The Substitute Bride

"Don't be afraid. I'm here with you." Charles coaxingly held Sheryl's soft body tightly as if his life depended on her. His eyes brimmed with love.

Soon after Sheryl calmed down, she immediately turned around. Out of her anxiousness, she unknowingly clenched her fists and punched Charles on the chest, before mumbling, "Why did you scare me? Why have you pretended to be unconscious for so long? Why?"

Charles could feel that Sheryl had been very nervous recently. So at the moment, he didn't stop her. Pangs of sadness arose in him as he sensed there must be much that had been bottled up in her heart. Nothing mattered to him now but to have her vent it all out.

To him, Sheryl's punch was nothing but like a mere scratch. Though it could do no damage to his physical body, it did hurt his heart immensely. Every fist that landed right on his chest made his heart ache. He could feel the pain and grievance she had gone through during his absence. The anguish was too much, and it cut deeply into his soul.

Eventually, Sheryl's gamut of emotions subsided as she felt both of her hands get numb. She now had no strength left to throw one more punch. Gathering herself, she slowly raised her big watery eyes and gazed up at Charles.

His eyes were full of tenderness, which was all too familiar to her. As silence engulfed them, their eyes locked for a while. Sheryl caught herself staring at him before she burst into tears in Charles' arms. She couldn't bear it any longer.

"Why... Why did you do this to me? Why? Why did you..." Sheryl continued to cry and curse. She wanted all the grievances that had accumulated in her heart to gush out. She needed to get all her anguish off her chest.

Charles raised his hand to stroke Sheryl's soft hair and spoke gently, "I know I was wrong. If you want to beat me or scold me, just do it. I promise I won't fight back."

Hearing his words, Sheryl could no longer hold back her tears and started crying again. 'What the hell is wrong with him? How could he still be in the mood to joke?' she thought to herself, as she noted the flippant tone from Charles' words.

"Charles, Clark, our son, is missing..." Sheryl sobbed, unable to control her fear and pain as she thought of her missing son.

Charles held her face in both hands as he tilted her chin to meet his gaze. Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, he said gently, "I know."

"You know it? When did you know it?" S

She had never imagined this could happen. It was more complicated and thrilling than a horror movie!

"Sher, don't worry. I have some preliminary evidence to prove Vicky's real identity. But to pin down that Vicky and Ferry are in the same boat, I have to collect more. That's why I haven't taken any action yet. I am waiting for the best time to take them down in one strike."

With a look of concern, Sheryl nodded as she tried her best to digest every word. "So you presume that Ferry kidnapped Clark, and his target is you?"

"It's not an assumption. Although Ferry is in prison, his followers, such as Rob, have appeared around us many times, and Rob has met with Vicky several times. I need to know what they have discussed every time they meet. Or else, Ferry can still say he is innocent and has nothing to do with the kidnapping," Charles concluded.

"Charles, I'm so sorry. I misunderstood you..." A strong sense of guilt engulfed her as she didn't expect that everything she had thought of was all wrong.

If Charles had told her earlier, she would not have misunderstood and hated this man.

Sheryl felt momentarily lost in admiration of Charles for his self-control and wisdom. Did he hide the truth from her so that she could play the whole performance perfectly without raising Vicky and Ferry's doubt?

If Vicky got suspicious, then it would be hard for him to trap Ferry.

Lifetime imprisonment had been his sentence, which was far from enough to make him pay for his crime. And as long as Ferry was alive, his vengeance would always haunt Charles and Sheryl. They would never live a peaceful life.