The Substitute Bride

Autumn nodded to Amy's question and responded, "She is very tired and is already asleep. Grandma, thank you so very much for taking care of Emily these days. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am!"

"Sweetheart, we are a family. Don't be so civil to me, " Amy returned with a tender expression, as she grabbed Autumn's hand, and then they sat on the sofa.

"What are you two going on about?" Autumn asked Charles and Andy with Cindy now in her arms, who had eaten some fruits.

"Just some stuff about the collaboration, " Charles answered with a warm smile. "How is Emily doing?" Charles asked with concern.

"Well, she is still the same. The illness has not gotten worse or better, " Autumn replied in a low tone. 'As there are no treatments for Emily's illness at this stage, I will spend as much as time I can to keep her company. I'm... losing her, ' Autumn said to herself in grief and disbelief.

"Well, " Charles attempted to change the topic as he noticed her dejected expresion. "You asked me to find a good school for Cindy. And now I have found one, " he turned to Abby.

"Is that so?" Abby responded with happiness glimmering in her eyes. Lately she was very stressed and worried, in the recent past, about finding an appropriate school.

"This is his business card. Please do call him directly whenever you find the time, " Charles said, as he handed over the visiting card to Abby.

"Thank you!" Abby responded with gratitude, as she took the card. "Autumn, we have booked a hotel to celebrate your birthday next month. We would like to throw a party. As for the media... If you don't have any issues, I will contact reporters from different media houses too, " Abby requested Autumn.

"No problem. It all sounds okay, " Autumn returned with a little nod in acknowledgement. 'Oh finally the day has arrived when I will disown Wendy and be rid of her from my life forever, ' Autumn thought with relief.

"Oh it is pretty late now. We should head home, " she continued. The drive from Zhao family's residence to Dream Garden was quite a short one. Autumn and Charles arrived home within minutes. Upon reaching, Charles directly went upstairs to check on mails, while Autumn walked up to Chris. "What's ?up? You look in low spirits, " she asked, seeing Chris sitting on the lounge absently.

"Autumn, " Chris said as she took a moment to get over from her daze a

beyond leaving him alone so that he could devote his attention and finish it fast. "Please don't forget to drink milk, " she reminded him.

"Got it, " Charles nodded. Around 2:00 am, he finally finished all his pending work and dragged his exhausted body to the bathroom. After taking a shower, he got into the bed.

As soon as he got into the covers, Autumn cuddled him in her arms. "Did you just finish your work?" Autumn asked in a drowsy voice.

"Yeah, " Charles replied, as he held Autumn closer to his chest with relief. "Why are you still awake?"

"I couldn't fall asleep without you, " she answered, moving closer to Charles.

Upon hearing this, Charles gave a content smile. "Have a good dream, " Charles said to Autumn with affection as he kissed her forehead.

It was true that Autumn was accustomed to sleeping with Charles. Within minutes of him getting into bed as she started dreaming, she was awakened by Charles's phone.

Charles received the call with a frown once he realised it was from Leila. He recognized her voice from across the line. "Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour. Is it convenient for you to speak?"

"What is happening?" Charles asked with concern.

"You asked me to prepare documents for tomorrow's meeting with our clients, but I found that one was missing. Do you have it? If you don't, I will work out another one, " Leila explained. Autumn could hear exactly what Leila said. Even though she had called for work, Autumn still felt uncomfortable.

"Are you talking about the price sheet? I have only one copy, " Charles replied.