The Substitute Bride

Chris was unusually cheerful and excited since morning. She took her bath and got ready to go to the market with Nacy. But Nacy did not agree with the idea of Chris's stepping out of the house in such an advanced stage of pregnancy. She raised an eyebrow, and then replied,"I think you'd better stay home. If you want something to eat, just let me know. You don't need to go to the market with me."

"Well... That's fine, then," Chris agreed reluctantly. She thought for a while with special emphasis on the two expected visitors and said,"Get some more ingredients for today. We are expecting some really important guests. Oh, well, buy some snacks and toys for children." Her face lit up with the mention of children.

"Got it," Nacy replied as she took a note of it in her grocery list. After Nacy left for the market, Gary woke up and came into the living room. Noticing Chris literally hopping around the house with a bulging belly made him worried. He approached her and asked in a concerned voice,"Chris, what are you doing? Why are you pacing up and down the hall in this condition? If you need anything just call the servants. You should be taking rest at this time."

"Good morning, grandpa!" Chris greeted cheerfully. "We are going to have some special guest today. They will be reaching very soon. So I asked Nacy to buy more food and other servants to do some cleaning," she said, smiling.

"Visitors? Who?" Gary stared at Chris with bewilderment as he asked. The puzzled look on his face soon turned into an angry frown. Old men of his age get very easily offended if they feel that they have been left uninformed about anything in the house. Demanding a reply, he asked,"Why did nobody tell me?"

A happy yet mysterious smile flashed upon Chris's face, which made Gary more curious. "What's going on? Will anybody care to tell me?" he asked, scratching his head. "You look so excited. It must be some of your important friends," he assumed.

Chris shook her head and said,"It's a secret. You'll know it at night." She grinned as she spoke. Gary tried his best to get the cat out of the bag but failed. Now he had no other option than to wait for the night and see it for himself when the guests arrived.

Nacy followed Chris's instruction and came back with lots of food ingredients. She even kept in mind that they were going to have a child visitor while preparing for the dinner. She stewed the beef in the morning so that it would remain tender when served for dinner. A lot of preparation took place as Chris got the house ready for the special guest.

Inside Leila's Apartment

Leila had a restless night. The anxiousness for the next day prevented her from getting a good night's sleep. She kept turning from one side to another. She could not believe that she was invited to visit Dream Garden as a guest. Finally, h

s secretary, she knew how busy he was every day as Shining Company was on an aggressive expansion mode.

"Nacy, bring some fruits," Chris called out loudly enough to be audible from the kitchen. Nacy came out with some fresh apples and pears decadently served in beautiful cutleries. The moment her eyes fell upon Charlie, she was completely taken aback. She was amazed to see how this small boy had the same features as Charles did. She stood there in a jaw dropping silence and kept staring at Charlie. "He... he..." she stammered with her mouth agape.

"Don't have a cow," Chris said to the shocked maid with dissatisfaction. "Give fruits to me. You go back to the kitchen and mind your business," she commanded.

Chris brought a plate of fruits and snacks to her beloved nephew. "Charlie, have some snacks," she said tenderly. "Oh, I also bought many toys for you. Do you like them?" she asked as she took out many toys.

"Thank you, Auntie!" Charlie replied politely. He took a glance at the toys on the tea table, including the transformers toys, toy car and other playthings. Actually he wasn't interested in these stuff. But considering these gifts were from his aunt, he didn't show his real thoughts on his face.

"You're such a polite boy," Chris praised him and tried to touch his forehead and stroke his hair. Before she could touch the boy, Charlie walked aside quickly and stared at her warily.

Chris was taken aback by this gesture and frowned out of amazement. She started at Leila expecting her to come up with an explanation. Leila was prompt enough to read her mind and replied,"Don't mind. Charlie is an independent boy. He doesn't like others touch him, not even me."

"Is he?" she responded, surveying the boy. Anyway, she was satisfied with her nephew. Shifting her gaze to Leila, she said,"Just stay here and have a seat. I'll tell grandpa that you're here."