The Substitute Bride

Noticing Gary's hesitation in discussing Autumn, Charlie didn't pursue the topic. After finishing his meal, he got distracted in studying Gary's chessboard. Meanwhile, the old man and Leila sat on the lounge.

"How old is the boy?" asked Gary curiously while gazing at Charlie.

"He's almost four years old," Leila replied calmly. To make her lie more believable, she purposefully made Charlie a year older than he actually was.

"When did you and Charles… get together?" Gary asked with interest. He intended to figure out what was going on between his grandson and this woman. He was extremely satisfied with his great-grandson, who looked exactly like Charles at his age. However, he didn't take kindly to the thought of Charles' cheating on his wife. If he really had a relationship with this woman after marrying Autumn, he would teach him a lesson.

"Grandpa, we never really… dated," Leila said, looking embarrassed. She had a feeling that Charles' grandfather was not a pushover. Trying to act shy, she continued,"It happened when Charles got drunk while we were on a business trip in Europe," she said in a low voice. "He mistook me for Autumn and I didn't resist him because I was infatuated with him. Later, I found myself pregnant with his child."

"Is that so?" There was sarcasm in the old man's voice. Looking up, Leila found Gary looking at her suspiciously.

"Yes," Leila said in a firm voice. "The other day... Mr. Lu got drunk and we…" Leila's voice trailed off intentionally.

Gary snorted, assuming what happened next.

His blood boiled with anger when he heard his grandson repeated his mistake.

'We men from the Lu family have always been loyal to our wives and there is no exception. How can Charles break this old tradition?' he thought angrily.

"I'll teach him a lesson when he comes back," Gary threatened. His eyes were kindling with anger at his grandson's lack of control.

Blood rushed to Leila's cheeks at Gary's word. After a slight hesitation, she said,"Grandpa, it's not his fault. He didn't force me. Besides, it's been more than three years since Autumn left him. He is a virile ma

' expression, she realized that he didn't know about their visit.

'He doesn't want to see me here, ' she thought, feeling embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?" Charles asked coldly. Leila bit her lip, not knowing what to say. Before Leila could answer, Chris interjected,"I invited her."

With knitted brows, he turned sharply to Chris. "You did this?"

"Yes," Chris confirmed. "She is your son's mother. I asked her and Charlie to join us for a meal. What is the problem?"

"Why are you so nosy?" he growled at his sister. "It's none of your business. Why are you interfering?" he snapped angrily.

"You…" Chris faltered, her face turning pale. At first, it was Gary, now Charles was also biting her head off. She never expected that Charles would react like this. "I never expected that you and grandpa can treat me like this. I'm leaving this house and I'm not coming back," Chris shouted at Charles.

Pushing Charles out of the way, Chris turned to leave. The minute she took a step, she felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen. Clutching her stomach desperately, Chris suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Leila rushed to her side feigning concern. "Are you all right, Miss Lu?" she asked.

"It hurts…" Chris groaned, her brows furrowed in pain as she clutched her belly. Leila turned to look at Charles who was gently lifting Chris in his arms. "Is she going to have the baby?" she asked worriedly.