The Substitute Bride

"I dare you to continue laughing like that!" Sheryl felt so awkward and irritated. She would not allow Isla to keep talking about that nonsense anymore. She rolled her eyes towards her as a warning. "If I knew you would laugh at me like that, I definitely would have not told you."

Isla felt a little threatened to see Sheryl's annoyed face, so she tried her best to stop laughing. Despite her great efforts, she couldn't contain the feelings on her facial expression. Her lips still curled up and her eyes twinkled. Finally, she gave up and commented, "Anyway, I really admire how patient Mr. Lu has been to put up with all of that."

"Fine. You are mocking at us and you're doing it on purpose. I need you to get out right now. Get out!" Sheryl felt really embarrassed that she made Isla leave the kitchen. She needed a little time to cool herself off. She stood by the counter and tried to clear her head. After a few minutes, she finally took a deep breath and then set out to cook.

Sheryl was all covered with sweat after she finished cooking. She immediately headed to the bathroom to wash up. It was already time for dinner. Hence, Nancy started to set the table and then proceeded to serve the dishes one by one. Sheryl came out of the bathroom and saw Charles talking with Cary in the living room. They were too busy to see her approaching. She didn't want to intrude, so she stood silently behind them for a while before she finally interrupted, "Charles, Cary, it's time for dinner. Why don't you just continue your discussion after dinner?"

"Good idea." Hearing Sheryl's soft voice, Charles couldn't help but smile warmly as he tilted his head to acknowledge her presence. Cary also responded in a very pleased tone, "It's a rare opportunity to taste your cooking, Sheryl. I am so grateful that you take the trouble to make us dinner tonight. I just can't wait to try those dishes." He took a glimpse at the table fully set for them.

Sheryl felt very pleased when she heard Cary's remark. However, she reminded herself to stay humble to his compliment. She replied with a polite smile, "You're welcome, Cary. You really deserve this. I am the one who should be grateful for the big favor you did for me in M City before."

Not too long after, everyone gathered around the dinner table and was ready to enjoy dinner. Most of them were couples who sat and talked with each other. Cary felt a little out of place, which made him lose his appetite. He tried his best to stay calm until he couldn't do it anymore. He finally complained to Sheryl, "Sheryl, where is the girl who was beside you when we met the other day? Did you not invite her? If she would turn up today, I'd be so lucky to have a partner to talk with. It seems that everyone else at this table has someone except for me. All I can do now is to sit here and silently watch how these lovers explicitly show their affection." Cary changed his expression to that of a ridiculously sad man to stress his point.

Sheryl couldn't help but burst into laughter in a reserved voice. Noticing Cary's expression, she immediately covered her ill-mannered face and teased, "You can rest assured that we will try our best to be considerate of your feelings. You can also just ignore us and focus on your meal. Please enjoy the food as much as you can."

Charles looked at Cary in disbelief. He called to get his attention with a stern face, "Stop joking. I have a lot of important things to discuss with you after dinner."

The dinner was held to celebrate Sheryl's agreement to finally move into Dre

s he gazed at Sheryl and waited for her to reply. However, she didn't seem surprised or pleased to hear that, so he added, "It's been a while since we went shopping together. Today is a rare opportunity for us. Please don't look so reluctant. Give me a smile, Sher."

"It's really not that necessary." She pulled him by the hand, showing her unwillingness to go inside. She had her brows creased as she explained, "I do have enough clothes and so do the kids. You don't need to worry about us. It wouldn't be necessary to waste money to buy more."

Charles expression immediately turned serious upon hearing that. He stared at Sheryl and noted, "You do know that you are my wife, Mrs. Lu. I will not allow my wife to have so few clothes. What will people say if you end up wearing the same clothes every day? Besides, I will take you to a lot of gatherings and public wine parties, which will be clearly frequent and unavoidable. Don't you think you should buy more clothes to prepare for these occasions?"

He patted her on the shoulder and gently said, "All right. Let's go and buy whatever you want. Anyway, you have to give me a chance to please you this time."

After hesitating for so long time, Sheryl couldn't find any excuse to refuse anymore. Finally, she decided to accept Charles' idea. Actually, she was still thinking that it was okay to wear the same clothes every day. She was never that vain to buy too many clothes. The only reason why she chose to change her mind to go shopping and buy more clothes was in response to Charles' love.

She realized that she would need to take Charles' words into account. She was his wife now, so she should really make some adjustments to her lifestyle. If she dressed simply, ignoring dress codes on whatever occasions she would be attending, she would not only end up making a fool of herself, Charles would also be humiliated.

"Well, let's suppose I agree with that, I have one condition. I won't buy too many, several clothes are okay," she insisted with a frown.

"Fine, fine, fine. It's all up to you." Although Charles felt a little displeased that she opposed him, he was gratified to know that she had not changed a bit. She was still the same woman with good virtues that he had fallen in love with. He took her hand, rushed into the gate, and then headed to the clothing store at the top of the building.