The Substitute Bride

Isla was exhausted by her breathless rattle that was still to no avail. She finally pointed at Charles. "Say something!"

"What do you want me to say? Isla, you've been talking constantly from the moment you walked in. You didn't give me a chance to talk. What do you want me to tell you now?" Charles was annoyed.

The way Charles spoke, as if he was oblivious to what had happened was like a fuel to the fire. Her voice was loud and menacing this time. "You and Sheryl are divorced, for God's sake! Why did you ask your mother to see Sheryl? Why do you want to keep her tied to you and your family? When you're busy dating another woman, why can't you let her move on? Stop being selfish and leave her alone."

Charles didn't quite understand what Isla was saying. He stared at her with a blank face.

"Don't give me that look. Ask your mother not to see Sheryl again. Do you understand? You know what I would do otherwise," Isla warned Charles before storming out the office.

Charles was lost in thought, trying to figure out what had happened. When he put all the pieces together, he finally understood.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," said Charles, still lost in thought.

David was standing at the door, looking concerned.

"President Lu, why was President Zhao here? Is something wrong with President Xia?" David was shifting on his feet nervously.

Charles finally came to the present from his thoughts. He looked at David and nodded his head in exasperation. "I've no idea. She was furious. She stormed into my office and started yelling at me; I couldn't make out a single word she said."

And at that exact moment Charles' phone rang.

Charles furrowed his brows in confusion when he saw who was calling. He wondered why his client was calling at this time.

"Hello…"

Charles swallowed nervously as he answered the call.

His face had gone pale when he hung up.

"President Lu, what's the matter, is something wrong?" David couldn't help but worry.

"It's nothing. I want you to go back to the Dream Garden now!" Charles instructed David.

David grabbed his cell phone and called the driver immediately.

In the Cloud Advertising Company, Sheryl walked out of her office.

Before she walked any further,

take care of you."

"Aww…I'm glad that you guys had a great day." Isla smiled. "Clark, you've done a wonderful job taking care of your little sister." Isla's heart swelled with happiness. She was truly happy for Sheryl. "Sher, you're blessed to have such amazing children."

"Stop, Isla. You're embarrassing them." Sheryl ushered them to the dinner table.

Sheryl and Isla happily ate, listening to the kids talk on and on about the fun and adventure they had experienced today.

It was a happy day and Sheryl's face was beaming with joy. Isla didn't want to ruin it for her. She thought it was better not to mention anything about her going to the Shining Company.

"Aunt Isla, what are you thinking about? You look lost," Clark asked Isla as she was lost in thoughts, holding the chopsticks and staring at the food.

He served a generous amount of food to Isla as her bowl was empty. "Um…it's nothing, Clark. You're very thoughtful, thank you."

Isla smiled at Clark, touched by his sweet gesture.

Sheryl's heart melted. She was incredibly proud of her son's behavior. He was a gentleman, after all. She thought she'd tease him. "Clark, you've never done this for mommy."

Sheryl pouted at Clark, giving a puppy dog face. Clark immediately walked from his chair and grabbed her arms. "Mom, Aunt Isla is our guest. We should be nice to her."

Sheryl was surprised. Who had taught him all this, if she hadn't?

"Ah, Sher, Clark's right. You can't be jealous of me." Isla burst out laughing.