The Substitute Bride

Sheryl rushed to leave after she picked up her satchel and made up her mind, but she realized that she hadn't changed her clothes. She rummaged through the closet in the office lounge and managed to pull out the silky satin evening gown she wore last time to a party.

A quick once-over to check how she looked in the mirror, and then she went back to hurriedly stomping out.

'Fine, that was it!'

After the change of clothes and grabbing her handbag again, Sheryl rushed to the appointed restaurant.

She found Duke was already waiting for her when she hurriedly arrived at the restaurant. It looked like he had been waiting for a while.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late. There was something that I had to take care of..." Sheryl apologized as she quickly walked over to him.

"That is alright, President Xia. I just arrived. Please take a seat." Duke gestured to the seat across him and really didn't seem like he minded at all.

Sheryl felt a bit strange as she sat down, 'Where was Duke's assistant?'

It only took a quick glance for Duke to understand Sheryl's confusion, and he didn't miss a beat as he explained, "Danny met an old friend, so he won't be joining us this evening, President Xia. I hope you don't mind?"

There was a surprised pause before Sheryl said, "Not at all. Well, let's order something to eat."

"Oh. I already ordered," Duke replied abruptly.

Feeling a bit stunned, Sheryl stared at him because she didn't understand why he already ordered.

"You see...I saw many people here when I arrived, and I was thinking that you haven't eaten before coming here since it was immediately after work. I didn't want you to wait for a long time for the food, so I ordered food without waiting to consult your opinion, President Xia. I think the dishes are almost ready. How about we try it first? We'll order something else if you don't like it. What do you think?" Duke explained.

Sheryl was speechless as she thought, 'This guy is so thoughtful. He must be a good guy since he is taking such good care of me, even on our first dinner together.'

"Well...Thank you very much for your consideration, President Li." Sheryl could only express her thanks.

Duke shook his head immediately as he said, "You're welcome. Actually, I'm the one who should be thanking you. Thank you in advance for taking the time to show me around tomorrow. But since tomorrow is the weekend...I'm not sure if

t with great horror.

The entire dinner was a torture for her because when Duke raised questions about her personal life, Sheryl had to scramble and try her best to change the topic. Yet this dreadful man always managed to lead her back to the topic he wanted to discuss, and it exhausted her to try and keep up with the troublesome dinner.

Once they finished dinner, Sheryl was filled with relief because she thought she could finally get out of this embarrassing situation.

'Everything would be fine once I send him back to the hotel.'

Yet the cruel reality went against her wishes.

"Sher, you don't have to rush home yet, do you?" Duke asked unexpectedly.

He didn't give Sheryl time to respond as he continued, "If you don't have to hurry home, can you go to the shopping mall with me? I need to buy some daily supplies. What do you think?"

'What do I think?' Sheryl felt completely helpless as she sighed to herself. 'What else can I think? Since you've already asked for my favor so bluntly, how could I turn you down? Wouldn't it sound rude if I turned my back on you?'

There was nothing she could do to stop it. 'Fine! It isn't that I've never gone shopping before. I went shopping with other women. Now I have to go shopping with a man. What is the difference? Right, it is not that big of a deal!'

Sheryl made up her mind to send Duke to the hotel as soon as possible after they finished shopping and that she would stand up to him tomorrow. No, that wasn't enough. She had to try and politely reject any invitation from this guy unless there was a formal occasion she had to attend.