The Apple of My Eye

"Charles, how are you going to get Sheryl back to this house?" Melissa said with a sigh. She anxiously hoped that Sheryl could move back to live with them just like before.

Charles was touched by his mother's words. A smile crept on his lips as he nodded to her and answered, "Mom, rest assured. I know her very well. I will plan everything carefully. Sheryl will come back to this house as your daughter-in-law!"

"Alright. I hope everything falls into place soon." Melissa was much more assured after marking the confidence in Charles' words. She patted Charles' back before he walked out of the house. At Shining Company

Charles had been away from the company for quite a long time. Surely as he came back, there would be a lot of work waiting for him that demanded his special attention? Therefore, he did not have the luxury to waste time anymore before heading to the company.

In the office, David looked like he had something on his mind that he wanted to share with Charles.

"What's up? Is there anything you want to tell me?" Knowing David so well for such a long time, Charles immediately marked the hesitation in him.

"Mr. Lu, when I was driving Ms. Xia back yesterday, she said something really weird..." David thought that it was important for him to share the piece of information with Charles.

Charles' face broke into a smile.

He knew that his plan had worked. Sheryl must feel conflicted in her mind right now. It wouldn't take long for her to sway to his side.

"Alright. I get it. You can go back to work now," Charles said to David in a gentle voice.

For the entire morning, Charles remained neck-deep in the piles of documents he needed to look through, approve, and sign.

Meanwhile, Sheryl's side of the story in the Cloud Advertising Company was no different.

The moment Sheryl came back, Isla pushed all the company matters to her.

She walked into her office to be welcomed by files piled up on her desk. Sheryl shared a pitiful glance with Isla.

"Isla," Sheryl begged when Isla didn't seem to pity her at all. "Must you do this to me?"

"Stop doing that," Isla replied in a stern voice. "I'm not Charles. You should take your own responsibilities. When you were not around, I was taking care of everything all by myself." Isla started to complain.

She kept complaining until Sheryl couldn't take it anymore. "All right. All right." Sheryl shrugged. "You're absolutely right! I'll do everything. Okay?"

"Great! Then, I'll go shopping now. Enjoy your time working!" Isla put on a smug smile.

Sheryl had no choice but to stay in the office and do her work. It was indeed her responsibility, as Isla had been busy running the company when she was away.

It was Isla's part of the job to only be in charge of the relations and partnerships with other companies. However, when Sheryl wasn't around, she had to handle the internal issues as well, which must have been quite demanding for her.

After a short while, Phoebe barged in.

Recently, Phoebe had been working closely with Isla. She, too, had developed the bad habit of opening the door without knocking first. It was only when she saw Sheryl that she became conscious of her inappropriate behavior. She scratched her head in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Xia. I forgot."

"Never mind about that," Sheryl said with a casual smile. "You must have been very busy lately. You can take a few days off." Having noticed that Phoebe seemed to have lost some weight, Sheryl felt bad for not taking better care of her employees.

"Ms. Xia, please don't say that. It's part of my job." Phoebe became much more relieved when Sheryl showed no sign of being offended.

"Alright. Keep up the good work!" Phoebe passed Sheryl the files in her hand before leaving.

Soon, it was noon.

Sheryl was submerged in work when she got a call from Charles. And then, suddenly she realized that it was lunchtime already.

"Mrs. Lu, do you want to eat lunch with me?" Charles seemed to be in a good mood. His voice was filled with joy.

As Sheryl was about to reject, Charles spoke first, saying, "I'm coming to pick you up. Come down in fifteen minutes."

And then he hung up the phone, leaving no chance for Sheryl to turn down his offer. Since there was no room for negotiation, Sheryl had no choice but to agree.

"Knock! Knock!"

"Ms. Xia, it is lunchtime! We're going to have a group meal! Would you like to join us?" Phoebe knew that Sheryl was a person who would forget to eat when she was busy working. That was why she had come to ask when it was lunchtime.

"No. You can go without me!"

Sheryl continued to work until it was about the time for Charles to pick her up. Then she put the files aside, picked up her handbag, and went down to the ground floor.

Charles was already waiting by the time Sheryl reached the ground floor. She saw Charles the moment she stepped off the elevator.

"You're early," Sheryl remarked.

"I'm here to pick up my sweetheart for lunch. Of course, I'm early!" Charles put on a smug smile as he exclaimed.

"What makes you so happy?" Sheryl couldn't help being amused by Charles' over joyed demeanor.

Both of them got into the car, and Charles drove to her favorite seafood restaurant. It had been a long time since they last came here, yet the familiar ambiance and taste made them feel at home. The two of them happily enjoyed their delectable meal. Sheryl couldn't help being amused by Charles' overjoyed demeanor.

For the next few days, Charles came to pick Sheryl up for lunch every single day. At night, Charles would spend quality time with Sheryl and the kids. Without Sheryl realizing it, they seemed to have restored their relationship. However, their peaceful life suddenly turned upside down with an unexpected visitor.

A few days later, on a particular day, Charles told Sheryl that he would come to pick her up. However, after waiting for Charles for half an hour, she still didn't see him. Agitated, she dialed Charles' number, but Charles hung up the call immediately.

Sheryl gazed at her phone with disbelief. 'He just promised to treat me well a few days ago. What's happening now? Did he change his mind again?' Sheryl thought angrily.

Thinking about that, she stomped back to her office without even having lunch.

For the entire afternoon, Sheryl's mind was occupied with this issue. She didn't call his number again, expecting to get a call back from him. However, and again to her surprise, there wasn't even a message from Charles.

The next day

Sheryl felt that it was rather weird. 'Charles isn't such an irresponsible person. More than half a day is gone, and he hasn't even called me back. This is rather weird for a man like Charles! No matter how busy he is, he should have called me,' Sheryl thought.

Thinking about it, Sheryl started to have a terrible feeling. Her anger was gradually being replaced by anxiousness and concern for Charles. She left everything and headed to the Shining Company.

Joan watched Sheryl as she rushed out of the house. Worried that there might be something wrong, she called Nancy at once.

At that time, Nancy was busy preparing breakfast. She was puzzled when she saw the call from Joan. Nevertheless, she picked up the call.

"Nancy, do you know if something has happened between Ms. Xia and Mr. Lu?" Joan asked straightaway without getting into any further conversation with Nancy.

"No. Why?" Nancy became even more bewildered. She hadn't seen Sheryl since that night. Now that Joan asked, she was worried if everything was fine with Sheryl. "Okay...This morning, Ms. Xia rushed out of the house. So I'm a bit worried..." Joan heaved a sigh.

"Wait! Mr. Lu didn't come back home yesterday!" Nancy suddenly remembered something strange the night before. 'Is it because of that?' she thought in her mind.

Last night Melissa kept calling Charles, but none of the calls were answered. It was David who called back to inform Melissa that Charles wouldn't be coming back. Then Melissa had given up and gone to bed.