The Substitute Bride

Sheryl was driving the car with Melissa and the kids on the backseat.

Melissa had been trying her best to get the kids to like her. Especially Clark, since he seemed a bit distant from her.

That wasn't surprising, though. Clark had always been more mature for his age. Even though he and Shirley were twins, they couldn't be more different. For his age, Clark could be very observant and was already more considerate of others compared to Shirley.

"Clark, how's school recently? How are you getting along with your classmates?" Melissa tried to sound nonchalant about her question.

"It's fine. I'm friends with all of my classmates," Clark answered seriously.

"Grandma, many of our classmates like Clark!" Shirley chimed in.

"Shirley!" Clark admonished, rolling his eyes at his sister's reply.

Not stopped by Clark's surly objection, Shirley covered her mouth and whispered into Melissa's ear, "Grandma, Clark is blushing."

"Shirley, stop teasing me. Or else, I'll tell them your secrets." Clark pretended to be annoyed.

From the driver's seat, Sheryl was watching everything unfold. Melissa had been trying to get along with the kids. And to see her attempts made something fragile and delicate bloom inside Sheryl's chest.

One wouldn't have thought of it before, but the kids and the older woman had a natural affection for each other. Their relationship now was a far cry from before. Perhaps it was Leila's influence on Melissa that had made the older woman treat the kids badly.

Melissa had made mistakes. Sheryl didn't absolve her of it. But the important thing now was the older woman was trying her best to correct those mistakes. Luckily, Sheryl and the kids had big hearts. They all chose to forgive Melissa for the things she had done in the past.

Sheryl didn't blame Melissa. If possible, she wanted to help Melissa get even closer to the kids.

"Clark, you're older. You should take care of your sister and not tease her. Shirley, stop teasing your older brother. Okay?" In her little ways, Sheryl wanted to teach the kids good manners. She wanted to instill the value of respect while they were young. She knew some things might be difficult for them to understand, but she had to start somewhere.

Teaching the kids was slowly becoming a habit for her. She wanted to teach them what was right and wrong, and why the wrong things were bad.

"Your mom is right. You two have to take care of eac

ogether.

Meanwhile, at the hospital

Vicky had been anxiously waiting for Charles. With each second ticking by, she felt more anxious about Charles showing up. If she knew anything about Charles, it was that he would use anything and everything to make an excuse not to show up.

Soon, she couldn't take the anxiety anymore. She started to ring the bell incessantly. Cassie, who was on duty for the night, heard the alarm and went to Vicky's ward.

"Is there anything wrong?" Cassie asked before getting the shock of her life.

'Isn't she the one who was always hanging around Charles?' she thought to herself. A light bulb flicked on inside her head. This was the woman who had caused Sheryl so much distress. Anger started to flood Cassie's veins.

"Aren't you the nurse here? Shouldn't you be more polite?" Vicky snidely asked.

"I'm a nurse, not your servant. Let me know if you actually need something. I still have other patients to check," Cassie replied coolly.

Vicky understood that, but the nurse's aloof attitude still bothered her.

"I'm not feeling well. Call Charles right now. I want to see him." Vicky raised her chin and put on a defiant look.

She had no idea that Cassie knew Charles, which was why she didn't know what she just said triggered the young nurse.

Cassie clenched her fist, looking disgruntled. After a while, she managed to suppress her anger and replied as calmly as she could, "Miss, I'm not your secretary. If you want to call Charles, you can do it yourself."

After that, Cassie walked out of the ward and slammed the door, not giving Vicky any chance to respond.