechless. She didn't know what she should say to convince Isla.

Everyone in town thought the reason why Lewis was so obsessed with Sheryl was that she was playing hard to get and she never gave him a solid "No". It was impossible for Sheryl to come clean against the Internet and all those rumors.

"That's odd. I don't see anything attractive in you. Why is Lewis so in love with you?"

Isla teased Sheryl to lighten the mood.

Sheryl was used to her remarks. She rolled her eyes at Isla, and then asked for advice.

"So… how are you going to deal with Lewis?" Isla muttered seriously as she stopped making fun of Sheryl.

Sheryl told Isla in detail what had happened over the past few days.

As Sheryl narrated her own thoughts, Isla remained silent, keenly listening to her friend. She seemed to be in deep thought. A few seconds later, she uttered, "Hide from him. That's the only thing you can do now."

Sheryl rolled her eyes again when she heard Isla's suggestion. Hiding from Lewis was surely not a permanent solution. It couldn't get to the bottom of the problem and fix it once and for all.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I am giving you my sincere and sensible suggestion!" Isla spread her hands to explain herself and looked at Sheryl, pouting her red rouged lips.

"I know. But that's not really a good suggestion, okay?" Sheryl got even more frustrated, to the point that she couldn't even catch her breath. Talking to unreasonable people or even uttering a single word further would make pain her.

Seeing Sheryl's frustration, Isla pondered on the supposedly serious question again. Then she said without jesting, "Actually, there is one solution."

"What?" Sheryl's eyes lit up as she heard that Isla might have a helpful suggestion. She looked into Isla's eyes excitedly, waiting for her further explanation.

"Well, we can cut all ties with Lewis. But in that case, Cloud Advertising Company will lose one of its biggest clients," Isla had gathered all her courage to offer this suggestion to the company president, which also happened to be her good friend.

Sheryl remained silent. She squinted, tried to process it, and eventually became lost in thought.

What Isla recommended was the last thing that Sheryl wanted to see happen. Losing a client and a friend was a big problem for her. If she and Lewis couldn't be lovers, Sheryl wished they could remain friends. But if she had to do what Isla suggested, they wouldn't be able to retain their friendship.

"Oh, my gosh, Sheryl! Why are you that silent? Are you attached to Lewis?!" Observing how Sheryl hesitated, Isla was convinced that Sheryl really had some feelings for Lewis.

Sheryl lifted her head

f thoughts. Isla shook her head and explained to Phoebe, "Everything is fine, Phoebe. It's about Sheryl. Sadly she has gotten stuck in a non-existent relationship."

Hearing Isla, Phoebe felt relieved. As long as nothing happened to the company she would be at peace.

Phoebe knew about the relationship between Sheryl and Lewis. She thought their relationship was a personal and intimate one. Others shouldn't get involved in that. Sheryl could only count on herself to navigate through her own problems.

"President Xia, nothing forcibly done is going to be agreeable, especially in a relationship. I am sure that President Xu will figure this out soon, and then stop bothering you," Phoebe comforted Sheryl with her wisdom.

Sheryl lifted up her head and nodded at Phoebe in agreement. She smiled and said, "I hope so, Phoebe. What is going on with the company recently? Is everything alright? Do you have any contracts or other paperwork needing my or President Zhao's expertise?"

"Everything is under control, President Xia. You don't have to worry."

"Thank you, Phoebe. I appreciate your hard work. You can take a long vacation once you finish everything urgent, and the company will fund your trip. You will get reimbursement so you can have nothing to think about but enjoying yourself." Sheryl felt so indebted for Phoebe's help. At the same time, she also felt sorry for putting so many burdens on Phoebe, simply because she was busy with her personal affairs.

She and Isla had been dealing with all her personal troubles for the past few weeks. And it was Phoebe who helped them run the company with as smooth sailing as possible. She really did an exceptional job in managing everything which was out of their control. Besides, Phoebe never complained about anything. Sheryl was moved by Phoebe's devotion and loyalty to them and the company.