The Substitute Bride

"I'm telling you that I am now Edward's wife, his rightful wife. There is nothing you can do to change this. As long as I serve him well, do you think... that you can drive me away from him?" Rachel said confidently.

"We will find out soon, " Autumn retorted with a sniff. "Let me remind you to behave yourself. Otherwise, you will end up with nothing, " she added.

Autumn walked away, leaving Rachel standing there, seething in anger. However, she couldn't lose her temper now. She had to pretend to be happy and smile throughout the entire occasion while burning inside.

Chris grabbed Edward's arm and they walked towards the lawn. They didn't stop until they came to the edge of the lawn. "Chris, just say it. I'm your father and I will try to satisfy all your wishes, " Edward began in a soft tone, looking at Chris.

"I..." Chris muttered hesitantly. She dragged Edward here to give him a warning. 'After all, he is my father. I can't just watch him end up with nothing. If he is willing to follow my advice, Rachel won't be able to swindle his money even if she leaves him in the future.' "Dad, here is the thing..." she continued after a pause.

Edward still could not believe what he just heard. "What... did you just call me?" he asked. It sounded better than hearing his name pronounced the winner in a competition.

Edward couldn't believe his ears. Therefore, he wanted Chris to say it again.

"Dad..." Chris said shyly. She knew that Edward would listen to her as long as she softened her attitude.

"Could you... say it again?" Edward sobbed out emotionally, his eyes filled with tears.

"Dad..." Chris frowned at Edward. "I have something important for you." She glared at her father.

"Well, go on, " Edward complied, wiping his tears away. Only one word from Chris let down Edward's guard. 'She isn't my foe but my dear daughter. I am willing to do anything for her, ' Edward thought.

"I know that you always hope that I can get along well with Rachel, but..." Chris' voice became more serious. "But you know that she used to be Charles' girlfriend as well. I have seen that she tried everything, all means to get his money

laying it. He said that he needed some time to prepare for my dowry and the wedding dress, book the hotel and finish a ton of other trivial matters."

Chris added, looking at her father.

Edward frowned when he heard this.

'I know how important the dowry is, as I have just prepared that for my own wedding. Sam is from a respectable family. If we don't prepare a handsome dowry for Chris, his family might be resentful against her after marrying him.

Chris is my only daughter, and I don't want to see her living a tough life after getting married, ' Edward told himself.

"I hate to see you get married so soon. But as long as you love him and he loves you, I won't get in your way. Tell Gary when you get home, that he doesn't need to take care of your dowry. I'm your father and I will be the one to prepare it for you. And it will be a handsome dowry. It won't let others look down upon you. You have my word on that, " Edward told Chris confidently.

"You don't need to bother with that, " Chris refused immediately. "Grandpa said that he had already prepared for my dowry including the house, a car and so on, since I was born. Charles said that he would transfer some of his shares in his company to me. That's enough. I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"You're still too formal to me, " Edward complained. "You're my daughter and it is my duty to do these for you. No one should think that it is troublesome."