The Substitute Bride

"What is the matter, Miss Xia? Are you alright?" Joan rushed to Sheryl. She crouched beside her, wanting to console her. However, she could not utter a single word but only watch Sheryl crying her heart out.

Sheryl cried inconsolably and incessantly for at least five minutes before she turned to Joan. While still sobbing, Sheryl managed to speak to Joan.

"I'm alright. You don't have to worry about me. It is okay. You can leave me and take care of your work, Joan," Sheryl forced a smile as she replied to Joan. She did not want Joan to get worried about her.

Joan understood that it would be better to give Sheryl some space at the moment. So she withdrew herself silently and went into the kitchen.

Sheryl wiped her face and pulled herself together, trying to look stable and composed. Then she took her credentials as she went downstairs.

"Civil Affairs Bureau," Sheryl said coldly to David as she entered the car.

David frowned and remained silent for a while. Before starting the car, he looked at Charles from the rear-view mirror seeking his advice.

Charles nodded slightly to hint his agreement.

David heaved a sigh and started the car. He felt so bad about the situation. But what else could he do?

Charles and Sheryl would get divorced within a couple of hours. There was nothing that could stop the inevitable.

David dropped Sheryl in front of the Cloud Advertising Company. He waited for a while to see her going up before driving back to the Shining Company.

At Charles' office, Charles told his secretary that no one could come in except David. After that, he locked himself in his office.

David rushed straight to Charles' office the moment he reached the Shining Company.

"President Lu, I have dropped President Xia at her office." David frowned as he looked at Charles. He looked confused like he was expecting Charles to explain the situation to him.

But to his dismay, Charles remained silent and just nodded in reply. Only Charles could feel what was going on inside his mind and heart! He felt his head was pounding. Everything was falling apart in front of his eyes, and he could not help it. He supported his forehead with his hand.

"How is she? Has she attempted to harm herself again?" Charles spoke in a calm and stable voice, suppressing all the pain and vulnerability at the bottom of his heart. Indeed, what worried Charles the most at the moment was the woman in the hospital instead of Sheryl.

There had been problems in Sheryl and Charles' marriage. It would still not be the worst outcome for him to agree to the divorce even though, of late, things had started to look better in their relationship.

But with the woman in the hospital, it was a completely different case. She would not hesitate to give up her life anytime if he acted against her wishes.

Getting divorced from Sheryl did indeed feel like a death bolt to him. However, he could not bear to see the woman to take her life because of him.

"President Lu, she is fine. But I think it doesn't make any sense for you to divorce President Xia. How can you do that to her?" David coul

ied to find the heart to continue.

After a moment of silence, Charles managed to speak again. He gave a brief account of how he and Sheryl drove to the Civil Affairs Bureau to finalize their divorce.

"So, that Vicky woman is determined to blackmail you. Have I got it right?" Melissa asked Charles.

"Yeah Mom, she said she wanted me to be with her. Otherwise, she would kill herself," Charles looked at Melissa as he replied with a sour face. Melissa could sense the helplessness in Charles' eyes, yet she felt that there must be some better way to deal with it.

"And you did not say yes to her, did you?" Melissa reasoned with Charles. Melissa stood up abruptly. She could not believe such a cheesy story would have happened to her son.

"Of course not. But she had already attempted to kill herself once. I was kind of worried that..." Again Charles' voice trailed off before he could finish, revealing his anxiety.

Melissa nodded even before Charles had finished speaking. She could understand how painful it would be for a woman who lost her memory. That meant she had lost all the connections with her family and relatives. Under that situation, it was her intuitive reaction to rely on the first person she saw when she woke up from the coma.

"What about Sher? What about the kids? What are you going to do with them? And what about yourself? How will you be able to live without them?" Melissa could not stop herself from asking.

"Mom, I will take care of it. Can you trust me?" Charles did not want to say anything else. He understood his mother's concern, but there was nothing he could do at the moment.

If it were anything else, he might be able to handle it. But this time, Charles found himself to be in a bind.

"But, Charles..." Melissa urged.

Charles turned to Melissa in a beseeching manner and said, "Mom, please believe me. I'm so tired right now. Can I have a moment to rest, please?"

Melissa could not insist any further when facing Charles' pleading. She gave him a slight nod, lowered her head, and slowly walked towards her room.