The Substitute Bride

Isla broke the suspense and relieved Charles from the guessing game as she revealed the answer. "She said you were handsome. Aron got absolutely green with jealousy when he heard this," she said cheekily.

Then the three adults burst into laughter. Although Amanda had no idea why they were laughing, she giggled innocently. Isla quickly picked her up and tickled her to get some more of her giggles. Truly, there is nothing so pure as a baby's laughter.

Soon the waitress served the food on their plates. Isla helped her daughter with the food while the two men started talking about their business. "I heard BM Corporation is planning a grand show for the Spring. They have hired models from abroad to walk the ramp. Those wealthy and infuential figures in Y City are invited to be a part of the show."

"Yes, even I have heard about it." Charles nodded as he savored the food. "The news about their upcoming show has been widely broadcasted all across the Y City. I have even heard that BM Corporation's sales figures have gone up majorly after the news of their show being covered by the leading media houses."

"It needs to be taken seriously, Charles. Otherwise, it might affect the Autumn Fashion show that your company has organized." Aron said with a concerned look. Both Aron and Charles were seasoned businessmen of the current generation in Y City. They had a very strong grip on the market. BM Corporation was a new entrant in the business. Yet they came with a lot of freshness and spark that even the established players could not deny.

It was truly a concern for Charles. He looked up at Aron and said,"Yeah, it has some influence. But BM Corporation is just a newbie here, after all. And I still have many old clients. But..." With a frown, he continued,"If the reports on their show continue to spread like a wildfire, our company might lose some big clients. And it's certainly not good news for my company."

"I tried to investigate about this company, but could not find much information about it," Aron said, furrowing his brows.

"Speaking of this BM Corporation, I learned something significant about them..." Isla cut in abruptly. Isla spoke while she fed her daughter. Then as she cast her glance on Aron and Charles, the two men were staring at her with curious eyes expecting her to give the complete information. Quickly she finished feeding Amanda and continued,"People from BM Corporation approached me a few days ago and invited me to help them organize their upcoming Spring Show.

Later..." She continued as the two men listened to her intently,"Later, even their boss came to me personally. He is a young handsome lad. He was not even well versed in Chinese. As far as I know, he is from Korea and he learned Chinese for his girlfriend."

Charles fell into a deep thought for a while. Isla's words raised a lot doubts in his mind. 'He is from Korean? Then why did he come to Y City suddenly?' he wondered with his eyebrows knitted into a frown.

"I saw his girlfriend," Isla continued. "She has an exquisite appearance as if she has gone through a plastic surgery. But I have to a

n as well.

Upon hearing this, Sheryl blushed like a red rose. With a look at Anthony, she asked coyly,"Did your parents agree to meet me?"

"Yes, they did," Anthony replied maintaining a matter-of-fact expression on his face. The fact was just the opposite of what he just said. He had mentioned about bringing Sheryl home to his parents during his call, but his parents strongly opposed his decision and even scolded him for this.

However, given the situation, Anthony could not afford to waste any more time. He thought that his parents would accept Sheryl sooner or later.

"Well, then I'll go with you and visit your parents..." Sheryl said bashfully. 'Sue is right. Anthony is a good man and I am truly lucky to have him as a boyfriend. We have dated for long, and now, it's time to move on, ' she told herself.

In the last three years Sheryl was completely accustomed with having Anthony around all the time. He was there for her at every point of time. Perhaps she just didn't know if she really loved this man.

"Well, then I'll go get my stuff ready," Sheryl said and returned to her room. Little Shirley followed her mother into the room. Looking at Sheryl busy packing her belongings, she tilted her head and asked curiously,"Where are you going, mom?"

Sheryl lifted up her little cherub and gave her a loving nudge on cheeks and then explained to her,"I need to go for a business trip for a few days. You will stay with Tony till I come back and I'll bring you beautiful dresses. Okay?" Sheryl looked at her daughter's face lovingly. Shirley stared at her face as she spoke the words. Her face grew from a bleak smile when her mother spoke about being away to a bright smile at the mention of new dresses.

"Okay," Shirley exclaimed with delight. She was a blessing for Sheryl. You hardly found any kid of her age to be so sensitive and obedient. Unlike other kids, she never wailed when her mother left her for work. So accommodating she was even at such a tender age! This really helped and assured Sheryl to a great extent during her days of struggle.