The Substitute Bride

Having the whole family together was something that Charles could not even think of a few hours back. He could only be thankful and grateful for this moment. He looked at Shirley as she held his hands. He put on a gentle smile and said softly to Shirley, "What's up?" He then bent down and patted her head. "You just said that you want to see your mom, didn't you? See, your mom is over there," he said pointing out to Sheryl's direction.

So Shirley gathered her courage and walked over to the bed. A timid voice escaped her mouth as she called, "Mom."

Hearing Shirley's voice, Sheryl could not control her tears. She touched Shirley's cheeks, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She then reached for her and took her in a deep embrace as if she were holding a recovered treasure.

Seeing the happy scene, Isla sneaked out of the room. She felt it would be better to leave Charles and Sheryl alone. She patted on Charles' shoulder meaningfully before she left.

After watching Sheryl's attitude just now, she realized that Charles still had a long way to go. All she could do at the moment was to pray for them so that they could be just like before very soon.

Charles walked beside the bed and kept his hand on Shirley's head. He caressed her soft hair and said, "Sher, I promised to you that I'd bring back Shirley to you absolutely safe and sound. See, I kept my word."

Shirley clung to her mom's chest and wiped the tears from her face. Sheryl felt a kind of solace that she could never express through words. Having Shirley close to her felt like a soothing balm to her anxious mind. She glanced at Charles and said in a soft, yet sincere voice, "Thank you so much."

Charles was taken aback as she expressed her gratitude to him in this way. He frowned as he replied, "Sher, there is no need of a thank you between us."

"No, I should say thanks to you," Sheryl replied with gratitude. She then lifted her head and glanced at Charles. All these days, she had only been anxious about Shirley. Now as Shirley was in front, she became concerned about Charles who stood strong at this hour of despair. She said in a concerned voice, "I know you haven't got a proper sleep in these days. You have spent every minute to search for Shirley. You must be exhausted. Right?"

"I'm fine," Charles shook his head slightly and spoke with a smile. He looked tired but happy. There were dark circles around his eyes but the wide smile on his face made his state of mind to be absolutely clear. He was contended at heart. He was happier than anyone else that both his kids were safe and sound. So all his efforts were worthwhile.

"Oh, where is Charlie?" Sheryl spoke as she looked around to find him. It suddenly occurred to her that she could not see Charlie anywhere around her and that made her anxious once again. Not having Charlie in front of her eyes made her miss a beat of her heart. He had been taken away together with Shirley. Shirley was back. But Charlie was nowhere to be seen. How could it be that he had come back and had not come to meet her? Where was he?

"He is right here. He got injured. And the doctor is treating him now," Charles spoke in a calm voice.

The moment the news of Charlie getting injured reached Sheryl's ears, she almost sprang up from her bed. She asked anxiously grasping Charles' hand, "What's wrong with Charlie? How did he get injured? Is it something serious?"

So many questions shot at one go left Charles with no time to reply to her. But Shirley, who had buried herself in Sh

e home. Please discharge me. I just want to be with the kids."

Sheryl kept reasoning with Arthur until he agreed to give in and gave his consent for her to be released. "But you have to promise that you will come to the hospital for regular check-ups," he warned her in a concerned voice.

As she walked out of the hospital, Abby was already waiting for her outside the gates. She received Sheryl with a smile and said, "Get in to the car. I'll drive you to Dream Garden."

Sheryl didn't want to bother her and declined politely, "Don't worry, Abby. I can go there on my own."

But Abby rested her hand on her shoulder and insisted, "It doesn't matter. And I want to have a talk with you." Saying this, she gestured towards the car and gently led Sheryl towards it.

Sheryl could not ignore Abby's words. She became curious about what Abby had to tell her. Hence, she had no choice but to accept her offer. She boarded the car and seated herself on the front seat as Abby started to drive. Sheryl waited for Abby to speak but she kept driving silently with a rather stern expression on her face. Sheryl grew increasingly anxious and broke the silence, "Aunt Abby, you just said that you want to talk to me? What's the matter?"

"Yes," Abby said curving her lips in a half-smile. But she didn't know how to say it. Sheryl could see that she was in a dilemma and planned to wait for her to open up.

After a long moment of hesitation, she finally said to Sheryl, "Today, I wanted to meet you because I… I want to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" Sheryl repeated the word with utter surprise. That was the last word she could expect from Abby. She stared at her with a startled look and paused for a second before she spoke, "What do you mean by that? Why do you need to apologize to me?"

"I…" Abby remembered what Andy had done to Sheryl and her face got filled with remorse. She found it difficult to make an eye contact with Sheryl. But she had to do this no matter how difficult it was. She thought it would be better for her to confess to Sheryl herself rather than Sheryl finding it out herself one day.

"Sher, we know we have done something terribly wrong. I can understand if you'll blame us. But…" Abby continued with a wry smile, "Mom and dad are very old. They have no idea about what Andy has done. I hope you won't blame them."