The Substitute Bride

"Reporters are always like this. Don't mind them too much!" Charles comforted Leila. He didn't get mad like Leila had expected.

Leila was scared that Charles would get mad at her, so she was relieved when she heard this.

When they returned to Dream Garden, they'd made their way to go up to their respective rooms.

Normally, Leila would insist on spending more time with Charles. However, tonight, she didn't. She said that she was tired and she needed to rest.

Charles figured that she was turning in early so she could call Ferry, so he decided to delay this. "Can we talk first?"

"Ah. Oh, okay..." Leila wanted to call Ferry right away, but she didn't want to miss this opportunity to spend more time with Charles.

Charles talked and talked while Leila listened tirelessly.

A good two hours had passed, and Charles was already thirsty from talking too much. Meanwhile, Leila was fidgeting as she kept glancing at her phone.

When Charles decided that it was finally the right time, he stretched and smiled at Leila. Then he said, "It's getting late. I need to go to sleep. Good night!"

"Okay, Charles. Good night."

When Charles had disappeared into his bedroom, Leila hurried back to her room.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Leila spat as she called Ferry. She'd closed the door first before calling him.

Ferry was just about to sleep when Leila's call came in.

"That was just a warning. If I don't get what I want tomorrow, I'm taking you down with me," Ferry spat before throwing his cellphone aside and going back to sleep.

Leila grew furious upon hearing this; however, she knew she couldn't do anything about it.

The next day

As soon as Leila got up, she went downstairs and found Charles having breakfast already.

"Charles, why are you up so early?" Leila woke up worried as she knew today was the deadline. If she didn't give Ferry something useful, she was going to be killed.

"We're bidding for a project tomorrow, so I want to go to the office early. Hurry up and get ready so we can go to wor

he end, he would have to explain everything to Sheryl and try to win her heart back.

In the coffee shop of Shining Company's building

When Leila went downstairs, she nervously looked around. She found nothing unusual, so she discreetly headed to where Ferry said he would be.

Leila didn't know that this was the first time that Ferry had ever waited for someone.

"Do you need to act like that? Why did you insist on meeting here?" Leila spat as soon as she saw Ferry.

"If you didn't want to come, then you're free to go. You know I don't like forcing women." Ferry looked at Leila disdainfully as he lazily sat in his chair.

Leila was furious, but she knew she couldn't anger Ferry right now. She controlled her anger and sat across from him. Then she haphazardly threw the files in front of him. She said arrogantly, "Charles trusts me this much. As long as you promise not to expose me, I can give you all the good projects."

"What? You've changed your mind? You don't want to marry Charles anymore?" Ferry was well aware of Leila's dreams, and he never missed the chance to throw it in her face.

Leila's face fell. She didn't want Ferry to say more, so she quickly explained, "Well, I certainly still want to marry Charles, but losing a project or two won't affect my position. What I'm doing is turning this into a win-win situation, so why not?"