The Substitute Bride

"Leila, how couldn't you know what I'm talking about? Who could have sneaked into Sheryl's room in the middle of the night?" Melissa said with a scornful smile.

Nancy had found Sheryl in a breathless stage this morning. Leila must have sneaked into Sheryl's room in the middle of the night, so Melissa decided to trick her.

Leila panicked as she thought that Melissa had known about her crime.

"Aunt Melissa, I'm sorry. Please don't tell others. I'm begging you," Leila confessed immediately, too scared to lie. Unable to stop herself, Leila began sobbing. Her tears were enough to confirm that she admitted to trying to kill Sheryl.

Anxiety and guilt overcame Leila, and she couldn't think clearly enough to tell that Melissa was merely manipulating her. Thinking that she was already exposed, she decided it would be better to confess herself, hoping that Melissa would stay on her side and keep her secret.

Nodding her head in satisfaction, Melissa said, "You can rest assured. I'm not Charles. I don't care about who tried to kill Sheryl."

Then, she added, "But Leila, how can you be that stupid? It doesn't matter that you failed to kill her. But you should have kept yourself clean. How are you going to stay out of this now?"

As if she was ashamed of herself, Leila lowered her head. In truth, she condemned Melissa inwardly, 'Easier said than done. Why don't you do it yourself if you're such an expert? You never had the guts to do it. And now that I've tried it myself, all you can do is lecture me! At least I did something. You coward!'

Of course, Leila didn't dare say such words to Melissa's face. Instead, she bowed her head and listened to Melissa silently.

As Melissa continued, she got more and more excited. "If only we could get rid of her! I wish she'd just die already. She'll never do us any good. What a shame! She got lucky this time."

For the first time since they worked to

t Sheryl recovered quickly. She dearly missed the laughter and harmony within the family.

"Mr. Lu, I can take care of Sher. Why don't you go get some rest? I'm sure that Sher wouldn't want to see you like this when she wakes up. You can't take care of this family if you get sick as well," she suggested, noticing that Charles was almost drifting off to sleep again.

"I'm fine, Nancy. Thank you. You don't need to worry about me. I want to stay here with Sher," he declined with a smile.

Though she understood, Nancy couldn't help but sigh.

Seeing the love and concern in Charles' eyes, she was rather puzzled. Only a few days ago, Charles was so quick to misunderstand and blame Sher, even when she was in pain because of Shirley's disappearance.

With a shake of her head, Nancy thought she might just be too old to understand young people nowadays.

After a quick stop to the bathroom to wash his face, Charles returned to the ward quickly.

All he could do was fix his gaze on Sheryl and worry, wondering why she was still unconscious. He knew he would never relax until she woke up.

About half an hour later, Nancy suddenly called his attention in excitement. "Mr. Lu, look! Sher's fingers! They moved." She pointed it out, her eyes welling up with tears.