The Substitute Bride

Damian hesitated before reaching out to wrap Sheryl's hand around his own. The moment their skins touched, he felt a jolt run through his system, and he was almost tempted to pull it back up. He turned away, feeling his cheeks redden.

Recovering from the moment, Damian relaxed. However, he still refused to look her in the eye.

Suddenly, Sheryl's body started to shake, eyelids trembling in front of him.

At that moment, Sheryl was just having a dream. It was Damian, and he was apologizing to her. At first, she felt a rush of anger running through her veins, but one look at his face, and she felt her body relax. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't be mad at him.

'Why would Damian do that to me? How could he?' she yelled at him in her dream. She screamed, her arms wriggling in the air, but he still remained as motionless as a log. From the anxiety, Sheryl immediately broke into a cold sweat, sitting up.

To her surprise, Damian was sitting beside her, as motionless as the one she had seen in the dream.

"Why are you here?" Sheryl asked icily.

"Sher, I'm sorry." He took one glance at her and then turned away. He just couldn't bring himself to look at her, not right now, not like this.

Sheryl was innocent, clean as an angel. And he had to be the ass who had to ruin it. At that point, Damian would pay a hundred dollars for someone to hit him. If Sheryl chose to not talk to him anymore, it was probably right of her to do so.

"Why did you..."

Before Sheryl could finish her question, the door was flung open.

While they were caught totally off guard, a crowd of paparazzi pooled around them. Flashes of light hallowed the room as the sounds of their clicks filled the air. Right at the moment, Sheryl shielded her face with her hands, turning away from them.

Damian staggered up, standing in between the crowd and Sheryl. He raised both his arms to block them from getting any closer. However, that didn't stop the crowd from flinging in questions.

"Are you already in a relationship?" one asked.

"Ms. Xia, why are you in hospital?" another one continued.

"Mr. Li, what's your opinion regarding the gossip online?"

All of them continuously yelled out their questions, moving towards them like hyenas approaching their prey.

No answer came out of the two.

Sheryl stayed where she was, lips sealed. She continued to turn away, making sure that her face wouldn't be seen on any camera. Damian, however, was too busy expressing his frustrations

flash their cameras at Sheryl's face.

The room was in so much chaos that the security guards had to be summoned to the scene.

The security guards blinked in surprised when they finally arrived. They weren't expecting so many people to be here. How had they managed to get inside the building?

"Get out now," they commanded in unison. They were brawny and muscly, towering over everyone. They looked intimidating, to say the least, their expressions looking more thunderous than ever. The reporters had to back away in fright, stopping their picture taking in the process.

Without another word, the reporters retreated unwillingly.

Suddenly, the chaos in Sheryl's room finally turned silent. It was calm now.

However, that didn't help Sheryl's case. Still, in shock from what had happened, she sat on her bed, frozen. Damian didn't say anything, looking at her silently. 'It's all my fault, ' he thought.

Nick glanced at the last one lingering in the room. He tilted his head, recognizing Damian immediately. He was the guy who had caused all this nonsense in the first place. 'Damn it! How dare he show up?' he thought, balling his hands into fists.

"So, you're Damian." Nick rolled up his sleeves. The vein on his forehead popped out as he moved forward, and he was ready to teach the idiot a lesson.

"Nick, stop," Sheryl begged. She knew Nick well enough to know what he was going to do. She raised a hand, pulling Damian back to avoid Nick's anger.

"Damian...just go." She released her hold, motioning him to the door. "I don't want to see you anymore." Sheryl urged Damian to leave, knowing that if he'd leave, Nick could calm down.