The Substitute Bride

Melissa calmed down. Leila's comforting words helped to pacify her anger.

There was complete silence in the room, as all of them dropped heads and enjoyed their meals.

After completing the meal, Charles turned to Melissa and shared some thoughtful words that he knew would please his mother. After that, he excused himself and headed to his bedroom.

Charles felt relieved to find Melissa's anger had dissipated. Then he turned around and spoke to David, saying, "Okay, you should go back and get some rest, David. Thank you for coming here. If there is anything I need you for, I will call you."

"Okay, Mr. Lu, I will be alert to attend your call whenever you need me." David bowed, turned around, and headed towards the main door, even as Charles moved toward the stairs.

Leila watched the receding figures of both the men and heaved a deep sigh of relief in her heart. She had been petrified all this while. What if David had exposed all of the incorrect things she had done to Charles? What would she do then? How embarrassing would it be for her? Leila could not even bring herself to think about the possible outcome and how she could deal with it.

She could not move her eyes from Charles as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. With bated breath she waited, watching for him to go inside his room and close the door. At the moment, that would mean a new lease on life for Leila. But, as luck would have it! All of a sudden, Charles turned around and said, "Leila, come to my study. I want to have a word with you!"

"What?"

His instruction came so suddenly that Leila didn't know how to respond. Her guts were telling her that something ominous was about to happen. Yet, she quickly nodded her head and forced a smile. "Okay, I will be right there."

Albeit the pleasure of Charles asking her to see him in private was written all over Leila's face, she was in a mental flurry of indecision. When she delved deep in her mind to think of what Charles was about to discuss with her, the answer she got was certainly not a pleasant one.

Ever since Charles had come back to Dream Garden, not once had he asked about what was going on with Shinning Company. However, that he didn't ask didn't mean that he knew nothing. Leila knew it for sure that Charles must have received all the updates about the current status of the Shinning Company well in advance. He must also already know who was in charge of the company at the moment. Besides, Hugo must have sent his men to attack Charles. She was worried that Charles might have put her on his list of suspects.

Thinking of this, Leila's heart trembled with fear. She could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead.

After asking Leila to meet him in his study, Charles calmly proceeded to the room. Melissa saw Leila stood still like a log of wood. A smile appeared on Melissa's face. She thought that the sudden invitation from Charles might have made Leila excited. Melissa quickly approached Leila, and patted her on the shoulder, before she urged, "Leila, what are you staring at? Charles wants you to come to his room! Go upstairs and seize this opportunity!"

"I...Aunt Melissa, I..." Little did Melissa know what made Leila hesitant all of a sudden.

Even Leila could not explain to Melissa the real reason behind her nervousness. The thrust of it was that she did not have the nerve to face him alone.

"Leila, Charles wants to have a private talk with you. I kno

. He could mark a weird uneasiness in Leila, which was self-explanatory.

Leila reacted strangely. She grew anxious and wanted Charles to finish what he intended to say. But Charles only gave her a mixed and ambiguous feeling. She could not make out whether Charles was aware of the truth or if what he had said had no deeper meaning behind it. She felt that as long as she got the whole story; she could set her mind at ease. She struggled to breathe as her throat started to constrict uncomfortably because of the rising anxiety in her heart. However, Charles' narrative had become suspended right there. At the moment, the silence that had settled in the room was enough to drive Leila mad as anxiety rose in her heart. With a feigned concern, she finally responded, saying, "Oh, my God! Who are they? Why did they intend to kill you?"

Though the worry and concern that appeared on Leila's face displayed nothing but genuineness, Charles still saw through the surface and detected the tiny traces of fear. The same fear that came on a criminal's face when their crimes were exposed. And Charles had captured it!

Now Charles' assumption was rapidly turning into his conviction. It was Leila, who had hired the men to attack him when he was in Malaysia.

"I am fine. Just as you see, I am right in front of you, healthy and energetic! But, the group of attackers, they committed suicide together, as soon as their assault failed."

"Suicide?" Leila exclaimed in astonishment and immediately raised her head to look at Charles as her eyes widened.

"Yes!" Charles exuded a frustrated look. He faked it again! He had lied about the contract killers committing suicide just to give an impression to Leila that he was left with no way to find out who was behind the attack, so Leila would let her guard down.

Deep down in her heart, Leila couldn't feel happier to hear the end of the story. It was obvious that Charles would never have the chance to learn the truth.

"Did you find out who was pulling the strings?" Leila checked, wanting to make sure that she had gotten a clean chit. Even though she was convinced that there appeared to be no leads left for Charles to investigate, she had to make one hundred percent sure of it. Or else, she would not be able to get a night's peaceful sleep again.