The Substitute Bride

Immediately after Isla had left, Sheryl called Phoebe to her office.

"Did you call to see me, Ms. Xia." Phoebe gently knocked on the door and entered the office. She softly asked while she glanced at Sheryl.

Sheryl hesitated for a second before she commanded Phoebe, "From this day onward! If Melissa ever shows up at our company, bar her immediately from entering the building right at the front desk. You know, it is easy to find an excuse, I just don't want to see her here at any cost."

"What? Are you serious?" Phoebe was astounded upon hearing this from Sheryl. She had not expected that Sheryl would state the same words as Isla. She had told Phoebe the exact thing only a minute ago.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sheryl asked her instantly when she saw her bewilderment. She had noticed Phoebe's expression and sensed the astonishment in her tone.

"Oh, yes, I am perfectly fine. Never mind! I was just wondering that Isla told me the same words as yours just a few minutes earlier." Phoebe had indeed stated the truth.

Upon hearing this, Sheryl tried hard to resist, but finally flashed a wide smile of amazement. She realized that Isla was no less than her soul-sister since she knew Sheryl so well.

"Well, I got it! You can leave now!"

Sheryl became lost in contemplation shortly after Phoebe had left her office. 'Now even Isla looks a bit odd, and there is certainly something strange in her voice. I have decided! From this day onward, I do not want to keep in touch with Charles or any other person associated with him. Regardless of why Melissa wanted to see me today!' Sheryl mused.

When Isla left the company, she thought to walk for a while before returning to her office. However, at that hour, a valued client insisted on inviting her for a cup of coffee. Isla respected the kindness of an esteemed client, which made it difficult for her to refuse. She was left with no choice, and she accepted the invite.

Isla immediately finished up her coffee by taking hasty gulps. She was rather in a hurry to leave when, suddenly, the discussions among the other customers attracted her attention and ignited her curiosity.

She vaguely heard Charles and Melissa's names in the discussion, making her intrigued to know what they were talking about. So she decided to stay there listening attentively to them for several minutes.

Several minutes later, Isla was stunned into deep silence.

"Are you alright, Isla?" the valued client asked anxiously as she suddenly saw Isla stiffen like a plank of wood.

"Oh, yes, I am. Never mind. Let's go," Isla quickly responded while snapping out of her trance with a forced smile on her lips.

She bade farewell to the client while walking out of the coffee shop. They parted at the entrance of the coffee shop, and she immediately rushed to the Cloud Advertising Company without wasting even a second.

When Isla arrived at the company, she immediately headed towards Sheryl's office and burst in through the door.

"Has something terrible happened with the project? Have you suddenly heard some

you it won't happen again!" the message stated.

Sheryl felt her soul was charred by these few words. She regretted having typed that message, but by then it was too late for any regrets, for it's of no use crying over spilled milk.

At the Dream Garden

At that same instant, Charles opened his eyes and glanced around, having a strained feeling in his chest. Just like Sheryl, he also inadvertently swiped through the WeChat on his phone and casually tapped Sheryl's profile.

To his surprise, Sheryl's message was so straightforward and ruthless.

Charles' heart sank, and he felt as if his heart would jump right out of his mouth when he viewed the message.

Having only slept in snatches last night since he was tossing and turning on all sides in the bed, Charles was in a vicious mood even at this hour.

He thoughtlessly returned Sheryl's message on WeChat. Then he laid his phone aside and closed his eyes in extreme frustration.

At the same moment, Sheryl became quite agitated when she thought about Charles' message. On the spur of the moment, she walked into Isla's office and asked Isla to go on a window-shopping spree with her.

"What has happened to your intellect? Sher, why did you ask me to go window shopping with you at this odd hour?" Isla hadn't declined Sheryl's invitation. She just wondered why Sheryl wanted to go window shopping with her during office hours. It was something that had never happened before, for Sheryl had always been a diligent worker.

"Ah, nothing. I just want to go window shopping with you. Are you not up for it?" Sheryl questioned as she pretended to be angry with Isla.

"I am definitely up for it, Sher! You know how much I love going to do window-shopping with you," With that, Isla held Sheryl's hand in hers, and they rushed to the car, where, hopping in, they raced off to go shopping.

Sheryl was fully aware that she lacked the guts to come to terms with Charles. She thought that it was better to go window shopping than just having a fit of the sulks in the office.