The Substitute Bride

Although the front desk staff had only caught scraps of their conversation, she could tell just by their tone and some audible words that both Rachel and Holley were hostile to Sheryl.

The receptionist wondered why Rachel invited Sheryl here if she disliked her.

'Is she going to give Sheryl a hard time?' she speculated with her eyebrows furrowed.

Then, she immediately shook her head, chasing the crazy thought away from her mind. 'I have read too many romantic novels and watched too many dramas. Besides, what Ms. Bai planned to do with Sheryl is none of my business.

Moreover, even though Ms. Bai hates Sheryl, she wouldn't be able to do anything to her in her office in broad daylight, ' she assured herself.

After asking Sheryl to wait for she was going to inform her boss first, Sheryl looked at her with a slight smile and replied, "Sure. Please, go ahead." Sheryl had been wary in treating the front desk staff, making sure that she didn't get in trouble because of her. Ever since meeting the receptionist several times, she observed that she was a cautious girl who struggled to survive in this world as if she was walking on a tightrope.

Sheryl didn't mind waiting for confirmation, because for sure, if the girl had let her in without getting Rachel's permission, she would most probably lose her job once Rachel learned about it.

"Thank you, Ms. Xia. Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable first. This won't take long," the girl replied in relief and proceeded to contact Rachel via the telephone.

A few seconds later, the other end of the line picked up, and a female voice reached the receptionist's ears. "Yes?" As soon as she recognized it was Holley on the other end of the line, the girl didn't hesitate to report about Sheryl's arrival. After all, Holley was Rachel's right hand woman. "Hello, Miss Ye, Cloud Advertising Company's president, Ms. Xia, is here. She said that she had an appointment with Ms. Bai."

"Let her in," Holley instructed curtly as if she was expecting Sheryl.

The girl wanted to say something after, but she didn't get a chance to, for Holley immediately ended the call. She felt a bit disappointed but tried to mask her inner feeling as she looked over at Sheryl and said, "You can now come in, Ms. Xia."

Standing from her seat, Sheryl nodded at the receptionist and said, "Thank you." Then, she walked towards Rachel's office.

The receptionist followed the retreating Sheryl with wide eyes. Sheryl didn't have any idea how obliged she was to her when Sheryl expressed her gratitude with a respectful gesture.

Ever since the girl had taken the job, no one here showed respect to her. Besides, what was a receptio

Rachel hated to admit what Sheryl had said even though she was telling the truth. After all, she had been the love of Charles' life.

'Since Sheryl appeared, things started to get different, ' Rachel continued to deceive herself.

"You know I'm telling the truth," Sheryl retorted without even raising her voice.

Rachel heaved a furious breath and remembered why she asked Sheryl here in the first place. She tried to calm herself down and shot back, miffed. "I did not invite you here to talk about this. But since you mentioned that Charles and I were not meant to be together, then how could you explain this? Why would he spend time with me? Or maybe, his feelings are coming back? He starts to change because he realizes that I really is the one for him?" Rachel smirked.

Besides, the purpose for bringing Sheryl here was to humiliate her and not the other way around. She wasn't going to allow her rival to lead the conversation.

Sheryl eyed Rachel intently, not even fazed or intimidated by her. Instead, she said, emphasizing each syllable, "That's why I came here. I want to figure this out."

Sheryl didn't even try to mask her doubt.

"Oh, Sheryl, can't you just accept the fact that Mr. Lu really has no feelings for you? He only treats you well, because he feels sorry for what you've suffered in the past three years. The truth is, you and he are not the good match. He is such an excellent and high-standing man. You can't even match him. You're just cowering behind his powerful stature. Why can't you see that you are not good enough for him?" Holley chimed in with a look of disgust and pity. Holley couldn't help herself from butting in anymore. She was upset that Sheryl had ignored her, so she had to remind Sheryl that even her half-sister was also against her.