The Substitute Bride

"Alright. I get it. Keep an eye on Holley the next couple of days. Notify me of her movements!" As soon as Rex gave his order, he hung up the phone.

'Okay, Holley and Ferry. Let's see what you're up to, ' Rex thought.

The following morning came. Melissa went downstairs and was surprised to see Charles lying on the couch in the lobby.

She quickly walked over to him and noticed something curious--Charles hadn't changed his clothes. Melissa concluded that he had spent the night on that very spot.

"Mom, you're here," Charles said sleepily. He had heard Melissa's footsteps and was awakened by them.

Melissa's eyes were immediately filled with sadness. She asked him, "Charles, didn't you go back to your room last night?"

"I was taking care of things and happened to fall asleep. By the way, Mom, you can go ahead and have breakfast without me. I'm going upstairs to take a shower!" Without waiting for a response, Charles stood up and made his way up the stairs.

Before he reached the landing, Leila came out of her room.

She beamed at Charles and greeted him with an enthusiastic tone, "Good morning, Charles!"

Charles nodded and didn't say a word.

When Melissa was sure he had gone into his room, she urgently signaled for Leila to come to her.

Confused, Leila quietly asked, "What had happened, Aunt Melissa?"

"Leila," Melissa began to explain, "Charles didn't go back to his room last night. He had slept on the couch. How uncomfortable it must have been!" While she spoke, she worriedly looked in the direction of Charles' bedroom door.

"He slept here?" Leila asked, pointing at the couch and frowning in disbelief.

Melissa nodded her head in response.

Shaking her head helplessly, Leila said, "Aunt Melissa, we should make Sheryl leave as soon as possible. Take a look at what's happening! Charles is suffering because of that woman!"

Leila had a hand on her chest, looking genuinely heartbroken. She looked like she was about to cry.

Melissa hurriedly motioned for Leila to sit down. She helped her onto the couch and asked anxiously, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Aunt Melissa, I feel uneasy. Charles loves Sheryl so, so much, but that woman keeps torturing him. I feel so sorry for him!" Leila exclaimed. This time, tears trickled down her cheeks.

Melissa patted Leila on th

ing about her. In truth, she had been hoping for this all along. She had wanted everyone to think that she was going to be Charles' new love. Leila would have remained hidden if the two gossiping employees hadn't mentioned her past. That was one thing she didn't want more people to know.

The two employees smiled in embarrassment and went back to work.

Feeling satisfied, Leila walked away.

At the Cloud Advertising Company, something big was about to be revealed.

Isla, having just finished a project, was exhausted. The moment she walked into Cloud Advertising Company's main office, she saw Phoebe's gloomy face. "What's going on, Phoebe? Did you just get dumped?" she joked.

"You're teasing again, Ma'am," Phoebe groaned.

Isla asked with a smile, "Why do you look so sad, then?"

She handed Phoebe some documents and kindly asked her to finish up.

"Ma'am, are you heading out?" Phoebe asked Isla when it looked as though the latter was about to leave.

"I am. Why?" Isla asked. She looked at Phoebe with a confused expression on her face. 'Why is Phoebe acting so strange today?' she thought.

Phoebe took a deep breath before she said, "Yesterday, Mrs. Lu asked me to find her a lawyer. She needed one to draft a lawyer's letter for her. Mrs. Lu is planning to sue her husband for divorce!" After much hesitation, Phoebe was finally able to tell Isla what had happened. She thought Isla should know.

"Sue Charles for divorce!" Isla exclaimed. Her smile quickly faded, giving way to a look of combined disbelief and shock.