The Apple of My Eye

As Sheryl got off the plane, she felt a sense of familiarity. She looked around as the wind brushed against her face. The city looked pretty much the same, except for some overexcited happy faces waiting to welcome her back home.

"Sher..." Isla shrieked out of joy. She was the first to see Sheryl. Her eyes were filled with tears as she flung her arms around Sheryl.

Sheryl was also happy to meet her after such a long time. She took quick steps ahead. They gave each other a big hug.

"Sheryl, thank God you came back, finally. If you didn't come back, I would have gone to Australia to search for you." Isla looked at Sheryl grudgingly and pretended to hit her on her shoulder. Sheryl was moved to see all her friends who had come to receive her.

"Sher, Isla, please, don't start crying now. Otherwise, I'll not be able to control my tears either." Cassie's eyes were also filled with tears. "Stop crying, okay?" Nick was confused to see all three the women become so emotional and teary-eyed.

Together, they drove Sheryl home to drop her luggage. Then they headed out to have dinner.

In fact, they hadn't had a party like this for a long time.

By the time their dinner came, Isla was so drunk that she began to blame Charles.

Charles didn't speak a word in retaliation. Rather, he just listened to her. It seemed that Charles was ready to take all the blame upon himself.

Sheryl felt uncomfortable. Initially, she was skeptical that Charles would get angry. And if he got into an argument with Isla, there would be a scene in the restaurant. But as she saw that Charles was patiently listening to what Isla was saying, she became assured.

Aron tried to stop Isla. Even he was afraid that they might break into an argument if she continued like this.

"What? I must stop talking? That is impossible. Sher has been wronged by others. And it was all because of Charles. If Ferry hadn't threatened Sheryl and told her that he would kill Charles, Sheryl would never have demanded a divorce. I saw her at that time. She was in so much pain!"

"What are you talking about?" Isla's words came as a whip on Charles' skin. He sat upright and stared at her with a frown.

"You don't know this? Oh! Don't tell me you don't know this! How come? Did you fall from the sky to finally hear this?" Isla was unhappy to see that Charles was oblivious about Ferry's threatening Sheryl. He had collected so much evidence to send Ferry to prison. How come he missed this one?

Charles turned his eyes from Isla to look at Sheryl. He did not speak a word but demanded an explanation from Sheryl regarding this.

Had it not been for Isla, who revealed this information to him, Sheryl would not have told this to him at all.

Sheryl avoided looking at Charles. By her reaction, Charles knew that what Isla had said was true. Yes, Isla was right. He was the one to be blamed.

Charles was repentant. Now, he felt that he had been so stupid because he didn't know that Ferry had threatened Sheryl. He didn't know it until Isla told him.

"Sher, I am so sorry. I am responsible for everything. I am the one to be blamed!" After saying this, Charles could not speak another word. He remained silent and began to drink.

At the end of the dinner, Isla was so drunk that Aron had to drive her home.

After they left, Sheryl and others also decided to go home.

"Sher, I will drive Cassie home." Nick found that since Isla mentioned Ferry, Charles hadn't said a word. He knew that Charles must be having a lot in his mind that he wanted to say to Sheryl. Therefore, he decided to leave and let them talk.

Sheryl came back to the private room after she said goodbye to Nick and Isla. Charles was sitting alone. He was still drinking.

"Stop drinking, Charles. It is time to go home." After Sheryl finished speaking, she took Charles' hand and tried to lead him outside the restaurant.

All of a sudden, Charles hugged Sheryl. He put his head on her shoulder, and his whole body was trembling.

Charles felt extremely bitter and repentant for all that Sheryl had been through because of him.

"Sher, I am so sorry. I was wrong. Why didn't you say anything?" Charles couldn't stop blaming himself. He didn't know what he could say.

Sheryl touched Charles' back and said with a smile, "Don't think of it. It's all in the past. David is waiting for us downstairs. Let's go."

After saying that, Sheryl left the room with Charles.

David opened the door for them. After they got into the car, David felt that there was something wrong. He turned back and asked Sheryl, "Mrs. Xia, what's the matter?" "Nothing! Nothing at all."

"How are things going with Ferry in the prison?" Charles asked David in a stern voice, and there was a furious look in his eyes.

David felt confused as Charles abruptly demanded a status update about Ferry. But he still answered his question.

"Ferry is still in prison. He has offended a lot of people before, so his enemies want to punish him now. He lives a miserable life in prison."

Charles felt a little more comfortable upon hearing that. He remained thoughtful for a while and continued, saying, "Arrange someone to watch over him. Don't let him die. I want him to live a long and miserable life."

"Yes, Mr. Lu!" Though David didn't know what had made Charles so vengeful towards Ferry all of a sudden, he didn't ask further and accepted his order.

Sheryl knew what Charles meant. She was about to say something to pacify him but stopped herself. She realized that if he didn't vent out his anger, he would feel even more vexed.

Charles didn't say anything on the way home. He was drunk. He just held Sheryl's hand throughout. As if he was afraid that Sheryl would leave him if he fell asleep.

Soon, the car had arrived at the Dream Garden.

Sheryl looked out of the window at the house and felt a tug at her heartstrings. She felt a little nervous and uncomfortable. She was not willing to go into the house. However, she stepped out of the car and stood there, staring at Dream Garden.

Charles saw that Sheryl was standing in front of the house but was not willing to go in. He hugged Sheryl immediately and said with a gentle expression, "Sher, it won't happen again. I promise. I will protect you in the future. Please believe me!"

"Come in!" Sheryl didn't say anything, but she quietly slid away from Charles' arms.

She knew that all those unpleasant days were in the past. Yet she couldn't forget it. It was like a knife that cut her heart into pieces.

Charles saw Sheryl's back and felt restless. Her silence made him feel miserable.

David had called Melissa in advance. She knew that Charles was coming home with Sheryl. Though it was late, she was still waiting in the living room because she wanted to apologize to Sheryl. "Sher, I am so happy to see you! You have finally come back." As soon as Melissa saw Sheryl, she walked towards her. It seemed that she was excited to see Sheryl.

Sheryl marked Melissa's excitement. She nodded her head, but she dodged when Melissa wanted to take her hand.

Melissa understood that there had been a lot of misunderstanding between them. But she believed that over time everything would be fine.

"Well, Mom, it is late. Thank you for waiting for me." Sheryl felt a little embarrassed. She looked at Melissa and helped Charles to go upstairs. Charles had drunk so much that he couldn't walk on his own.

At that moment, Charles looked like a small and cute cat who followed Sheryl to go upstairs.