The Substitute Bride

"There's no need for that, Grandma." Sheryl spoke in a soft voice stealing her eyes from Amy. She felt shy. "It has been so many years since I married Charles. Moreover, now we are parents of two kids. Won't it be so strange for us to hold a wedding right now?"

"Why would it be strange?" Amy answered with a frown. Then she looked affectionately at Sheryl and her heart melted when she saw Sheryl blush at the mention of marriage. She kept her hand on Sheryl's head and continued, "Charles owes you a decent wedding, my child. He did not even know who you really were when you got married to him."

"But..." Sheryl frowned as she said. She didn't want to have this wedding, but she knew how much Amy wanted to see it happen. Sheryl also realized how incredibly happy both her grandparents would be if she and Charles hold a wedding. Hence, she agreed.

She smiled and said, "All right, since grandma and grandpa both look forward to this wedding, I will discuss it with Charles."

"That's like my good child," Amy smiled contently as she said. She then glimpsed at Sheryl and said, "I will talk to Charles about it later."

Sheryl took it casually. She thought it to be just a passing thought that came to Amy's mind and she would get over it very soon. Little did she know that Amy would stick to her words.

Sheryl did not expect that in the evening, when Charles came to pick her up, Amy took it up directly with Charles.

After the family had dinner, Sheryl and Amy were watching television on the couch together. Abby was also present there. Amy cut some fruit into pieces and offered it to Charles and said, "Charles, I have something to discuss with your grandfather, something we think you should do."

Charles responded to Amy with regards and said, "Grandma, you can tell me about it directly. I will do whatever I can as long as I'm capable of doing it." Amy looked relieved as she heard him speak. A contented smile spread on her face.

"Here's the thing," Amy said to Charles. "When you got married with Sheryl, you did not know her. And now, I hope that you will give her a decent wedding to make it up for that. She had a difficult and unlucky life. I feel so sorry for her. And she got married to you as a substitute bride in another person's name, which means that she never had a wedding of her own. And now, when both of you have been through so many ups and downs, I think you should have a ceremony and take your marriage vows once again, so..."

Amy cast a very loving and sympathetic glance at Sheryl as she said, "Don't worry. Your grandfather and I will pay for the wedding. It does not have to be a big one. You only have to get married with all your friends and family to witness it."

"Grandma, are you joking?" Charles blurted out almost instantly with his eyes fixed at Amy. Charles' face froze as he spoke. Unable to read his expression, the smile on Amy's face slowly disappeared. Even Sheryl and Abby looked at Charles with a startled expression. Without bating their eye lids, they gazed straight

"Nancy! When did you come back?" Sheryl was surely surprised to see that Nancy had reached Dream Garden before her.

Nancy laughed and said to Sheryl, "When you were on your business trip, Charles told me to move back. Sheryl, please taste these wontons and check if they taste the same as they did." Sheryl smiled at her and roved her eyes around the house. After such a long time, she really felt at home in Dream Garden.

Gary was sitting there as food was being served to Sheryl. Sheryl didn't want him to stay up so late and said, "Grandpa, Nancy, please go to bed. You don't have to wait here for me to eat. It's late now."

After putting Shirley into her bed, Charles went downstairs to Sheryl for the dinner.

Seeing Charles coming down to join Sheryl, Gary and Nancy smiled and went back to their own rooms, allowing the couple some privacy.

Sheryl took a few bites and put down the spoon. Her mind was preoccupied with several things that made her lose her appetite.

Charles held Sheryl's hands and said gently, "If you don't want to eat, then don't force yourself."

After the dinner, both of them came back to their room. Charles gave Sheryl the towel and pajamas he had prepared in advance. He said to Sheryl, "You can go and have a bath. We will discuss other things after you finish it." Sheryl smiled and looked around her bedroom.

Then she entered the bathroom to take a shower. Sheryl took a long and comfortable bath to wash off her tiredness. When she got out in pajamas, Charles had already prepared a cup of hot milk. He handed the milk to her and said, "Have a cup of milk before you sleep. It'll help you have a nice dream." Sheryl was touched by the care and concern showered on her by Charles.

"Charles, I..." Sheryl hesitated for a long time and still didn't know how to say it.

"Sher, if you want to tell me something, go ahead and speak it out. You don't have to hide anything from me and you don't have to hesitate about whether you should say it or not," said Charles gently.