The Substitute Bride

As soon as Charles started to eat, everyone else reluctantly ate as well. On the other hand, Lance looked at Charles for a moment and felt relieved by what he just said. He cast Rachel a hurried glance before Charles could notice this, and hinted her to do what she needed to do.

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed in resignation. She turned her head towards Holley and looked at her with guilt evident in her eyes.

Holley immediately read what was on her boss's mind just by looking into her eyes. Even though she was unwilling to leave, she still had to make a compromise right now for her revenge. Clenching her fists tightly once more under the table, she heaved a deep breath to control her anger. Then, she transfixed her gaze on Charles and said calmly, "Very well then. Mr. Lu had expressed his dislike of me being here, so excuse me everyone, and please, enjoy your meal."

She stood up and placed her chopsticks down slowly before she exited the private room with reluctance.

Rachel sighed as soon as Holley left, thinking that this would ease Charles' anger. Before she could accost the stone-cold CEO, however, a nonchalant and loud voice cut through the silence. "Ms. Bai, don't you think you should accompany your excellent subordinate outside?" Charles asked, slanting his defiant eyes at Rachel.

Rachel's eyebrows slightly twitched as she stared flabbergasted at Charles. She did not want to believe it, but the implication in his message was obvious. Not only did he plan to kick Holley out, but he also planned to kick herself out.

'So, this is why he invited me to this meal. This is to take revenge. He wanted to embarrass me and Holley deliberately in front of these people, ' she thought.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Mr. Lu, you... You..." With an awkward expression, she stammered, suddenly not knowing what to say as she was at loss for words.

'Asking me and Holley to leave means that he intends to make Tarsan Corporation an enemy.

I had made so many calls and tried to please these old men. Will my efforts be in vain because of this?' she thought.

Once again, Lance knew that if Rachel went against Charles' wishes, this dinner would not end well, so he turned to her, breaking the silence in hopes of breaking the tension as well. "Ms. Bai, didn't you hear what Mr. Lu just said? Just go and follow her," he urged. He wanted to remind the woman not to irritate Charles.

Initially, Rachel meant to argue with Charles to make herself stay here, but Lance chose to side with Charles, and no one was going to back her up here anymore. Eventually, she rose from her seat and stepped out of the room. 'I already messed up with Charles. I can't afford to cross with Lance as well, ' she reminded herself as she closed the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Holley was still outside the private room. She planned on l

a out as soon as possible.

Otherwise, Sheryl will be the hostess of Dream Garden, and she will use this high position to get back at me. I should also talk some sense into Charles to divorce her in a roundabout manner, ' she thought and decided that this was the best idea.

Melissa heard the shower turn on, letting her know that Sheryl had just entered the bathroom. At the same time, Charles' car parked on the garage.

On her first day of Dream Garden, Melissa learned that it usually took Sheryl at least half an hour to take a bath.

She then thought that this was a good chance to have a private conversation with her son.

"Welcome home, son," Melissa addressed as soon as Charles pushed the front door open.

Charles was taken aback to see Melissa in the living room with the television on. As he closed the door behind him, he asked, "Why are you still up, Mom?"

Melissa turned the TV off and placed the remote control on the tea table before turning to Charles once more. "I was about to sleep already, but I heard your car park, so I decided to wait for you," she replied in a mellow voice.

A grin formed on Charles face, and in a playful tone, he asked, "Mom, did you already miss me that soon already?" Charles then sat across her mother in the living room. He seldom talked to Melissa that way, but he was in really high spirits after successfully making a fool of Holley and Rachel in front of high-end men to avenge his wife. Most importantly, he had proved to the public that Sheryl was innocent.

Melissa returned her son's smile. "We had been separated for years, and now, my son is the CEO of Shining Company. I didn't expect that you would make fun of me like this," she said in an amused tone. "On a serious note, son, I really do miss you very much even though I only haven't seen you for a couple of days, and I want to catch up with you as soon as possible."