The Substitute Bride

"I'm not an idiot." Charles goaded her on while hurling her with a cold and hard stare. His voice was heavy with sarcasm. Leila was panic-stricken as she couldn't get hold of her nervousness. She felt a sudden gripping fear crawling tightly in her chest, while she looked at Charles' livid expression. Her instinct told her that there was something off.

She was mentally convincing herself that she had securely hidden the kids in a secret place. Finding them would be so futile and next to impossible. Charles should have a hard time figuring out the whereabouts of the children.

Leila prevented herself from averting her eyes from Charles. She thought that by keeping eye contact with him, he wouldn't notice the turmoil rising within her. That behind her serene and composed self, she was already trembling inside. Then she cautiously asked, "What do you mean?"

Charles, who seemed to be scrutinizing her face and was trying to gauge her reaction earlier, glanced briefly at his wristwatch and spoke in a slow and consciously unhurried manner, "I mean, the police are out in force today. By this time, they have broken into your house and rescued the two kids. So do you think there is still a possibility that you can go back safely?" Charles said while flaunting a wry and humorless smile.

"No! That's impossible!" Leila shrieked in total disbelief. Her mental rejection was too strong that she stood rigidly frozen. Never did she expect that Charles could be this cunning, leaving her defenseless. He met up with her here, only to create a chance for the police to save the kids.

Coming to her senses, Leila felt infuriated and screamed at him, "Charles Lu! You're such a jerk! How can you deceive me? How dare you?"

"How dare I? Of course, I dare! The lives of the children are on the line." Charles retorted in a mocking tone while shaking his head in great disapproval and added, "Leila, don't overestimate your ability."

As he watched her closely, Leila looking shattered and defeated didn't escape Charles' notice. He then asked, "Do you want to go alone or be with one of my men?"

Suddenly, several men in suits appeared behind Leila. One of them stepped near Charles and urged him, "Mr. Lu, we need to hurry up. The police are coming."

"Then go and take her away. I'll deal with the police," Charles uttered nonchalantly. His face exuded calmness.

Leila was taken away by these men. And as soon as their retreating figures were out of his sight, Charles closed his eyes momentarily and let out a sigh of relief.

Sooner than expected, the policemen arrived with Shirley. Charles became restless when he didn't see his son, Charlie. He was apprehensive when he asked the policeman, "Where is the boy?"

"Don't worry. He is alright," the policeman said grinning. "When we arrived at the scene, the boy was trying to take the girl out of the room. She was wrapped in a bed sheet. He broke his arm by accide

ed in regret. He was in deep pain. But there was nothing I could do to make him feel better. I felt sorry for him. He is a good and kindhearted man. And he loves you so much. So please forgive him."

"Isla..." Sheryl cut in gently as she gave her a knowing stare. Sheryl found herself got into such a predicament. She was confused. Her mixed up emotions made her mind even more a total mess. "I don't want to think about this matter right now. Please give me some more time," she concluded in a soft voice that sounded like she was asking for a bit more of patience.

She knew how painful it was for Charles then. But now, many things had changed. She lacked the confidence to be with Charles again. She was in self-doubt and she couldn't trust herself.

"Okay, I won't push you," Isla said with a grin. She then quickly glanced at her hand and carried on with peeling the apple for Sheryl. Then she said, "I know it's your own business. And the decision is yours to make. I want to give you a suggestion though because I don't want to see you two break up knowing that you love each other so much."

Sheryl kept mute the whole time as she listened to Isla's insights. She knew that Isla was genuinely concerned about her. But she didn't want to think about this matter at this moment. She was not ready yet to put the whole thing into consideration.

Charles knew how devastated Sheryl had been about Shirley's disappearance. So after they arrived at the hospital, he hurriedly sent Charlie to another doctor for further treatment. Then he held Shirley's small hand and led her to Sheryl's ward.

The door of her ward burst opened and Shirley showed up at the doorway. Sheryl, who had just calmed down, felt her tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw her daughter's silhouette. She helplessly started weeping again.

When Shirley saw her mother crying, she felt hesitant. She stood in a daze. Then she raised her head and looked at Charles.