The Apple of My Eye

Seeing that Sheryl was in a carefree mood, Isla's face suddenly turned serious.

"Sher, I'm not kidding. I think it's absolutely vital for you and your kids that you talk with Charles. He has no right to come by whenever he wants. This is what you should tell him, so you can be free of him and have your own life. You need boundaries! First, he stays away from the children in the future unless he asks for your permission to visit the kids. Secondly, he can't take the kids out of your sight. Besides..." Isla was dead serious about the advice she was giving to Sheryl. Yet, Sheryl thought it was way too much, and she didn't want to listen to it.

She didn't even know Isla had such a serious side to her before.

"Isla, I have to drive Clark to Dream Garden later. After that, I will have to take care of Shirley in the hospital. I don't have much time left for being told what to do nor for scheduling time to talk with Charles." Sheryl changed the topic.

Isla widened her eyes in shock, uttering, "What did you say? Are you telling me that you are going to take your son to Dream Garden? I see you still haven't learned your lesson from yesterday's matter, have you?"

"What? Isla, come on. What do you expect me to do? Joan cannot take care of Clark right now since she has some private matters with her family to deal with. Furthermore, she will be gone for a while. I have to take Clark somewhere! Do you think I should take Clark to the hospital and let him stay there with his sister?" Sheryl shook her head, smiling ironically.

From this, Isla realized how complicated Sheryl's situation was.

"Okay, I understand. Well, how about taking Clark to my house. Let me take care of your son. I can..." Isla suggested after a while of hesitation.

Before Isla could even finish her words, Sheryl interrupted her and yelled, "Stop it! You can't do that!"

"Why? Don't you trust me? Don't you believe that I can take care of him?" Isla demanded in confusion. She kept staring at Sheryl, waiting for her answer.

With a helpless shake of her head, Sheryl explained, "No, I don't think you can. You are too busy to even take good care of your own kid. From what I know, your husband is the one actually taking care of your kid. And, yes, I really doubt that you can handle it with two! Also, now that we don't work together, I presume you are busier than before, aren't you? Are you still confident that you can take care of Clark?" Sheryl didn't mean to refuse Isla so meanly. She knew Isla had only good intentions. However, as Isla's best friend also, she knew her so well, and she really didn't think it was a good idea. Hearing Sheryl's words, Isla sank deeper into her thoughts. Thinking over all that was said, she knew what Sheryl had said really made sense. Indeed, having another kid in her house might cause a real disaster for her life. The only reason why Isla wanted to help was that she didn't agree with Sheryl sending Clark to Dream Garden.

Reading what was in Isla's head, Sheryl took a deep sigh of relief. She knew that she had finally driven those unpractical ideas out of Isla's mind. "Clark, are you ready? We are going to Dream Garden now!" Sheryl turned her head away and called out to her son.

In fact, Clark had been listening to the conversation from outside the whole time. Of course, his mom didn't know this, so when he heard his mother call out for him, he replied, "Yes, Mom." As if he hadn't been listening.

Although Clark was still a small kid, he knew that Isla currently held a grudge against his father. He also knew Isla's resentment toward his father was because Isla actually liked him herself. Surprisingly, Clark didn't blame Isla. He chose instead to understand her and bear with whatever Isla had to say about his father.

In fact, he had made up his mind just now. Even if Isla had persuaded his mother not to let him go to Dream Garden, he would have made up any excuse to go there. After all, he hadn't seen his grandmother and his father for such a long time. He missed them very much.

Sheryl and Clark were ready to set out for Dream Garden. Sheryl had expected Isla to be coming along with them, but when Isla just stood there in silence, both of them were confused. Sheryl reminded her by saying, "Isla, we are going! How about you? Will you come with us, or will you go back to your house?"

"Sheryl, you don't have to take Clark to Dream Garden." Isla gritted her teeth and continued, "I'll drive Clark to Dream Garden, and you can go directly to the hospital to take care of Shirley."

"What?" Sheryl felt surprised. In fact, Isla's idea was a good one that she should take. But she didn't know what Isla was up to. She felt suspicious.

