The Apple of My Eye

"Let's wait until you get off work!" Isla was too frustrated to talk. All she wanted was to hit someone.

Cassie grew silent. She kept worrying as she watched Isla's back disappear down the corridor. She didn't go back to work until Isla had left the hospital building.

The head nurse was a friend of Cassie's, and she knew Cassie had been doing the night shift for the past few days. She felt sorry for Cassie since the night shift was quite demanding and tiring. She called Cassie to the lounge.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?" Cassie had just finished changing a patient's dressing when she was told that the head nurse wanted to see her.

She quietly stood in front of the head nurse. Even though she and the head nurse were friends, Cassie figured it was better to keep a distance when it came to work as she didn't want their colleagues to gossip about them.

"Cassie, we're the only ones here. You don't need to act like that. Relax. You must be so exhausted!" the head nurse said. The head nurse was around 40 years old. She saw Cassie as her little sister. Upon hearing what the head nurse said, Cassie smiled, pouted, and said, "Yes, I'm exhausted. I've been doing the night shift for two straight days!"

The head nurse was amused by Cassie. She shook her head and said to Cassie, "I know. You always let someone else rest first while you work. I mean, I know you aren't married yet, but you shouldn't be working so hard. Don't you think you should be spending some time with your boyfriend?"

"He's fine with it. He's actually very supportive. We're both still so young, so we want to focus on our careers, for now," Cassie answered.

The head nurse seemed to be satisfied with Cassie's answer.

The head nurse looked at her watch, and it was about time to change shifts. So she asked Cassie to leave and get off work.

"What? Are you kidding me, ma'am?" Cassie asked the head nurse in disbelief.

"What's the problem with you, Cassie? Others would be happy to get off work! You want to stay here and continue working? Fine! I won't force you to leave," the head nurse shrugged and teased Cassie. "No, no, no, ma'am. That's not what I meant! Thank you so much!" Cassie said as she reached out to hug the head nurse. When she left the lounge, she was humming and beaming.

The head nurse couldn't help but smile as she watched Cassie leave. She heaved a sigh of relief as Cassie had been working so hard lately that she often forgot to eat or rest while on duty. She didn't want Cassie to be burned out if she continued that way.

Soon, Cassie changed her clothes and went to find Isla.

Isla couldn't sit still in her car. She could feel her insides burning with anger. If Sheryl hadn't told her not to do anything, she would be at the Shining Company right now confronting Charles.

When Cassie went to Isla's car, she could see that Isla was lost in thought. She looked through the window and hesitantly waved at Isla.

Isla quickly opened the door and gestured for Cassie to get in.

"You're off work?" Isla asked Cassie in confusion. She thought that Cassie had asked to get off work early because of her.

"Yeah, the head nurse is so nice. She let me go home early tonight," Cassie answered, smiling.

Then something occurred to Cassie. She asked Isla in concern, "Isla, what happened?"

"Charles and Sheryl got a divorce."

"What?" Cassie asked Isla in disbelief as her eyes widened.

"Get in the car, and I'll tell you everything!" Isla said, flustered. She just needed to talk to someone.

Cassie immediately got into the car. Isla then slammed her foot on the gas and drove off.

Cassie was shaken by Isla's driving. She could feel a lump form in her throat as she placed her hand on Isla's shoulder. "Isla, slow down. This isn't safe anymore!"

"Don't worry. We won't get into an accident. Trust me," Isla said, smiling bashfully. Still, she slowed down a bit for Cassie's sake.

Soon, they arrived at the seaside.

Isla got out of the car first. The breeze blew on her face. She heaved a sigh as she complained to Cassie, "I just didn't expect that Charles and Sheryl would push through with the divorce. I feel so bad for Sheryl."

"Isla, tell me what happened? I'm so confused." Cassie could still remember what had happened when they went to the airport to pick Sheryl up. That was just a few days ago.

Charles loved Sheryl and only Sheryl. He wouldn't ever leave her. Cassie had assumed they had gotten back together, but now they had gotten a divorce? She didn't know what was happening.

"I'm not sure what happened either. What I know is that Charles has been dating this other woman, and he says he's going to marry her. So this other woman answered the phone when Sheryl called and asked her to leave Charles alone. How am I supposed to calm down?" Isla said, all in one breath.

It was a lot for Cassie to take in. She had had no idea any of this was happening. She didn't know what to think.

It took a while for Cassie to clear her mind.

"Isla, President Lu's such an asshole. And who's that woman anyway? Let's go find her now!" Cassie normally thought things through before doing anything, but she just couldn't stand Charles treating Sheryl like that.

"You think I haven't thought of doing that? Sheryl wouldn't let me! She told me it was her business and that we shouldn't get involved. Only she and Charles can fix this." Isla felt upset as she thought friends were supposed to be there for each other. Sheryl wasn't even letting her do that. While she understood that Sheryl just didn't want to cause trouble for anyone or make them worry about her, she just couldn't stand by and watch the same person hurt her best friend over and over again.

Cassie couldn't help but feel frustrated. She lowered her head. Her mind was a mess.

"Isla, what should we do? Are we just going to sit back and do nothing?" As much as they both wanted to help Sheryl, they knew they couldn't do anything since Sheryl had already asked them not to. They felt helpless, and they didn't like this feeling.

"I really don't know, Cassie. Let's just wait and see what happens. We can't do anything to worry Sheryl anymore as she already has a lot on her plate." Isla had only come to Cassie because she wanted someone to talk to, but she didn't expect Cassie to figure out a solution for her.

They then went to a restaurant to have dinner.

In the hospital

Charles looked at Vicky, trying his best to suppress his anger. After the call that Vicky had just interrupted, it was going to be more difficult for him now to explain his relationship with Vicky to Sheryl. Even though he and Sheryl had pushed through with the divorce, that wasn't what he wanted at all. He just figured divorcing Sheryl first before he dealt with Vicky would be much better as he didn't want to involve Sheryl in any of this. He just didn't think that Vicky would speak to Sheryl. He didn't even want to think what Sheryl must be feeling right now.

"Charles, who was that woman? Is she your ex-wife?" Vicky glared at Charles, her eyes filled with calculation as she scrutinized him.

"That's none of your business. I did hit you, and I'm sorry about that. However, I won't marry you. No matter how many times you ask me, I won't change my mind," Charles said firmly. He realized this was the only way to deal with Vicky now, or else he wouldn't be able to get out of this.

"No, Charles. You can't do that. If you don't marry me, I'll kill myself! I'm going to do it right now!" Tears streamed down her face as she pulled out the tubes that were attached to her.