The Substitute Bride

After they left, Charles warned Nacy,"Don't say a word in front her later, okay? Just consider her as our guest and I don't want her to be annoyed. You must know that she has lost all her memories. Understand?"

Nacy nodded but looked unconvinced. She said,"Alright. But, may I ask something?" Nacy was already frowning when she continued,"Is she really Mrs. Lu?"

"Of course, she is!" Charles replied firmly. "Please make a fancy dinner for her later," he added.

"May I know what she likes?" Nacy asked in return. Nacy tried to pry and get more information but Charles was hesitant to answer. Eventually, he replied,"The dishes that you usually make for me will be fine."

There were two dishes that Nacy was really good at and Charles would always ask her to make them for him every time he remembered Autumn.

"Mr. Lu, wait a moment!" Nacy exclaimed. She remembered something when she saw Charles heading inside. "Leila came by today and she just left. She kept coming every day recently and said that she wouldn't stop until she met little Charlie," she said.

"Okay, I know. I'll settle that later," Charles replied carelessly. It seemed that hiding Charlie from her wasn't a good idea so he must make a perfect solution.

After all, he knew that he had to talk to Leila about this sooner or later. He couldn't just ignore this situation.

A while later, Sheryl and Shirley arrived at Charles' home. Sheryl felt so familiar with this house but just couldn't explain why. As Charlie was about to show them inside, she felt like she already knew what awaited them inside before he could even open the door.

She wondered what was going on in her mind. She couldn't understand why she had a very strong sense of familiarity to this place despite the fact that she had never been here before.

"You must be Ms. Xia!" Gary greeted her warmly. His voice helped her go back to her senses. Gary had initially planned to dine out with a friend but canceled it the moment he learned that Sheryl was coming. He was actually really waiting for her at home.

It had been three years. But today, his granddaughter-in-law finally came home, and he couldn't be more excited.

"Yes, it's me. Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu," Sheryl greeted him back nervously. Sheryl couldn't fathom why she felt so nervous right now.

"Don't be nervous," Gary said with a pleasant smile. It seemed that he could sense Sheryl's nervousness so he added,"Please make yourself at home!"

"Okay," Sheryl timidly replied. "It's so kind of you to say so!" she added smiling shyly. She wondered if people in this city were always so warm

ngly. "Don't you remember I've got a fiancé? He helped me a lot," she added sounding proud.

Charles clenched his fists tightly upon her words, and his bright eyes darkened.

'Anthony! Now, she mentioned Anthony again!

If not because of him, how could the two of us be separated for three long years?' he thought. He wanted to say it loud to Sheryl but just couldn't.

Sheryl didn't seem to realize Charles' emotion. Or maybe, she just didn't pay much attention to it. After then, she quietly watched the two kids playing until it was half past four. By that time, she called out to Shirley,"Honey, time to go home! I believe you've had a good time with Charlie. Come on! Let's go home now."

"I want to stay more time, Sher! Can I have ten more minutes, please?" Shirley begged her pathetically. She indeed had a good time with Charlie and she didn't want to leave now even if Sheryl said it was the time to go home.

Sheryl frowned and urged her,"Listen, I agreed to come here with you but we can't stay very long. We might already trouble them. We need to go home now."

"Sher!" Shirley complained. She wanted to resist more but just nodded and agreed when she saw her mom's serious face. There was no use complaining anymore.

Sheryl sighed in relief and then said,"Thank you, honey! Come to say goodbye to Uncle Charles and Grandpa Gary now!"

Seeing Sheryl and Shirley intending to leave, Charles and Gary looked at each other. Charles spoke,"The dinner is ready. Please stay and have dinner with us!"

"Right!" Gary agreed. A big smile was plastered on his face. Then he added,"It's getting late. Since you've played with Charlie the whole afternoon, we felt like we owe you such a big favor. So please, stay for dinner!"