The Substitute Bride

Cary couldn't resist letting out a laughter. Anyway, it was undeniable.

Though Donna's words were polite enough, Susan could tell from the surprise in her eyes that Donna believed she was not a fine match for Cary.

This was the first time that Susan had been aware of the facts about Cary that she hadn't noticed before. She used to recognize him as an idle man. Now, he struck her as some sort of rich and successful man. Abruptly, she felt lowly about herself, for she had totally misunderstood him. She never noticed the gap between them.

'He is such a wealthy man, born in a rich family. Why would he waste his precious time on a nobody like me?' Susan couldn't help feeling a little more inferior with this thought.

Donna seemed to perceive the subtle change on Susan's face. She was afraid that her words would hurt her unintentionally, so she added, "Susan must be a very thoughtful and caring girl with many virtues to get your attention. I just hope my son could marry a girl like her one day. I would be more than happy if that would come true."

She smiled at Susan and then looked back at Cary. "Anyway, you do have a good eye for girls."

"Aunt Donna, please don't talk like that." Cary felt pleased with most of Donna's comments, and joked, "If you continue to speak highly of her, this girl will gather too much cockiness."

In mild irritation, Susan patted Cary on his back to let him shut up. "Stop talking that kind of nonsense," she said in a bashful tone.

The scene of this couple teasing each other was such a satisfying sight for Donna. She was almost lost in thought when she remembered her son. Her expression suddenly turned gloomy as she ended up comparing them.

"Oh, Aunt Donna." Beyond the casual chat, Cary finally found an opportunity to state his purpose. He explained in between smiles, "I actually came here today to ask you a favor. It's more of a personal request. Hope you can help me with that."

"What kind of personal request is it?" Donna was a little surprised he needed her help. She was a bit curious to hear about it, but cautious at the same time. She thought to herself that as a senior, she should behave generously in front of a junior. "What is it exactly?" she repeated. "You and George were schoolmates, so I've always regarded you as my own son. Just tell me and I will try my best to give you a hand."

Cary felt more than happy to hear that. He immediately seized his chance. "Given that you agreed to help me, let me be straightforward. Aunt Donna, I came here today for Susan's sake. Believe it or not, by a strange twist of fate, the paths George and I have taken often crossed. We used to be schoolmates, and now Susan is working as a staff in George's company."

"Oh, Really?!" Donna got really surpr

yl in the eye. Instead, she stared at the floor and stammered, "I thought Cary looks kind of different today."

"I think he is always the same." Sheryl couldn't help smiling and then explained, "You used to ignore him because you didn't know him at the time. But now that you see the other side of him, you have changed your mindset and then start to pay more attention to him, and find out he is different."

What Sheryl had just said made Susan lower her head as she got wrapped up in her thoughts.

The charity dinner went very well. Before it came to an end, Cary suddenly stepped onto the stage with an etiquette model right on his heels, and greeted everyone with a mysterious smile. Then he pointed toward the box held by the model's hands and declared solemnly, "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you our final Easter egg. Here is a box containing a jewelry named Tear of the Mermaid. I happened to acquire it by accident. You will soon get the chance to take a look at its beauty. It is the nature of a diamond, but underneath its surface, it holds a holy blessing with lingering sentiments, hides eternal promises and reflects gorgeous rays with incomparable glory. The light of this diamond can penetrate any barrier, directly to the deepest of the soul.

About this great diamond, I believe everyone might hear of its romantic myth. It is said that the couple who possess it would be together forever. Despite that, we all know that the myth might not always be true, but this diamond's value is undoubtedly reliable and real." After Cary said that, the model took out the diamond from the box and walked around the stage to show it to everyone. Seeing the shining diamond clutched by the model between her forefinger and her thumb, all the women gathered around the stage. They got excited and their eyes all gleamed with envy.