The Substitute Bride

Anthony had already stayed in Sue's apartment for two nights and he took good care of her. She admitted that it had been a good time. However, Sheryl would be coming back today. Sue had already thought that it was time for her to return Anthony to Sheryl. She didn't intend to be an intruder, though she claimed to compete with Sheryl. Besides, she was not fully prepared to do that. When Sue thought of Sheryl's return, her face turned gloomy. There was no better way to drive Anthony away so she said crossly, "I told you, we are only friends. You should not interfere with my personal affairs. You'd better get out of here quickly. Leave me alone!" She feigned impatience but deep in her heart, she was struggling. On the one hand, she hoped Anthony would storm out. On the other hand, she was looking forward to his stay, though it was nearly impossible.

"What the… What is wrong with you?" Anthony asked casually while staring at Sue calmly. He was not enraged by Sue's rudeness. He thought to himself, 'We are friends so I must take care of her. I know how inconvenient it is for her to be alone while still injured. I won't leave until she fully recovers.' Anthony wasn't aware that his feeling for Sue had changed. Maybe because his full attention had been only focused on Sheryl for the past years.

It was actually very unusual that he insisted to stay at Sue's apartment even though he was aware that Sheryl would be coming back today. "Why won't you listen to me? You're getting irrational. Sheryl is coming back today so you can't stay in my apartment anymore. She might misunderstand you again," Sue continued urging him. "Come on, it's best that you leave now. Otherwise, you will meet her at the hallway later," Sue snapped while chafing her hands together. She couldn't help but frown because Anthony was very difficult to persuade.

"What are you worrying about? We are innocent. We didn't do anything wrong. So what if Sheryl sees me walk out of your apartment?" Anthony said with a bitter smile. 'Sheryl will never overthink about my relationship with Sue. In other words, she never cares about me or whom I am staying with. Especially now that she is getting closer to her ex-husband even though she hasn't remember the past.'

Anthony made sense but Sue didn't feel comfortable at all. "You stupid man! Don't think it's just as simple as that. Have you already forgotten? You had numerous fights with Sheryl because of Charles. You always feel jealous when they are together even though you don't really have any actual evidence that they have an affair. You only assumed things. What if Sheryl will also feel the same toward us?" Sue said reluctantly with a bitter chuckle. She actually felt pity for herself. 'Isn't it the most terrible thing to teach the one I love to win his girlfriend's heart back?' she thought.

"We are friends so Sheryl should trust us. Her relationship with Charles is different," Anthony retorted loudly. 'Sheryl and Charles were husband and wife. They are still legally registered as a couple until now. That's the reason why I have always been jealous and ended up fighting with Sheryl many times. I am afraid she will leave me sooner or later.'

"It's the same, indeed," Sue countered. "The most important element in keeping a relationship is trust. Since you don't trust her, you shouldn't demand

n and picked a watermelon, some peaches and other vegetables. After she put them in a basket, she went out of her apartment.

Sue and Anthony were having dinner when the doorbell rang. Sue's ankle was still hurt so Anthony went to open the door. He thought it could be some deliveries. But when he checked through the peephole, he saw Sheryl standing outside. A look of panic crossed his face.

Although nothing had happened between Sue and him, he still felt guilty being caught in Sue's apartment. After all, Sheryl was still his girlfriend. It was normal for her to think negatively if he was caught in another woman's apartment.

"Why don't you open the door?" Sue asked. She noticed that Anthony was just standing still behind the door.

Anthony turned to her and replied with knitted brows, "It is Sheryl."

"Sheryl?" Sue echoed Anthony's words before she realized what she was saying.

In the morning, she did her best to urge Anthony to leave but she failed. Now, who would expect that Sheryl would be standing outside her door?

"Hide in the bedroom," Sue urged him and pushed Anthony towards the bedroom. That was the only way to avoid Sheryl from seeing Anthony.

She thought, 'Anthony looked after me these past few days and I must be grateful to him. He is such a kind friend. I know that he has a deep feeling for Sheryl so I won't do anything to ruin their relationship. I can't bear to make Anthony's life harder.'

When she noticed that Anthony still didn't move, she said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and hide in the bedroom. Let me open the door." Sue pushed Anthony again but he still didn't move. Her face turned red because of anxiety and embarrassment.

"Why should I hide? If I do that and Sheryl still finds me inside your bedroom, it will be much harder to explain. We are innocent and nothing untoward happened between us. Why are you so anxious? Let's just open the door and face her," Anthony said calmly while looking Sue into her eyes. After Anthony realized that his feeling for Sheryl had gradually subsided, he seemed not to care about what she would think anymore. He wanted to face her bravely without any inhibitions.

Sue was enraged and blamed, "You are really…"