The Apple of My Eye

Charles had seen a lot, but upon seeing this, an acid taste rose up in his throat that was bitter to the tongue.

Suddenly, Charles' phone rang.

"President Lu, Leila has committed suicide."

"Yes, I know."

Charles hung up the call and dialed another number. Before leaving the hospital, he made some other arrangements first.

In the Cloud Advertising Company

"Phoebe, what did you just say? I beg your pardon?!" Isla asked Phoebe in disbelief.

Isla had been quite busy with work these past few days, and she hadn't been able to catch up with the news. She didn't know Ferry was in jail until she checked the news that morning.

Frankly, she was relieved when she saw the news. Ferry was the one who had threatened Sheryl into getting a divorce from Charles. Sheryl's life wouldn't be miserable if it weren't for Ferry. Now that he was locked up in jail, no one was going to bother Sheryl anymore.

"I heard President Lu was behind Ferry being arrested. I asked Josef, and he told me about President Lu's scheme. Oh, and Leila committed suicide. She jumped from the hospital building's roof..." Phoebe said to Isla, who was visibly relieved and happy.

"Leila deserves that. She should've done that a long time ago. She should be thankful that no one had killed her yet," Isla snidely commented as she looked at Phoebe.

Phoebe and Isla exchanged glances before smiling at each other.

In the Dream Garden

Melissa restlessly sat on the sofa as she waited for news from Charles. She was quite worried as she didn't know what kind of tricks Leila had up her sleeve. When the door opened, Melissa jumped up and rushed to the door. Upon seeing it was Nancy, she couldn't help but be a little frustrated. "Oh. You're back."

"Yes, Mrs. Lu. Are you okay?" Nancy asked, a bit embarrassed. She had no idea what was going on.

Melissa seemed a bit gentler and softer than she was before. She sighed before responding to Nancy. "I'm fine, Nancy. Thanks for asking. Thanks for all your hard work over these past few days. Charles told me everything..."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Lu. We're family after all. It was all just Leila's fault."

Nancy hadn't actually gotten fired as it was just part of Charles' plan. She had received a call from a servant in the Dream Garden to give her the green light that she could return to the Garden again.

"Yes, you're right. It was all Leila's fault. I wonder what's happening now." Even though Leila had done a lot of terrible things, Melissa couldn't help but still feel a bit attached to her. After all, they had spent so much time together.

Charles came back while Melissa and Nancy were talking.

"Charles, how did everything go?" Melissa asked anxiously.

Charles smiled at Melissa, took her hand, and walked her to the sofa as he spoke, "Mom, everything's fine. You don't need to worry. All you need to worry about is your health, so get a lot of rest. That's what's important right now."

"Really? You settled everything?" Melissa looked into Charles' eyes in an attempt to confirm that Charles was telling her the truth.

Charles smiled at Melissa again and looked into her eyes to reassure her.

Melissa was relieved upon seeing the look of determination on Charles' face. "Finally. I'm so relieved, Charles!"

After everything that had happened, Melissa had learned quite a lot. It was completely normal for people to make mistakes. What was important was that one learned from one's mistakes. Turning mistakes into lessons are what makes a person better.

Since that day, Melissa had changed into a completely different person. She was considerate and kind, which was a little unsettling for Nancy. Charles had already told Nancy in advance what was going to happen, so she was able to prepare mentally.

"Charles, are you going to work?" Melissa asked Charles.

"Yes, Mom. Why?" Charles had already changed into a fresh suit and was just about to leave. However, when he saw the look on Melissa's face, he couldn't help but be worried.

"What happened, Mom? You don't look so well," Charles asked Melissa seriously.

Melissa sighed before responding, "Charles, now that everything's settled with Leila and the company... Well, I was wondering when you were going to find Sher and talk to her?" Charles' face turned gloomy upon the mention of Sheryl.

He had booked a flight to Australia that afternoon. Unfortunately, something came up that he had to deal with, so he had rescheduled his flight to tomorrow afternoon. He was already quite pissed about it, so Melissa mentioning it at all just reminded that he was going to have to wait another day to see Sheryl.

"Mom, I still have to deal with something at work. I'll fly there tomorrow once I've handled everything here."

"All right, as long as you have a plan. By the way, do you mind if I give Sheryl a call before you head down there?" Melissa knew she was partly at fault for Charles and Sheryl divorcing. She couldn't help but feel guilty and longed to apologize to Sheryl.

"Mom, please don't do that. You can talk to her in person when I bring her back." There was no way that Charles was going to let Melissa talk to Sheryl for now. He was scared that they would get into another fight.

"Charles, I know what you're worried about but just relax. I've realized a lot of things, and I've changed. It was Leila's fault. I won't fight with Sheryl anymore, and I'm even planning to apologize to her. In fact, I feel bad for her." Melissa knew what Charles was thinking, so she thought to explain herself to Charles in order to convince him.

Charles shook his head and smiled at Melissa. "Mom, I know, but I just want to fix things between me and Sheryl first. I just don't want to involve anyone right now."

Melissa decided to let it go since there seemed to be no changing Charles' mind.

"All right, all right. I'll wait. If you need any help, just call me, okay?" Melissa said, giving in. She knew only Charles could save his own marriage.

Charles then left the Dream Garden and headed to work. All the while, he kept wishing he could fly to Sheryl right now and tell her how much he had missed her the entire time she had been away.

In Australia

"Mom, I miss Dad. Can't we just go back home?" Shirley asked Sheryl hopefully. She was pouting and pleading with Sheryl.

Sheryl's heart sunk upon hearing this for she, too, missed Charles. However, as much as she wanted to do something, she couldn't. She didn't know what was happening with the Lu Family and the Shining Company right now. Wherever she went, bodyguards would follow her and wouldn't let her go anywhere else or even talk to anyone. She felt like she was being imprisoned.

"I know, Shirley. Can you wait for a few more days? Dad's busy. I know he plans to fly here once he's done with work." That was the only thing Sheryl could think of saying to comfort Shirley as she really didn't know what was happening with Charles.

"Mom, what's happening? I think something bad is happening," Clark asked Sheryl. He'd been so worried since the first day they arrived here.

"Why would you ask that?" Sheryl asked, furrowing her brows. However, she immediately replaced this with a smile as she didn't want Clark to worry.

"Isn't it pretty obvious? Why did we move here all of a sudden? We're being surrounded by bodyguards, and they won't let us go outside. If everything's really fine, then what is this all about?" Clark explained. He stared at Sheryl so that she wouldn't lie to him.

Sheryl was amused by Clark. He really was wise beyond his years.

"Don't worry, Clark. Everything's fine. We moved here because of the flu. I was afraid you and Shirley might catch it." Sheryl smiled as she spoke. She had already mastered lying to her children when needed.