The Substitute Bride

Leila stretched out her arms and hugged Charles tightly. In a sob, she said,"If you want, you, Charlie and I can live a happy life too. I will take good care of you and our family. Charlie is a sensible and considerate child. For sure he will be very happy if we live together."

Charles got annoyed of what he heard. All the while, Leila had been saying that the reason why she kept on coming every day was to visit Charlie. But now that Charles was in front of her, all she could say was about their future. He forcefully broke free from Leila's hug and pushed her away. Since Leila already had a sprained ankle, she easily lost her balance and fell to the ground again.

Her hands were cut by some pebbles on the ground. Blood started to drip but she seemed not to notice it. It was also painful but Leila had already became numb. She didn't mind the pain. She just stared at Charles who was standing in front her. Charles' indifferent behavior was more painful than the cuts in her hands. She bitterly asked,"Charles, do you… do you really hate me this much?"

"Yes," Charles replied curtly. Then he continued,"At least you are smart enough to know that I hate you. And I'm telling you this only once: Even if you were the only woman left in this world, I would rather die alone than marry you."

Charles felt so stupid for thinking that Leila might have already changed. Now, he realized that this woman was hopeless. Leila was getting more and more annoying in his eyes.

"You…" Leila was too angry to utter a word. She clenched her fists and was finally able to shout,"Fine! Since you have admitted to hate me that much, then, give my child back to me. We will leave this city forever and I will take care of him alone. We will stay away from you and never bother you and Sheryl for the rest of our lives."

"If you want to leave, then go!" Charles shouted back. "But, I will never let you take my son. He's staying with me." Charles continued,"You don't own Charlie. You hid him from me for so many years and I didn't even know his exist. Now that he's with me, you can never take him away anymore."

"Are you trying to make me lose everything?" Leila glared at Charles furiously.

"If you want to see Charlie, you are always welcome to see him," Charles answered. Charles wasn't that cruel. Aft

eila felt like it was no use arguing with Charles anymore so she turned back to Charlie. "Charlie, Charlie!" She kept on knocking the window again as she yelled at Charlie. "I'm your mom, Charlie. I brought you up and I took care of you since you were a child. Could you really abandon me just like this since you found your father?"

Charlie furrowed his eyebrows. As much as possible, he didn't want to get involve in his parents' fight. But Leila already became so annoying that he could't take it anymore. So he shouted back,"Leila, I've been doing great since I came to live with dad. And my life has even become better without you. So, I will never want to live with you anymore. Please, stop disturbing my life and just leave me alone."

Leila was once again struck dumb by what Charlie said. She never thought that the kid who she had taken care for so many years would be this ungrateful.

She smiled bitterly and asked Charlie,"Son, did you hate me too?"

Charlie knitted his eyebrows more. Leila was really annoying. She always liked putting the blames on other people. She could never accept her mistakes.

Charlie just glared at Leila outside the window without saying a word.

Leila became more furious but hopeless. So she turned to Charles again for help. She didn't want to give up just like that. She grabbed Charles's hand and begged,"Charles, I know I've done so many mistakes in the past. I would be willing to make things right as long as you would let me stay with my child. Please, Charles. I'm begging you."