The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1092 Melissa's Spite

"Where have you been today? Shouldn't you be staying at home with Mom? Why did you leave her alone?" Charles questioned Sheryl as soon as she entered the house. He was sitting on the couch with his mom. Her head was on his shoulder while she watched a TV program.

"I went to the company today," Sheryl replied calmly, trying to sound normal. "I told Mom about it before I left. Mom, didn't you tell Charles why I was out?"

"Hahaha!" Melissa's laugh echoed inside the room. She was currently obsessed in the TV series that she was watching with Charles. Her eyes focused on the screen as she pretended to not hear any of Sheryl's comments.

"Sher, do you have a moment?" Charles asked. The look in his eyes told Sheryl that something was bothering him. Finally, he lifted Melissa's head from his shoulder and stood up. He didn't even wait for her reply. He went straight to the stairway.

As Charles was going upstairs, Melissa turned around and gave Sheryl a gloating glance. There was obvious provocation in her eyes. Only a fool would miss it. Sheryl suddenly realized that Melissa did all of these on purpose. She had planned everything from the start.

'Good. I really need to have a talk with Charles, Sheryl thought.

With this in mind, Sheryl just tried to ignore Melissa and proceeded to follow Charles upstairs.

She found Charles standing in front of the door waiting for her. The moment he saw her coming, he opened the door and prompted her to go inside first. After they entered the room and closed the door, Charles spoke first. "Sher..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, Sheryl interrupted him. "What did your mom tell you?" she asked.

Charles was surprised. He wasn't expecting this from Sheryl. "So what she said is true? Are you really mad at her?" Charles asked unbelievably. In fact, he didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't figure out any other reason to justify her actions.

No matter whose fault it was or who started the fight, he was expecting more patience and tolerance from Sheryl. After all, his mother was sick, and the doctor had reminded them to be considerate of her feelings. Why couldn't Sheryl just understand?

Sheryl could tell that Charles was obviously displeased. She controlled her anger and tried to explain her side of the story. "Yes, I admit that I was mad. But do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Charles started. "Is it because you don't want to accompany her every single night? Or because she said something to displease you?" He didn't even bother to cover the sulk in his voice. It was more accusing than questioning.

"Just tell me what she told you exactly!" Sheryl demanded. She was certain that whatever Melissa had told him was all made up.

"Mom said that you didn't like accompanying her to sleep at nights, and you just left her today without saying anything after you got a call!" Charles' voice echoed his accusation.

"Do you believe her?" Sheryl didn't try to defend herself. Instead, she wanted to know Charles' point of view on this matter. After all, it was a crisis of confidence.

It was until this moment that Sheryl realized Melissa's purpose. All this time, what her mother-in-law wanted was for her and Charles to fall out of love, or even to drive her away from Dream Garden. Even though she didn't know why Melissa would ever do this, she knew clearly that she had declared war.

"Sher, I really want you to tell me the truth," Charles pleaded. "It doesn't matter if I believe my mom or not. All I hope for is for our family to be harmonious and complete!" Charles clearly didn't want to choose a side.

"You can say that because you don't know what happened at all! Charles, I swear, I never said that I didn't like to accompany her to sleep! She just got angry with me all of a sudden. She also told me that she was not sick at all. She lied because she wanted to separate us!"

Sheryl would never have told Charles everything if it had been years ago. She had been just blind filial at that time and believed in everyone's innate goodness. But after considering her own past experiences, she knew how malicious a person could be. She needed to tell him the truth, no matter how ridiculous it might sound.

It was Charles' decision on whether he chose to believe her or not.

Charles was utterly stunned after Sheryl clarified everything. He didn't know who to believe. After all, it was his beloved wife on one side, and his mother, who had been in prison for fifteen years, on the other. To be honest, he didn't think that Sheryl would ever lie to him.

But he was also unwilling to believe that his own mother would.

Not to mention that the purpose of her deception was to sabotage her son's marriage!

Why would she do this?

Charles couldn't figure it out. Melissa's and Sheryl's paths had never crossed before.

They just met. So why would his mother hate Sheryl so much to cause such a turmoil?

"So you don't believe me?" Sheryl asked angrily when she saw Charles pondering. She felt hurt and heartbroken.

They had gone and survived so many difficulties before they finally got reunited. Sheryl treasured every single day from then on, because she thought it was a gift from God. But could she still say that now? To fight with each other endlessly for a meaningless spite out of thin air? To force Charles to choose between them?

"Sher, you know I didn't mean that! You also know that my mom was just released from prison, so she needs some time to adapt to her new environment. Could you give me a little more time? I don't want to upset her when she is still sick," Charles pleaded to her perplexedly.

"If you really need more time, then take your time. But do I still need to accompany her tonight?" Sheryl looked at him and asked directly.

"Sher, could you wait for me for a moment? I'm going to ask Mom and see how she thinks," Charles replied and turned away. He didn't dare to face her. He knew that he was asking too much from Sheryl and it was hurting her.

The sight sent a chill to Sheryl's heart. That was when she realized that it was not because Charles disbelieved her. He just didn't want to displease Melissa!

In other words, if Melissa continued to mess up with her, Charles would try his best not to unmask her.

Sheryl didn't say a word. She remained seated on the side of the bed quietly.

"Sher, don't think too much about it. I hope you understand that I want our family to be happy. But before that, could you give me a few more days? I don't want to hurt Mom. Could you promise me that?" Charles tried his best to comfort Sheryl as she was seemingly unhappy.

Sheryl didn't answer right away. She was contemplating on what Charles had said and what she thought about it. "Go ahead. I know what I should do," she finally said.

To see Charles torn between them was the last thing Sheryl wanted in her life. She could only hope that things would get better soon.

But now, all she wanted was to take a rest somewhere. It didn't matter if it was at her bedroom or Melissa's. It had been a long day.

"Sher, wait for me. I'll be back," Charles said and left for downstairs where his mother was waiting.

Sheryl was left alone in the room. She didn't know how Charles and Melissa talked downstairs, nor did she want to think about it. After a few minutes, Charles returned and asked her to dine. "How did your talk go?" Sheryl asked as soon as he entered the room.

Charles sighed. With frustration clearly shown in his face, he dragged his leg slowly and sat next to Sheryl. "Sher, just give me some time, please. I will find a way to solve this problem. It won't last long, I promise you." He tried to assure her. "I will explain everything to my mom. But before that, could you just pretend like nothing happened and continue to accompany her at night? You also know that she just recently returned home..."