The Substitute Bride

As she continued to ponder, she had another thought. 'But why would they even sleep together if they didn't love each other?'

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. But since she had only met Charles, Sheryl decided it was best to keep her doubts to herself.

Unsure how to respond, Charles did note a hint of discontent in the woman's eyes and assumed she was busy thinking. But he didn't want to destroy the pleasant atmosphere, so he finally dropped the subject.

"It doesn't matter. We have lots of time in the future to discuss this," he told himself.

He was convinced this misunderstanding between them will eventually be settled.

It was already 8:00 pm when the three arrived at the amusement park. Both adults and children crowded the place. Sheryl might be a mother herself, but the park remained to be an obsession.

They tried out as many as possible of Charlie's favorite entertainment activities. When Sheryl walked past the Ferris wheel, she paused and stared at it longingly.

Noting her expression, Charles went straight to the ticket booth to secretly purchase three tickets. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her. "Follow me. We're riding that!" he exclaimed, pointing to the Ferris wheel.

"Oh, no…" Sheryl replied, as she tried to pull her hand from his grasp. "We should let Charlie decide what he wants to do," she argued weakly. Her expression, however, showed she wanted to get on that ride.

"I already bought the tickets. We can't get a refund," Charles retorted. "Besides, Charlie told me he wanted to go on a Ferris Wheel ride, right son?" he added.

Father winked at son, and the boy immediately understood what he had to do next. He moved beside Sheryl and took her other hand. "Sher, I love the Ferris wheel and I would love to have a ride. Will you please come with me?" he asked sweetly.

Looking at Charlie's eyes full of excitement, she found it hard to deny his request so she eventually agreed. Besides, she truly wanted to get on the Ferris wheel, too. "Okay then. Let's try it out," she turned to Charles.

Charles initially thought the passenger car could only carry three people. But with so many tourists who wanted a ride, the guide squeezed in two more with them. Sheryl was forced to a corner and felt a bit awkward.

To prevent the other passengers from bumping into Charlie and Sheryl, Charles stretched his arms to cordon them off. Charlie wasn't a fan of the Ferris wheel, thinking it was only for timid gi

ade a wish. His father stared at his serious expression and felt funny. "Son, what did you wish for?" he asked.

"It's a secret!" Charlie replied. He looked serious again. "I learned it from TV. My wish will never come true if I say it out loud," he explained.

Charles smiled but said nothing. 'There's no need to figure out his wish, ' he thought.

From the car's window, Charlie could see the reflection of Charles' and Sheryl's expressions. The light inside was enough for this. It made him very glad to see his father's bright smile.

His wish was for Charles. The little boy wanted Sheryl and his father to live happily forever.

Sheryl spoke again, this time with sadness in her eyes. "However, not all tales about the Ferris wheel are beautiful," she said, her eyes beginning to darken. With a bitter smile, she continued,"There are also tales that say that there are couples who take a Ferris wheel ride but end up separating from each other." Pausing to take a deep breath, Sheryl added,"But if the lovers kiss each other as the car reaches the top, they will be happy for the rest of their life."

Charles didn't believe this tale, yet his handsome face had a pained expression that he quickly masked. The man would not let anything awful happen between him and Sheryl.

In his head, he already had a plan. 'I'll bring Sheryl here again so we can ride the Ferris wheel. And when we reach the top, I will kiss her hard.'

When it was time to get off, Sheryl wobbled as they got out of the car, and was about to fall on her side. Instinctively, Charles reached out one hand to catch her and then wrapped another around her slim waist.