The Substitute Bride

Charles, Sheryl, and the kids spent a great time in the restaurant—they chatted, laughed, and had delicious food. The happy hour flew by quickly, and when they went back to Dream Garden, it was already past 11 in the evening. After Charles turned on the light, everyone changed their shoes in the hallway, feeling the tiredness wash over them.

"Charles, you're finally back." Melissa's voice startled them—no one was expecting to see Melissa sitting quietly in the living room.

"Mom, I took the children out for pizza. Why aren't you asleep?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face. It was rare for Melissa to stay up so late. Normally, she would have been fast asleep way before 11 p.m.

"I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd sit here and wait for you," replied Melissa, her eyes locked on Charles. Still turning a blind eye to Sheryl, she faced the children and teased, "You two naughty kids, don't you feel sleepy? You came back too late."

"We're not sleepy, Grandma," replied Shirley. The girl was frank with her answer, but it wasn't what Melissa wanted.

"Be a good girl. You must go to bed early even if you're not sleepy. You have school tomorrow. You don't want to wake up late, do you?"

"Okay, Grandma. I'll go upstairs to sleep." After a nod, Shirley turned to Sheryl. "Mom, let's go upstairs. I guess I am a little sleepy…"

"Okay, let's go," she agreed. Shirley's request gave her a good excuse to leave the uncomfortable position. After the good night out, all she wanted was to escape Melissa's presence—even looking at the woman was making her mad.

"Mom, Clark must be tired too. We'll go upstairs now," prompted Charles. It was clear to him what was on his wife's mind and he wanted to make her feel safe. Besides, it was already too late to make conversation, so it was entirely reasonable for all of them to head up to their rooms as soon as possible.

"Charles, I have something to talk to you about. Clark, be a good boy and go upstairs with your mother, won't you?" It was no surprise how Melissa was willing to frustrate Sheryl.

'It doesn't matter what I say to Charles. Sheryl and I are clearly never going to get along with each other. If my son agrees to stay with me, it me

come back as soon as you can," replied Sheryl happily. It was good news to hear that Nancy could come back since she was always helpful.

Sheryl's forgiving personality moved Nancy—she still felt guilty about the kidnapping incident. "Sher…thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're most welcome, Nancy. I should thank you for offering to come back to work. You were seriously injured. I really appreciate that you're willing to come back after recovering." Sheryl meant every word.

Of course, Sheryl never blamed Nancy for Clark and Shirley being kidnapped. In fact, she felt sorry for the serious injury that Nancy had to suffer because of it.

The disaster almost cost Nancy her life.

After discussing some details, they ended the call. Nancy had promised to come back to work in Dream Garden the following day.

The good news put Sheryl in a good mood.

When she headed out with the kids, a happy smile was stuck to her face.

However, she wasn't the only one who started out the day happily. Melissa was also in good spirits after seeing Sheryl leave the house—she was clueless about Leila promising to visit them and it brought Melissa great joy knowing that Sheryl had no idea what she was about to suffer.

With Charles off at work, Melissa was alone. Staring at the front door without even blinking, she waited for Leila eagerly. To her dismay, it was already nine o'clock and Leila hadn't arrived. Worried about what could have happened, Melissa called her up.