The Substitute Bride

Taking her opportunity while Sheryl was out, Sue dialed Anthony's number before she would change her mind.

The incessant ringing of his mobile phone woke Anthony. It was quite late, but he immediately reached out to answer the call. Since he didn't want to miss any calls from Sheryl, his phone was never on mute. Thinking it was Sheryl, he was surprised when he saw that the call was from Sue. "Miss Wang? Has anything happened to Sher?" he asked worriedly.

"No, no, Sher is all right." Sue hastened to dismiss his fears. She called Anthony to remind him about Sheryl covertly, but she didn't know how to effectively convey the message to him. Biting her lip, Sue was at a loss how to start the conversation. "Did I wake you up?" she asked fearfully.

"It's all right," Anthony replied, feeling relieved that there was no emergency. Since Sue was Sheryl's friend, he always treated her as his friend, too. "So, what's the news? Why are you calling at this time of night?"

She wanted to answer that "I'm worried that Sheryl might fall in love with other man." But instead she asked,"Shirley's birthday is coming up in a few days. How are you planning to celebrate it?"

"I don't have a plan yet," Anthony said, sounding annoyed. He couldn't believe that she woke him up just to ask what he was planning for Shirley's birthday.

His reply was unforthcoming, but Sue ignored it. "Sher used to celebrate Shirley's birthday every year, but she had to miss it this year because of work. I can see that she's very upset about that," she replied and then gave a pregnant pause. "If there's a way for Sher to celebrate Shirley's birthday without missing her work, that would be great," Sue hinted.

After listening to Sue's suggestion, Anthony decided to tell her about his plans. "Actually, I've already made plans for Shirley's birthday. You see, I had the same thought as you, so I booked a flight to Y City. We will arrive there in time for Shirley's birthday. I wanted to surprise Sher, so please don't tell her," Anthony requested.

"That's great to hear. Don't worry, I won't breathe a word to Sher. Thank you, Anthony. I'm sure she will be very surprised," Sue said, smiling. 'Anthony is coming. Once the man finds out what a great person Sheryl's boyfriend is, I'm sure he will stop pestering her, ' she thought happily.

In her eye

m. "What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

"I'm here to see Mrs. Lin," Leila said softly. Hearing Leila's voice, Chris looked up briefly and said,"Oh, Leila."

Sam never liked Leila, but for Chris' sake he decided to be civil. "I'm going to see the baby. Take your time," he said and left the room.

As soon as they were alone, Leila rushed to Chris' side and said miserably,"Mrs. Lin, you promised me that you would help me. You're the only one who can help me. Please, please, help me."

Leila grabbed Chris' hands desperately, trying to win her pity.

Leila's request put Chris in an awkward situation. How could she help her when she herself was already in trouble with her family for meddling in Charles' affairs?

Aghast, she withdrew her hands and told Leila reasonably,"It's not that I refuse to help you, but…"

With a frown of bewilderment, she continued,"As you can see, my hands are tied now. Even if I want to help you, I can't."

Leila's eyes narrowed angrily at Chris' words. "But you promised you'd help me. That's why I took your advice and acted boldly. What am I going to do without your support?" she demanded shrilly.

"I... " Chris felt a little guilty. Having a lot of time in her hands, she had time to think about what she did. She realized that she was wrong to force Charles to accept a woman he didn't love.

"I've done everything I can to help you," she said, looking up at Leila with a hint of pity in her eyes. "But you know, my words have no weight with my brother now. I can only offer you a piece of advice."