The Apple of My Eye

David couldn't help but feel bad for Clark as he looked at him. He squatted, so he could nod and smile at the little boy.

David sighed in relief when Isla and Clark left. He then returned to Charles's office.

"Are they gone?" Charles glanced at David. He looked tired.

"Yes."

David sighed upon noticing the embarrassed look on Charles's face. "Mr. Lu, I don't think this is right. I think Clark still plans on coming back."

"Why?" Charles looked at David in confusion.

"I don't know this kid well enough, but I saw it in his eyes. He really wants to see you, and he's not going to give up until he does," David replied meaningfully.

"I can just keep hiding. I can't see Clark right now." Charles didn't want to face Clark.

Or rather, he didn't know how to face Clark.

"Okay, Mr. Lu." David knew that Charles probably wasn't in the best mood right now, so he figured it would be better if he just kept quiet.

Sheryl woke up when Isla had brought Clark back home. She immediately noticed that Clark was upset. She couldn't help but feel worried, so she glanced at Isla, partly in questioning. "Clark's fine. We just went out to eat some ice cream," Isla said, shrugging.

"Mommy, it's getting late. I'm tired. I'm going to bed," Clark said. Then he left and headed to his room.

Sheryl had never seen Clark like this, so she was quite concerned. She turned to Isla.

Just by this glance, Isla already felt guilty. She almost admitted the truth before Sheryl could even ask.

"All right, I'm going now. I'll drop by tomorrow to visit the kids. Good night." Just like that, Isla had left before Sheryl could even respond.

As Sheryl watched Isla leave, she slowly realized something, so she went to the kids' room.

Shirley was already sound asleep, but Clark's eyes were wide open. He was staring at the door when Sheryl came in.

"Clark, why are you still up?" Sheryl said, smiling faintly as she approached him. She was a completely different person from earlier that afternoon.

"Mommy, I miss Daddy." Clark was visibly upset as he looked at Sheryl.

Sheryl suddenly didn't know what to say as she looked at Clark. Should she admit that they'd gotten a divorce and that he wouldn't be seeing his father for quite a while?

"Daddy's been busy with work. Since you're a good boy, he'll come and visit you when his schedule is lighter, okay?" Sheryl responded softly, hoping that Clark would believe her.

"Okay. Thanks, Mommy. I believe you." Clark was sensible enough to not tell his mother what Isla had told him. He didn't want to believe Isla anyway. For now, he was going to choose to believe that his parents hadn't divorced.

"Clark, just be a good boy and go to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

Sheryl rubbed Clark's back until he'd fallen soundly asleep.

Meanwhile, Sheryl was having trouble sleeping, no matter how hard she tried. She just didn't want the divorce to affect the kids.

The next day

Sheryl was up early since she'd barely gotten any sleep anyway.

"Ms. Xia, were you able to sleep?" Joan prompted upon seeing Sheryl's red eyes and checking the clock.

"Yes. I just got up. I'm going to work now. Take care of the kids."

Sheryl didn't have the courage to face the kids yet. She just thought that sooner or later, she was going to have to tell the kids about the divorce, but for now, she just couldn't do that yet. "Okay, Ms. Xia. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the kids. You can go to work." Joan nodded at Sheryl as a way to console her. She then went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the kids. Sheryl then left and headed to work.

Sheryl was surprised to find that Isla was just as early as she was.

"What are you going to do? It's so early." Sheryl soon noticed that Isla was acting strangely. She immediately concluded that Isla must have been hiding something from her.

"Ah, Sher, you're here early too," Isla said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Isla, I'm asking you for the last time. Where did you go with Clark yesterday?" Sheryl could tell that something was up with Clark after he'd come home with Isla last night. When she thought it over, she could only conclude that it must have something to do with Isla.

"Didn't I tell you already? We went to the playground and got some ice cream," Isla said, widening her eyes.

"Where are you going now then?" Sheryl needed to be sure as she didn't know what to think.

"I have a play date with Clark today. We're going to the playground again," Isla responded, looking Sheryl in the eye.

"Fine. I'm not in the mood today anyway. You can spend time with Clark for me." After which, Sheryl headed inside the office and left Isla.

Isla was sensible enough to stop talking. She was relieved to find Sheryl had let her go.

About an hour later, Isla and Clark were once again back at Shining Company. As they exchanged glances, they acted strangely.

"Auntie Isla, aren't we coming to see Daddy? Why do we need to act like this?" Even though Clark was young, he could still tell that Isla was acting strangely.

Isla couldn't help but feel embarrassed to be questioned by a kid like that. She scratched her head as she glanced at him, coughing. "Don't say that. We're acting completely normal. I'm just not sure what your dad's up to. No one's here. Come on. Let's go upstairs, in case he's just avoiding us."

Clark didn't understand what Isla meant, but he still listened to her and did as he was told.

The receptionist was busy with some paper work, so she didn't notice them.

Isla went straight to Charles's office only to find it empty.

David didn't know what to do when he saw Isla go straight to Charles's office. He frowned. "Ms. Zhao, what are you doing?"

"Where's Charles?" Isla said, eyeing David carefully in case he was lying.

"Mr. Lu's not here right now."

When they were told this yesterday, Isla only felt upset for Clark. But now, she was already getting angry as she could tell that something was up.

"When will my Daddy come back?" Clark looked at David expectantly.

David scratched his head nervously. He glanced at Clark as he thought of an answer. "Clark, I don't know. Mr. Lu went out for work, and he's probably not coming back anytime soon."

"He's not coming back?" Isla noticed David blinking very fast and assumed that he was hiding something from her.

"Ah, I don't know. I don't know when he's coming back." David glanced at Isla, panicked.

"You don't know? David, do you really think I'm going to buy that?" Isla stared at David in disbelief.

The minute David met Isla's gaze, he immediately looked away and kept averting his gaze the entire time.

"Fine. Since Charles isn't here, we're going, but please tell him that if he continues to hide from us, he won't see his kids anymore," Isla said ruthlessly as she grabbed Clark's hand, storming out.