The Substitute Bride

"Well, I see," Leila replied. A hint of smile crept upon Leila's face. In her mind, she fantasized and depicted a happy and comfortable life after getting married to Charles.

"Is there anything else?" Charles asked impatiently, squinting at Leila. In front of Charles, she hated it when his aloof facial expression would only turn soft whenever the subject of their discussion was about Charlie. Charles maintained a poker face and a considerably annoying distance from her if the topic was not about his son. He repulsed spending even a petty amount of time with her.

"That's... all," Leila stammered in a voice still trying to be sweet with Charles. Charles dropped the cigarette end on the ground, stamped his right foot on it, and rushed back to his nearby car.

Like a true, sensible and doting wife, Leila escorted Charles to his car, bid goodbye then urged him to drive home safely.

However, Charles made no response, closed the car door and haphazardly drove away. Leila stayed at the drive way while staring blankly at the departed car. The mixture of gasoline fume and smoke emitted by Charles' car along with the flying dirt completely swallowed her.

Leila and Charles' conversation only lasted like the time spent in a couple of cigar puffs. It was always very short. And, she even played her Charlie card as an excuse to make Charles pass by and talk to her. Yet still, he was so unwilling to spend more time with her.

Just like the many incidents before, she was again bewildered and clueless on what to do next to make Charles stay longer.

With a growing self-pity, Leila walked back to the house, and then went upstairs. She knocked on Charlie's door and after receiving his permission, she pushed the door open and came in. She found Charlie and noticed he had already taken a bath. He was in clean pajamas and was lying on his bed.

"So, what's up?" Charlie asked, as he looked up at her in contempt. Charlie's condescending facial expression reminded her of Charles' scornful look at her.

Leila dared not snap nor confront Charles whenever he was doing that to her. But, when she had internalized that Charlie treated her the same way, she couldn't help but release the wrath she'd been keeping for so long. Truly irritated, she yelled at the boy hysterically,"Charlie, don't you dare look at me like... I'm... I'm a piece of shit! I'm... your mother and definitely not a nuisance, you brat!"

Actually she had been wanting to tell Charles the same exact words, that she wasn't a nuisance. 'I'm not a pest. Why does he always avoid me as if I were a rat?' she thought bitterly.

Astounded, Charlie knitte

n, ' she thought angrily.

And, she longed for the thought that Charlie would side with her.

"No, he didn't," the boy answered, shaking his head. "I'm not an idiot. You mean nothing to him. Why not just let him go?" he said persuasively.

In fact, Charlie said those words only for Leila's sake.

Before meeting Charles, Charlie was very uncertain about Leila and Charles' relationship. But now, he was fully sure that his father would never fall in love with her.

Charlie observed that when Charles was faced with a woman he was attracted to, he became gentle and considerate. He would smile happily or put on a scowling face when annoyed. His emotions were so obvious just like what he visibly noticed when they were with Sheryl.

But, whenever he was with Leila, a stark contrast of aversion and indifference dominated his face.

The boy was sure that he was the only reason Charles didn't refuse to meet Leila.

'Even I can see, Charles will never accept Leila, but she still dreams of marrying him, ' he said to himself.

Although Leila was a single mother and had a son, many suitors of her level pursued her in the past. She was young and without a doubt, beautiful after all. However, Leila turned down all of them.

She was an ambitious woman. In her eyes, only Charles deserved her.

"Charles must have told you to give me this advice, huh? Just to get rid of me, he would push for such a dirty plan. I'm impressed," Leila said with a cold smile.

'I used Charlie to get to Charles. But now, Charles used him to get rid of me. How ironic!' she thought.

Charlie quickly corrected Leila and with a frown uttered,"I just said, Charles had nothing to do with this. I am trying to give you my own advice. It's for your own good."