The Apple of My Eye

"If there's nothing else, I need to go," Sheryl said, turning her gaze away from Charles. She had so many feelings stirring in her heart. She sighed inwardly as she made to leave.

"What are you so scared of?" Charles' hoarse and low voice croaked before she could even take a step.

Sheryl sneered and rolled her eyes. 'Has he lost his mind? This is ridiculous!' she thought to herself.

After their divorce, so many things had happened that Sheryl had already given up on the idea that they could still get back together. They didn't have any business with each other anymore. If anything, he was just the father of her kids.

Apart from that, Sheryl had no interest in keeping in contact with him. She just wanted to keep as much distance from him as it was possible. So she found it ridiculous that he was still thinking that way. She then turned slowly and looked him square in the face. He was quite handsome. Something stirred in her heart. She sighed inwardly.

Charles kept his gaze fixated on her-watching her carefully. This look was something Sheryl was used to.

"Watch your mouth, Mr. Lu. I didn't ask you to be here. If you came all the way here just to say those things to me, keep it to yourself please," Sheryl spat sarcastically. "I almost misunderstood you. I thought you were jealous because I was out with another guy? Were you?"

Sheryl provoked him, something she had never done before.

If Charles cared about her and her feelings, he never should have hurt her in the first place. She knew that Charles had long moved on from her, especially since he was seeing someone else now.

Just as she expected, a disdainful smile appeared on Charles' face. "Wow, you're really good at making up stories," he said coldly.

Sheryl merely put on a knowing smile.

While she did regret saying these words, she had no choice now but to stand by them as she wasn't going to lose face in front of Charles.

"That's actually not true, Mr. Lu. If you aren't jealous, why are you angry? Let me remind you that we are already divorced, so who I go out with is none of your business!" Sheryl had already lost her temper and just wanted to slap Charles across the face.

"Of course, it's still my business!" Charles lowered his voice, gritting his teeth. "You're the mother of my kids. As you just said, we can't change the fact that we're parents. So you better clean up your act as you still need to be setting a good example to Clark and Shirley. Get my point?"

Sheryl widened her eyes in disbelief.

She was furious at this point. She couldn't believe Charles was saying all of this. The divorce had been Charles' idea, so she didn't know where Charles found the nerve to talk to her like that.

She didn't do anything wrong. She had the right to see whomever she wanted, and she couldn't believe Charles was holding it against her. If there was anyone who needed to be called out for their actions, it was Charles.

She didn't deserve to be treated like this. Sheryl shook her head and stared into Charles' eyes.

"Charles, please! Don't try to act like you're a saint. I didn't cheat on you. I won't take any of this anymore. I didn't do anything wrong," Sheryl sneered, her body trembling in anger. Charles put on a meaningful smile and said rather indifferently, "What's done is done. I've already taken full responsibility for all that I've done. Can you do the same? I don't think so!"

"What? Are you kidding me? I can't believe you! I'm leaving!" Sheryl shouted and turned away before things went too far. If it did, she wouldn't be able to handle it anymore.

It was getting harder and harder to get along with Charles now. She realized her and Charles getting along like before was just a pipe dream. She couldn't believe she had actually been with a man like this. He was so annoying!

"You always walk away from confrontations! That's what you always do!" Charles called from behind, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sheryl felt as if her head was going to explode. She clenched her hands into fists as she tried to resist the urge to smack him in the face. She told herself that Charles was only provoking her so that she would lose it and starting yelling at him. No matter what, she wasn't going to let him win.

Her mind told her to leave, but her body told her to stop. Still, she didn't turn or look back.

"Men are more complicated than you think, so you have to be careful. I don't think you'll like it if you get played with. It's hard to hear, but this is for your own good. Women tend to be blinded when they're lonely," Charles continued, unprovoked.

Sheryl turned to him with a look of questioning on her face. She seemed hurt as well.

She was finding it difficult to catch her breath, and her nails had dug into her palms. She was gasping for air, and her face was pale.

David was just standing nearby. He couldn't do anything when Charles began to confront Sheryl. He wanted to do something to stop this whole thing, but his hands were tied. He didn't like seeing Sheryl and Charles fight like this. "Ms. Xia, please don't get mad. Mr. Lu didn't mean to hurt you...he..." David tried to say.

"Then what is he doing now? Trying to impress me?" Sheryl hissed through her teeth.

Throughout this exchange, Charles kept his gaze on Sheryl, still looking cold. Then he sneered and stalked off. Taken aback by this, David didn't know what to do. He bowed to Sheryl and said, "See you around, Ms. Xia." Sheryl didn't respond. David heaved a deep sigh as he ran to catch up with Charles, looking a bit embarrassed.

Unable to move, Sheryl helplessly shook her head as she watched Charles disappear from her vision. She couldn't take it anymore, and she burst into tears.

'Charles, you don't have to keep doing this. I'll stay away from you from now on,' she thought.

She felt as if her body had been submerged in an icy cold river. She felt empty and cold as if all her emotions had disappeared along with Charles.

It took Sheryl quite a while before she was able to move her body. She had no idea how she managed to drive home. Her teeth were still chattering when she sat on the sofa in the living room. She felt as if an icy dagger was stabbing her heart.

Joan had noticed something was off with Sheryl as soon as she stepped into the living room. She hesitated for a moment before approaching Sheryl and asking, "Are you okay, Ms. Xia? Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm fine, Joan. You can go to bed and rest. I need some private time," Sheryl said mechanically. She was too stubborn to talk about it. She just wanted to mope around and lick her wounds. Joan silently returned to her room. Sheryl remained seated on the sofa-she kept replaying Charles' words in her head. It was almost driving her crazy.

She didn't know how much time had passed until she heard the children from upstairs. She rubbed her forehead and headed to the bathroom to wash her face so that she'd look a bit better when she faced the kids.

Soaking her face in the cold water for a while, she was lost in her own thoughts again. She then looked at the woman in the mirror. Her eyes were still swollen, and she still looked pale. Sheryl forced a smile to make herself feel a bit better.

Meanwhile, Joan heard the kids making some noise. She went out of her room, cast a glance toward the staircase, and found Sheryl in the bathroom. "Ms. Xia, are you there?"

"Yes, I am. I'll go and check on the kids," Sheryl said in a low muffled voice, burying her face in the towel.

Joan didn't leave. After a while, Sheryl walked out of the bathroom and went upstairs.

Joan shook her head. She figured something bad must have happened. She rarely saw Sheryl like this. The last time Sheryl was like this was when she and Charles had divorced. Sheryl went to the kids' room and was surprised to find that they were jumping up and down energetically. "Why are you two still up at this hour?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "Mommy, you're finally back! Do you remember what you promised us today?" Clark shouted as he ran to her.

Sheryl then recalled that she'd promised to tell them bedtime stories. She had told them that morning before leaving for work. However, she wasn't really in the mood now, especially after the whole Damian and Charles thing.

The only light in the kids' room was the bedside lamps that were turned on. The kids were still too young to understand what was happening. If they noticed that her eyes were swollen, they were definitely going to ask questions. She didn't even want to think about Charles right now, let alone talk about him. Luckily, she was able to come up with an excuse.