The Substitute Bride

Sheryl immediately noticed the terrified look on her daughter's face. She suddenly lowered her head and kissed her daughter's forehead in an attempt to comfort her. "Now, you be a good girl, and please rest well. Mommy's just going to talk to daddy, okay?"

"Then, could you stop yelling at daddy, please? He knows what he did was wrong. Please forgive him!" Shirley had always been such a well-behaved and nice little girl.

Sheryl couldn't help but be moved. She put on a smile for Shirley and said, "Of course, I'm not going to yell at your father. Now just get some rest, okay?"

Sheryl straightened up when she saw Shirley was about to fall asleep. She then said to Charles in a low voice, "Let's talk outside."

Charles could tell that Sheryl wasn't going to let him off easy. He knew what he'd done was wrong, and he wasn't sure if Sheryl was going to forgive him. He sighed as he followed Sheryl out of the room.

When they'd left the ward, Sheryl still had her back turned to Charles.

Charles moved a bit closer to Sheryl. He waited a while before speaking, "Sher, please don't get mad at me. I already feel bad enough for what happened. I swear I won't let anything like this happen again."

"You swear? I think I've already heard that before. I don't think I can find it in myself to still believe a promise from someone like you," Sheryl said, her tone icy.

Charles was taken aback by this. He immediately knew what she was talking about. She was talking about when Charles had broken his promise about handling Vicky.

"Sher, there are just things that I can't explain to you right now. Just please believe me and give me another chance. Please." Charles was just hoping that Sheryl would give him another chance, so he didn't mind that Sheryl was giving him the cold shoulder now.

"Charles, it's your actions that have led me to this point. I don't think I can believe anything you say from now on." Sheryl turned to face Charles this time, glaring at him, her face blank. She continued, "Why would I forgive you? Are you telling me that the whole thing with Vicky isn't real? I think you're forgetting the other things you've done. I just never say it out loud for our children's sake, but this isn't the first time that this has happened. Do you really think I'm just going to continue letting you walk all over me?"

Sheryl said, not holding back this time. She rarely exploded like this, but now that her daughter had been affected, she just couldn't let it go anymore.

The most important thing in the world to her was her kids. It used to be her entire family—including Charles, but after the divorce, she promised herself that she wa

ll Clark that he will have to stay at the Dream Garden for a while? Joan went home as she had to attend to a personal emergency."

"Of course. Anything for you. Sher, is Charles still there? Do you want to come home here to rest for a while? He can stay at the hospital for the night and watch over Shirley." Melissa figured Sheryl must be tired since she had herself just gotten out of the hospital.

Sheryl couldn't help but be touched as she detected the sincerity in Melissa's voice. However, she wasn't comfortable leaving Shirley under Charles' care after he'd proven that he was unreliable. She'd rather watch over Shirley herself.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Just take care of Clark for me. If there's nothing else, I need to go as I need to take care of Shirley."

"Please hold on for a second." Melissa grew worried upon hearing that Sheryl was insisting on staying at the hospital. She said, "Sher, I'm worried. You can't stay at the hospital by yourself. Why don't you ask Charles to stay with you, so he can help you?"

"I......" Sheryl really wanted to come up with an excuse for Melissa when suddenly she heard Clark's voice, "Mommy, just let daddy stay with you. I don't want you to get sick. You're just recovering, and I'm very worried about you."

She began to tear up as she was deeply touched when she heard the soft yet caring voice of her son, Clark.

"Mommy, please promise me that you will let my daddy take care of my sister. If you do, I will behave myself and rest well tonight. Is that okay, Mommy?" Clark's voice once again came through the phone. Sheryl couldn't help but be further moved.

Sheryl decided to be vague in her response. She said, "Clark, just do as your grandma says and be a good boy, okay? I'll talk to you later."