The Substitute Bride

There was pin drop silence in the room for a while. Anthony's eyes fell on Shirley's face and he could see fear in her innocent eyes. She had never seen Anthony behave this way. She stared straight at him with her eyes wide open. Anthony became conscious upon noticing Shirley's startled expression. He softened his eyes and smiled at her. "Have you finished up with your dinner, my sweetie?" he asked tenderly.

"Yeah," Shirley nodded at him meekly. She was relieved to see a smile on his face.

"Now please return to your room and stay there for a while. I need to talk to your mom," he coaxed her with a warm smile. Shirley climbed down her chair awkwardly, and ran to her bedroom. After making sure Shirley walked into her room, Anthony put on a stern look, turned to Sheryl and commanded,"Now call you company and tell them that you will quit."

"Why?" Sheryl looked at Anthony in confusion. She had no clue how did the good news of her job and the 'happy-family-vibes' between the three of them suddenly changed into something so serious. She was surprised with Anthony's unreasonable behavior. "You know how much I struggled to get this opportunity. Besides, I can get a generous reward. All I need to do is to go on a business trip and take part in a show. I have made such great efforts, but now you're stopping me? Shouldn't you give me a sound reason for that?" she reasoned.

"There is no reason. You can't go there," Anthony said adamantly. Sheryl stared at his face trying to understand what went wrong with him all of a sudden. What could be the reason that he was not even ready to explain to her? He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sheryl, and continued in the same domineering manner,"I won't let you go there even if you're mad at me or even hate me."

'Autumn broke her heart there.

How can I let her go back?

Of all places, why did Sheryl have to get a work there? I can't let her return to that place. I have to stop this. I can't let her go, ' he was resolute in his decision. The more he thought about it, the more stern his face grew. Sheryl could not identify the man sitting right across her.

"You... Why are you behaving in such an unreasonable manner?" Sheryl stammered angrily. She did not even feel obliged to obey him. It was her life and her career for which she had worked so hard. She looked at Anthony indignantly and went on decisively,"Whether you agree or not, I will go there. It's final. If you're unwilling to take care of Shirley in my absence, I... I'll take her with me."

"Don't get me wrong, Sher." Anthony's voice got mellowed down as she mentioned Shirley. "She has nothing to do with my not wanting you to go there. Shirley is my daughter. How would I be unwilling to look after her?" Anthony explained.

There was a turmoil going on inside his heart all these years. And now, it was on the verge of taking shape of a twister that would turn his world completely upside down. The very thought of it scared him. It was only he who was aware of the truth. The truth that he never ever wanted Sheryl

sappeared. Almost everyone believed that she was dead, including the Zhao family. They had left the city. Despite this, Charles didn't lose hope. He firmly believed that Autumn was still alive and that she would come back to him.

She would have to come back sooner or later.

Every passing moment had been terrible for Charles without Autumn. He never liked staying at home. In the past three years, he went to the bar every night and indulged himself in drinking just to make sure that he stopped missing Autumn. He came back home completely drunk, so that he fell asleep the moment he touched the pillow. And when he woke up the following day, he focused on his work. Today, it was no exception.

Three years passed. And a lot had changed in Lu family as well. Chris and Sam were on a family way. Recently since Sam had been on a business trip, she came to stay over at the Lu family house. Chris came out of her room to have some water when she spotted Charles who was about to leave.

"Where you are going?" she frowned and demanded a reply from Charles.

"It's getting late. Are you going to drink again?" She asked with a concerned look, touching her bulging belly. It really ached her heart to see Charles in this condition.

Sometimes Chris hoped that Charles did not love Autumn as much as he did. Three years passed, but he hadn't forgotten her for even one single second.

Charles nodded. "I can't get a sleep, so I'm leaving to get some drink. You're pregnant now, so you need to take good care of yourself. Hurry up. Go upstairs and go to sleep."

Charles said the words before walking out of the room so that he could avoid looking at Chris's baby bump, which might again remind him of Autumn. 'Before she disappeared, she was carrying my children. I don't know how they have been doing recently, ' he thought to himself. How happy they were! They were just getting ready to welcome their babies and all of a sudden, his world fell apart. But he knew, deep inside his heart, Autumn would come back to him very soon.