The Substitute Bride

"Okay, let me go get you some water now." Sam said with concern. He went to get water in the water room, came back and poured a glass of water for Autumn, who drank the water and then went back to sleep. She had no desire to talk to anyone or even say anything. Sleep was her safe space.

Chris was eager to know more about what happened to Autumn, but Sam stopped her. "She still needs time to recover so we have to give it to her. If she's feeling better tomorrow, we can discuss it then. Poor Autumn, this one was probably too much for her to take."

Sam closed the door and just stood outside Autumn's ward. He was really worried about her. But he couldn't tell Chris.

The next day, the doctor made a thorough check of Autumn's condition. Fortunately her fever had receded and her body temperature had normalized. He advised Chris and Sam, "She has recovered from the fever and will be fine. To stabilize her condition further, I prescribed another injection of saline. She is very fragile and feeble now, so you should exercise utmost care and gentleness when dealing with her. Do not bring up anything that may stress her."

"Thanks for the reminder, doctor. Consider it done. We will take good care of her." Chris accepted the advice gladly. Chris brought Autumn something to eat for breakfast, but Autumn showed no interest. She just lay on the bed, not moving one bit, looking out towards a far off place.

"Sam, what is wrong with Autumn? She looks troubled and really disturbed." Chris turned to Sam looking for answers. Sam frowned. He didn't know much but he reassured Chris anyway, "Maybe.. Autumn is just feeling unwell. We don't know. But I'm sure rest is all she needs. She will be better after a good one. So you do not need to worry one bit about her."

After the saline injection, Sam was told to get the medicine and arrange the discharge procedure for Autumn. After that, Sam accompanied Chris and Autumn back to Dream Garden. Sam was still not satisfied with Autumn's condition so he gave Chris instructions. "Chris, you should make sure that Autumn takes her meds as prescribed, especially at the correct times. If there is any issue or trouble at hand, you must let me know immediately and I will be here as soon as I can."

"Okay, I know what to do." Chris nodded gently and expressed her gratitude. "Sam, thanks a lot for your efforts in caring for Autumn. We would not have done it properly without your help. You have done a lot

ose to turn it off for fear that if I took the call, I would be misunderstood. So to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion, I thought it would be better. I also did not want to disturb you in your sleep. So you would not blame me for that, would you?"

"It doesn't matter. You can wait for me here if you want. I just need take a shower." Charles closed the door, turned on his phone, and he was bombarded with unanswered calls and WeChat messages from Chris. He immediately called back with much anxiety, "Chris, what did you mean by sending that WeChat message? And how is Autumn doing? What on earth happened?"

Chris sneered, "Charles, it is shameful for you to call back just now. You should have answered my call yesterday!"

Chris was unable to contain her anger, "You should have received my call to show your love and care for your wife."

Pressed to know Autumn's condition, Charles asked without any explanation, "Chris, how is Autumn feeling now?"

"I do not know." Chris replied in a tone of rebuke. "You had better go home to see to her needs befitting a loving husband."

Charles frowned and explained, "Last night I was in a state of stupor, unable to answer your call. I immediately called you back as soon as I got your messages."

Chris, after sensing Charles's anxiety, told him about Autumn, "She was hospitalized due to a very high fever yesterday, but I called you in vain. Now I am beginning to suspect that you value your career over your wife!"

"Absolutely untrue!" Charles disagreed, as he was overcome with anxiety because of Autumn. "How is she feeling now? I hope nothing serious happened to her."