The Substitute Bride

"Mother, you thought the worst of Sheryl too. You thought she was greedy and after my money. Now you have changed your mind. Do you know the truth now?" Anthony retorted and glared at Laura in contempt. He couldn't understand why his mother had thought poorly of Sheryl. Her perception of Sheryl was baseless and fully wrong. He had been in a relationship with her for three years, yet his mother never accepted her as her prospective daughter-in-law. 'My mother was not satisfied with Sheryl earlier. Now she thinks Sue is not good enough for me. Who does she want me to marry? In her opinion, no woman in this world is good enough for me, ' he thought.

Laura blushed with embarrassment. She forced herself to stay calm. She looked at Anthony and argued, "Sheryl is an exception. She doesn't want your money as she is from a rich family. But even she had ulterior motives. As she has a child she knows it is impossible for her to get married into a rich and powerful family. So she seduced you and you were stupid enough to become involved with her." If Sheryl hadn't had a daughter, Laura might have accepted her in these changed circumstances.

"Enough. We are going to pick up dad, aren't we? Let's go or we will be late," Anthony interrupted Laura's tirade and urged her. He was already fed up of his situation with Sheryl and Sue and Laura's words annoyed him further. He wished his mother would give him some space and stop interfering with his love affairs. He would be grateful if she left him in peace for some time.

When they reached the airport, Carlson's plane had not yet landed. They waited for several minutes and soon Carlson was walking towards them. Carlson's face was gloomy, but Anthony didn't pay much attention to it. He thought his father was tired and probably had a bad flight. He greeted his father with a smile but Carlson slapped him hard right across the face. Anthony saw stars. Laura was shocked at her husband's behavior.

She screamed as she held onto her husband's arm, "Are you crazy? Why did you slap Anthony? What the hell are you doing? This is a public place and he is a grown man. Have some sense."

"Let go of me. I will beat him to a pulp. Just ask your damn son what he has done. I will teach him a lesson he will never forget today," Carlson furiously pushed Laura away and shouted. He was so ashamed to be blamed by Arthur because of what Anthony had done to Sheryl. Anthony had sunk so low that it was unforgivable. Carlson was tormented after Arthur narrated the whole incident to him.

"Carlson! Let us go home first, shall we? We can talk about whatever has happened once we reach home, okay? People are watching here. It is shameful," Laura scowled and said persuasively. Although she had no idea what had happened and why her husband was furious at their son, she managed to bring him back to his senses for some time at least.

Carlson said in an unfriendly voice to Anthony, "Hurry up and drive. Let's go home. I will teach you a lesson when w

adn't expected the love to be so blind and unconditional.

"What do you want me to do? Give him a good beating and then what? I don't care what you think. He is my son and his well-being is of supreme importance to me. I am worried about his wound and nothing else!" Laura stated in no uncertain terms. She had loved Anthony more than Carlson ever had. She didn't mind Carlson ignoring him, and she wouldn't stand by and allow him to beat him up for an outsider.

She understood that Carlson wanted to maintain a good relationship with Arthur. But Sheryl was Arthur's granddaughter, not his. She wouldn't allow her husband to beat their son in order to please Arthur.

"A loving mother always stands up for her son in all the right things. You are a mother with no standards and are supporting his despicable actions. You have lost all reason," Carlson wagged a finger at Laura's nose and shouted angrily.

"You are a not qualified as a good father. I had told you several times that Sheryl was not right for our son. But you chose not to interfere with their relationship. Now your son is hurt and yet you support an outsider. Are you sure you are a good father? What do you do when your son is bullied? You back up that Sheryl and promise to teach your son a lesson!" Laura raged. She was terribly upset that Carlson should support an outsider rather than his own son. Although their son had committed a crime, he should still have their support.

"Do you even know what happened? I was on duty when Uncle Arthur called and accused me of bringing up my son with no moral values. If you were in my place, wouldn't you be furious? Your son has committed a grave mistake. He could even be jailed for this if Sheryl complains. You don't even scold him a little and instead blame the girl he tried to rape. Are you in your senses, woman?" Carlson shouted wrathfully. He was extremely agitated and thought Anthony had lost face forever. Laura's blind love and devotion to Anthony made him more vexed.