The Substitute Bride

Sheryl decided to hold her words after eyeing Charles wearing a sulky expression on his face. She knew she would have to wait. When she noticed that his countenance was a little calmer, she then continued, "Initially, I planned to stay in the hotel for several days. As soon as I find a good place to settle, then I will move out. But unfortunately, Grandpa disagreed. So I was left with no choice but to move to the Zhao family house for a while."

"But Sher..." Charles quickly cut in. He let out a deep sigh as he carefully studied her. He looked impatient, as a small frown could be easily seen appearing on his forehead. But his voice sounded warm and worrying at the same time when he questioned her, "Dream Garden is also your home. Why didn't you call me after such a thing happened?"

Sheryl could only respond by staring openly at him. And she started to feel that his intense gaze burned with conflicting emotions. Though she was mentally groping for words in her head, she still couldn't find her voice to say something.

The truth was, she had no idea why she did it. Maybe she didn't want Charles to get involved and be over worried about her. Besides, she was the one who provoked Anthony.

"Alright." She conceded after a brief moment. She held his gaze and begged, "Charles, I do understand your feelings. But I would appreciate it should you consider mine as well. Until now... I'm still not able to visualize what is going to happen in our future; and what will lay ahead of us. So please, give me some time and personal space to think it through."

After Charles heard what she said, a sudden pang of sadness engulfed him and made him silent. Lowering his gaze briefly to conceal his disappointment, he began to start mulling over something. Then in a low mutter, he complained, "You have been saying this for countless times. But Sheryl, I really don't know how long I need to wait for that day to come."

"Soon. I'm almost there." Sheryl leaned forward while eyeing him and gave him a flat response.

No sooner had she finished her sentence, than the waiter came over to serve their orders. Sheryl feasted her eyes on the spread of food on their table. Then she helped herself to the delectable dish near her, gave it a bite and savored its taste. A small smile crept on her lips and she commented, "Well, the taste is exactly the same as it was three years ago."

"I'm so glad to hear that. You can eat as much as you want," Charles quickly replied as he smiled at her appreciatively. To his heart's content, Charles helped Sheryl in refilling her plate while she ate silently. Since Sheryl was too engrossed in nibbling at her food, she didn't notice Charles' kind gesture at all. And whether or not she undeniably enjoyed the food or the place, she didn't care in the slightest anymore.

Charles appeared to be happier seeing Sheryl's hearty appetite back. It was quite a satisfying feast for him that finally, Sheryl could eat a lot.

After their sumptuous meal ended, they readied themselves to head back to the company. While on their way out, Sheryl forced a small smile and mentioned about Shirley. "Charles, Shirley asked me last night if you were her father, and I told her the truth."

"Excuse me?" exclaimed Charles when he heard the matter-of-fact tone of voice used by Sheryl. His heart was skipping a bit. And he halted his steps. Charles whirled around to glance at Sheryl. He was getting a little bit nervous as he confirmed that he heard it right. Zoning out, he remained motionless. He then took a moment to gather himself and asked her, "You... Do you really mean what you said?"

When Charles learned that Shirley was his daughter,

s were said by his dearest Sheryl.

It was already very late when the rehearsal in the company wrapped up. Sheryl grabbed all her things and quickly made her way out to get home. She was longing to have a quick shower as her entire body was full of sweat. She could no longer stand the uncomfortable feeling in her own body.

As soon as she came out of the company, she caught a glimpse of the silhouette of a man standing right at the main entrance. He looked vaguely familiar from afar. She felt hopeless when it turned out to be Anthony, the last person that she would want to see in this lifetime.

She purposely moved to live in another place to stay away from this man. But why did she have to see his face again?

"Sher!" Anthony shouted. Sheryl wanted to hide herself the moment she saw Anthony, but it was too late. Anthony hastily rushed towards her after recognizing her presence.

Having no choice but to talk to him, she impatiently turned her head to face him and coldly asked, "Anthony, why are you here? Didn't I make everything crystal clear to you? What brings you here? What on earth have I done wrong? Did I make you suffer that much? That you have to treat me in this way?" Her voice was filled with miseries and pain.

He was deeply hurt by Sheryl's indifference. She was no longer the same Sheryl he used to know. He watched her silently as he tried to gauge her expression.

He knew she was annoyed and angry at him, but he was left with no other choice. He had to do it for his parents -- for Carlson and Laura.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed he promptly said, "Sher, I know that you may not want to see me right now. But... I have come for you. I... I really have to get your help on something."

"Help?" Sheryl scoffed. Then she raised her eyes to look at Anthony with growing impatience and asked, "Anthony, have I not made myself clear enough? Listen, I want you to get out of my way. You will have your own life as I will have my own. And I also want you to remember that we don't owe each other a single thing. Your family must stay away from my daughter and me. Such a simple wish, isn't it? Is that too hard for your family to grant? Is that too much to ask?".

Sheryl stood her ground as she glared at Anthony. And in total exasperation, she sarcastically said, "You consider yourself a man of power, don't you? And I thought you could handle everything? What is it that you cannot fix which you think I can?"