The Substitute Bride

"That is reasonable, "

Abby said, smiling in response.

Amy, who has long been curious about Charles, decided to ask her daughter a question.

"Dear, I would like to ask you something… " she said, looking at her daughter. "How well do you know Autumn's husband?"

Abby stared back, not sure why her mother was asking such a question. "Is he kind? How long have they been married?" Amy continued to ask, wanting to know more.

"I assume they've been married for quite a while. But Autumn isn't pregnant, is she? Do you know why they haven't had children yet?"

"Mom, can you pause for a second? Why are you suddenly so interested to know all of that?" Abby asked, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. As she tried to talk, Abby continued to think about what sparked her Mum's curiosity. "Well… All I know is that…, " she started. "Andy confirmed that Charles was indeed a playboy before getting married to Autumn."

Amy, surprised to hear the information, expressed her concern. "It must be difficult for her to get married to a lady-killer. Autumn must have been living in constant fear, " she sighed. "I have already considered Autumn as my granddaughter. Don't you think we should protect her? We shouldn't let her be with Charles any longer."

"Mom, can you please just hear me out?" said Abby, stopping her mom before she even got the chance to go for Autumn.

She couldn't believe that someone sensible like her mom would lose composure over her concern for Autumn. "There's no reason to worry because Charles has changed a lot. He wouldn't do such things because he really loves Autumn, "

Abby explained.

"Besides, Dad wouldn't let anything bad happen to Autumn. Charles would suffer dire consequences if he dared to do anything that might hurt her."

A sense of relief washed over Amy upon hearing this. She was glad to know that Autumn was safe to be with Charles. "Let me just prepare some food to eat. Though I'm not exactly sure if Autumn will like it or not. Hopefully this will satisfy her as your brother used to like it."

"Mom, it's okay. I'm sure she'll like it. I'll let Dad stay with Autumn for a while. Here, let me help you, " Abby said, smiling as she offered to lend a

nt to tell you about everything. Our attempts to win you back never faltered. But…"

"Stop! I don't want to hear it!" Autumn said as she shook Abby's hands off her.

Trying to excuse herself, she turned to face Abby. "Miss Zhao, I really have to leave-"

"What's going on?"

Alerted by the disturbance, Andy and Charles suddenly appeared, trying to make sense of what just happened. Grateful for his husband's presence, Autumn decided to seize the opportunity.

She raced towards him, clutching his hands as she begged him to take her away.

Charles agreed without a moment's hesitation. "Come on, let's leave, " he said, putting his arms around her.

"Charles, wait-"

Andy frowned, his face reflecting his disapproval as he tried to stop them from leaving.

"Autumn is not in the right condition to talk right now. Maybe we can talk about it later. But for now, we must take our leave. Kindly excuse us, " he said, escorting Autumn as they prepared to leave. Abby, still keen to talk, tried to explain herself again. "Autumn, I understand that you might be confused right now. But if you just hear me out-"

"Enough!" Charles exclaimed, interrupting Abby.

The Zhao family had long intended to unveil Autumn's family background, but they did not expect things to go awry as they just had. Charles had to calm Autumn down.

"I understand that this must be hard for everyone. But Autumn needs time to think, so please respect her decision, " Charles said.