The Substitute Bride

Holley had to find out who started all those rumors to slander her.

She made up her mind to have it all thoroughly investigated without involving Black. If he was a part of the investigation, he would have the chance to find those horrible things she had done before. She couldn't let that happen.

So Holley secretly hired a group of private detectives to help her with this matter.

After letting the detectives know about the details, Holley gave them clear instructions. "I need you to find out who started the rumors. The sooner, the better. But please do it in secret. Don't let anybody else know what you are doing. It will also save you some trouble during the investigation. And you'll get paid once your job is done," she assured them. Holley put emphasis on the importance of secrecy, in case Black would know.

"No problem, Miss Ye. We'll get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Once we acquire some clues, I'll let you know immediately," one of them promised.

Holley was glad to know they were on the same page.

She supposed that the rumor starters wouldn't just leave things like this. They definitely had ulterior motives. Fortunately, Holley already had these detectives now. Once they found those evil people, they could let her know if they were really planning something.

After the long day, Holley went to a fancy restaurant to have dinner with Black.

For one thing, she wanted to thank him for his support and help during the whole time. Also, they hadn't had a romantic date for a couple of days, so she wanted to make up for it.

"Cheers!" they said in unison as they proposed a toast. Their glasses with red wine slightly collided, which added to the romantic atmosphere.

"Honey, thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it." Holley held her glass, intently watching Black with his gentle smile, which made the moment more lovely and sweet.

"Somebody is going to be drunk," Black smiled back as he made his little joke. Holley just finished sipping her wine and responded with a sweet smile. Suddenly, Black thought of something important. "Holley, when I asked my father for help that day, I told him you were my girlfriend," he started. Holley listened intently. "Last weekend you were ill, so I didn't mention it. Since everything is

, Alan was a discreet and tactful man. Even though he didn't know who Black was exactly, he supposed Black must be some big shot businessman. So he had to be polite today.

'This woman is lucky she is with Black. It wouldn't be wise to make a scene in front of him, ' Alan thought to himself. Next time when Holley was alone, he would definitely give her a hard time.

Since that day Holley fooled him in the hotel, Alan had been thinking about getting his revenge.

Even though Alan remained silent, his look and attitude still struck Black as arrogant. His patience was running out. After a while, Black reluctantly reached out to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhao," he said.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm sorry, what do you do again?" Alan used his usual condescending tone in response.

Black didn't like to answer questions like that. Because almost after every time he let other people know about his background, they came to butter him up, making him feel uncomfortable. So he decided not to tell Alan the truth, but only gave him a vague reply.

"I am just helping my father with his business."

Alan nodded. It was obvious that he was going to meet someone else; he didn't want to waste time with them. Besides, he would prefer not to see Holley right now; this woman could easily irritate him.

"Oh, you two must be having a date right now. I'd better leave you two alone. My table is over there. I have to go now. See you."

"All right. Bye."

Holley and Black simultaneously bid him goodbye.