The Apple of My Eye

As Stella opened the door, she saw Sheryl standing in front of her. She regarded her with a welcoming smile and said, "Madam, it's you."

Sheryl was meeting Stella for the first time. She was happy to find Stella to be so nice and welcoming towards her. Sheryl smiled back at Stella and asked, "Is Vicky here?"

"Yes. Madam, please come in." Stella welcomed Sheryl inside the villa. She brought her a glass of water and said, "Miss Ruan is upstairs. I'll ask her to come down and see you."

Stella didn't seem to be the least bit bothered about whether Vicky would feel embarrassed to meet Sheryl or not. Stella just followed Charles' orders and naturally thought very highly of Sheryl. Who the hell was Vicky? Just an unwanted burden! Stella couldn't give a damn about her.

Sheryl raised her hand to stop Stella. She looked around and suddenly felt a sharp sting in her heart.

Sheryl remembered that she had been in this villa before. After she had reunited with Charles, they had spent a few days with the kids in this villa. It was a wonderful memory. Nothing in this house had changed, except for the woman who was staying here.

Looking at Sheryl's face, Stella gauged at her state of mind. She felt that Sheryl was unhappy because Charles hid Vicky here. In fact, she could never understand why Charles had treated Vicky so well, even though Sheryl was the one Charles truly loved. She could never figure out the actual reason behind this. Nor did she dare to think too much along that line.

"Madam, Miss Ruan does live here. But Mr. Lu rarely comes to meet her. Every time, it's Miss Ruan who pretends to be sick and coaxes Mr. Lu to come here..." Stella informed Sheryl.

"Does Vicky fall sick very often?" Sheryl asked in a calm voice.

Stella did not expect Sheryl to come up with this question so abruptly. She was a little embarrassed and did not know how to answer it. She hesitated for a while and then stammered, "No, Madam. In fact, not too often, just occasionally..."

"Okay, thank you. By the way, what's your name?" Sheryl asked.

Stella said, "Madam, just call me Stella. Mr. Lu has kept me here to spy on... I mean to take care of Miss Ruan."

"Well, thank you, Stella. I'll have to go upstairs to see her now," Sheryl stood up and said with a smile.

As Sheryl climbed up the stairs, Stella had a frown on her face. Seeing that Sheryl was so easy-going and polite, Stella was worried that she would be bullied by Vicky. After all, Vicky had always been very arrogant and domineering.

Stella could not help but stop Sheryl and said with concern, "Madam, let me come with you, okay? We can take care of each other if something bad happens."

Sheryl couldn't help but laugh and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not here to quarrel with anyone. Don't worry. You don't have to go up with me."

Sheryl wanted to talk with Vicky. She hadn't expected to find another person present here.

Stella hesitated for a while and nodded when she heard Sheryl's decision.

Sheryl went straight upstairs. She pushed the door open to the master bedroom. But much to her surprise, there was no one living there.

However, it did not take much time for Sheryl to understand Charles' motive behind not allowing Vicky to use the master bedroom.

Just as he said, Vicky was not a family member to him. Naturally, he would not let her live in the master bedroom. So, going by that, Vicky must have been put up in the guest room.

Applying all this reasoning and logic, Sheryl made her way to the guest room. But hardly had she taken a few steps, then Vicky's voice reached her ears.

Vicky was wailing, "Why do you treat me like this? Why? What on earth did I do wrong? God, why do you have to punish me like this..."

The voice was full of hatred and anguish. One could even feel it faintly through the door.

Sheryl stopped. She knew Vicky was inside the room. She did not want to come in front of Vicky at the time when she was venting out her frustrations. Vicky might feel embarrassed if she knew that Sheryl found her in a crazy and desperate state. In that case, Sheryl would not be able to fulfill the purpose behind her visit.

Sheryl was rather anxious. She wanted to talk to Vicky as soon as possible. But now it seemed that she had to wait until Vicky had fully released her anger.

To Sheryl's surprise, the door that was a few steps away from her was suddenly opened. She could see Vicky from where she stood.

Sheryl didn't mean to eavesdrop. However, within just a few moments, Vicky caught a glimpse of her. It was embarrassing.

Vicky was startled to find an unsolicited intruder in front of her bedroom and also angry at the fact that Sheryl had been watching her at a desperate moment. Vicky recalled her actions and words that she had just uttered. And this damned woman had been standing here watching all of it in silence.

Vicky screeched out angrily, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sheryl was embarrassed and also a little intimidated to be shouted at like that, but she then calmed herself down.

"Miss Ruan, this is the question that I should be asking you. What are you doing here?"

It never occurred to Vicky that Sheryl would ask her such a question. Vicky paused for a moment and then retorted with anger, "I live here. Who are you? Why do you break into my house?"

Sheryl's face broke into a mild smile as she said, "Don't worry. I won't break the law. I am here for your sake, Rachel."

Hearing the name, Vicky's eyes dilated in shock and disbelief. She felt a little uneasy as she said in a defensive tone, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Sheryl had expected how Vicky would react. Hence, she was not at all surprised. Instead, she remained calm and took a few steps closer to Vicky. She stood in front of Vicky. She looked at her gorgeous face and asked slowly, "Rachel, I'm standing in front of you now. Don't you have anything to say to me? You hate me most, don't you? Why don't you dare to hate me now?"

Vicky started trembling. Her heart was beating so fast she felt that it would leap out of her mouth at any moment. She clenched her fists while listening to Sheryl. Every word uttered by Sheryl hit hard on her chest. Yet she could not react in front of her. She had to pretend that she wasn't in the least affected by Sheryl's words. Rather, she had to prove that Sheryl's assumption was wrong.

Rachel!

The name that once carried her identity... The name that had long been engraved into her bones, yet, as luck would have it, she had to drive that name out of her existence by force. It took her more than half a year of hard work to embrace her new identity. She had thought that this could give her a chance to turn a new leaf in her life. Therefore, she decided to make this compromise and appear as a new person in front of everyone.

But now, Sheryl had just reminded her that she was wrong, totally wrong.

Nothing had changed in her life, and nothing was ever going to change for her. She was Rachel, the girl who had been despised by the public and had nowhere to hide her face.

All of a sudden, Vicky's pupils constricted, and a strange smile suddenly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Miss Xia, would you like to come in?" she asked gently.

Sheryl noticed the abnormality in Vicky. But when she came here, she was well-prepared. And she was not afraid of Vicky's plan.

"Okay, if you insist." Sheryl smiled.

"Come in, please." Stepping back into the room, Vicky put her right hand on the edge of the door.

Sheryl turned a blind eye to that and walked in quietly.

The moment, Sheryl entered the room, the door was slammed shut behind her with a bang. And then, it was followed by a fit of inexplicable anger. Sheryl pursed her lips slightly. It seemed that someone wanted to trap her.