Sheryl's hesitation annoyed Isla. She read what Sheryl was thinking at the moment. Rolling her eyes at Sheryl, Isla said, "What? You doubt me?" "Are you worried that I might make your precious son disappea halfway to Dream Garden? Or are you worried that I wouldn't take him to Dream Garden? Come on Sheryl! Relax! I promise you that I will do what I said I would. You can take me at my word."

"All right then." However, Sheryl still felt a little worried, so she added, just in case, "Please watch your mouth. Don't say anything reckless when you get there." Sheryl was afraid that Isla would come into conflict with Melissa again. After all, Sheryl knew that Isla and Melissa were just like water and oil. They didn't mix. "Don't worry. I won't put anyone in a difficult position, neither Charles nor Melissa. I'm not stupid like them." She took Clark's hand and led him out of the house.

Clark nodded to Sheryl obediently and promised, "Mom, don't worry. I will keep an eye on auntie Isla. I won't let her do anything stupid."

Sheryl burst into laughter, hearing the words Clark had just blurted out. However, Isla's reaction was the exact opposite. She was not amused.

Embarrassment was written all over Isla's face. With a feigned cough, she scolded, "Hey, naughty Boy! What are you talking about? Do I look like a person who will even do or say something stupid?"

"Aunt Isla, I didn't mean that. You must have misheard me."

"No, I believe I have heard you right. Don't try to deny it!"

Sheryl watched them from the doorway as they walked to the car. It was not until Sheryl heard the car engine start that she felt relieved and decided to do her own things.

At Dream Garden

Nancy was waiting to be the first one to welcome Sheryl and Clark. She had heard from Melissa that Clark would be brought here by Sheryl after school.

She missed Clark a lot. Clark was a sensible and polite child, and, in Nancy's eyes, he was adorable. Nancy had gone to the market earlier that afternoon. She bought some food that Clark liked the most. She planned to serve a feast of delicious food in honor of the lovely little boy tonight.

Yesterday's events had left Nancy feeling guilty. She had forgotten that Shirley couldn't eat food that was too cold. She used to take care of the children's diet when they were living at Dream Garden, but she didn't think too much about Shirley's diet last night when she served the kid.

Sometimes Nancy felt frustrated about her old age. She worried her memory would become too poor to take good care of the kids and stay at Dream Garden. She always held a feeling of guilt deep in her heart. However, Charles and Sheryl seemed to keep an open and tolerant mind toward her. Aware of her situation, Nancy felt grateful and wanted to do her best to serve the Lu Family.

While Nancy was lost in her thoughts, she heard a whistle blowing from outside.

Nancy hurried outside. As soon as she reached the door, she saw Isla coming first to the door, gripping Clark's wrist behind her.

Beaming gaily, Nancy quickly took a step forward to greet them.

"Clark, come here. Are you hungry?" Nancy was so happy to see Clark. She waved at him in delight. Then she looked at Isla and said, "Isla, I am so happy to see you."

Isla smiled back toward Nancy without hesitation. She knew that Nancy was very nice to Sheryl. During Sheryl's hard times in Dream Garden, Nancy had been very supportive of her. Isla felt so grateful for that as Sheryl once told her.

"Nancy, I am happy to see you too. I am just wondering if Charles is home?" Isla immediately asked Nancy.

Looking at Isla's condemning expression, Clark was afraid that Isla might let her ego get in the way and say something improper. Thus, he pulled at her sleeve and quickly told Isla, "Aunt Isla, I am very hungry. Can we go into the living room and eat something first?"

Upon hearing this, Isla grew suspicious, thinking, 'Such a crafty boy! I know what you are doing right now. You're trying to stop me from being too talkative.'

Before Isla could say anything back, Clark quickly took Nancy's hand and dragged both Nancy and Isla towards the living room.

'What a smart boy! Fine, you win!' Isla could only shake her head with a helpless, forfeiting grin. She chose to choke back the words she was going to say.

After sitting in the living room for a while, Isla kept looking to see whether Charles or Melissa would show up. She wanted to talk with them face-to-face, one-on-one. She felt she couldn't let Sheryl be silent any longer, allowing her to put up with everything alone.

In fact, she was here to demand justice, but it seemed that she failed to find anyone to vent her anger on. She wasn't able to capture a trace of Charles or Melissa's presence.