The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1531 Holley’s Problems

"Look, I was sort of busy in the last few days, and I might have neglected you. Please don't be mad at me. I promise I'll make up to you for that." Melissa looked into Leila's eyes as she spoke. "Oh, I believe you didn't get time to have your meal. Please take some food with me," Melissa said and took two pairs of chopsticks, passing one pair to Leila.

Although she had had something before taking her nap, she was hungry all over again now and dug into the meal regardless of her image in front Leila. After all, it was more important to fill the belly.

After a span of silence as they got engrossed in the food, Melissa lifted her head and observed Leila having her food silently. "Leila, I don't mean to offend you, but where did you get the three million bucks?" Melissa blurted out all of a sudden. Melissa had been too obsessed with her own business after she was set free. She was well aware of Leila's financial conditions, and there was absolutely no means for her to get such a large amount in such a short period. Even though Melissa was grateful to Leila, still she wanted to know the truth.

Leila kept chewing her food as she heard Melissa speak. Then she raised her head and smiled politely. She had prepared to answer this question before she came to meet Melissa. Hence Leila presented a perfect story before Melissa.

"You know that I'm running an underwear store now, right? The business has taken up well and a rich woman happened to invest her money in it. I'll pay her back little by little later," Leila explained seriously. Somehow, Melissa was convinced by her story. It never occurred to her to speculate on the fact that how Leila got to meet such nice people who were ready to help her with such hefty sum of money and that it was too easily. Rather, Melissa was indeed impressed with Leila now. Earlier, she had taken Leila to be a useless fellow as she could not execute any of Melissa's plans properly. She even failed to get closer with Charles even as a friend. Yet now, she had obtained three million overnight! Melissa deduced that Leila was capable of dealing with rich people and it would help Melissa a lot when they returned to the Dream Garden.

At the same time, Melissa was increasingly repentant for mercilessly kicking Leila out of Dream Garden. After Leila moved out, she could hardly do much in the house and no one took her seriously. Even the kids began to neglect her, let alone Charles and Sheryl. She had a really tough time.

The moment the thought of Dream Garden came to Melissa's mind, Sheryl's face flashed in front of her eyes that made her cringe her face. No matter how tasty the food, the faintest remembrance of Sheryl and her indifferent smile was enough to make it all sour. Her breathing quickened and the throbbing headache started to take a toll on her all over again. Sheryl could get on her nerves at any minute. Melissa took a few deep breaths to calm down. Yet, her eyes turned gloomy as she thought how lonely she was in Dream Garden. Thus, she made up her mind to persuade Leila to move back with her. Then she turned to Leila and asked earnestly, "Leila, will you do me a favor? I'd like you to move back to our house once again."

The words uttered by Melissa felt like the sweetest and the most desirable thing that Leila could expect to happen to herself. Melissa's request for her to move back to Dream Garden was an unexpected piece of good fortune for her. She had been racking her wits as to how to make her way back to it. She was so overwhelmed that her heart was beating wildly.

But she presented a very calm and composed look on her face. She replied, "Of course I'd love to, but I don't know how Charles and Sheryl will take it." She bit her lips with an awkward expression on her face.

"Leave it to me. That's my job. I want you to stay with me, and I don't care whether they're happy or not. Don't worry about that," Melissa assured Leila.

"Aunt Melissa, I know you're nice to me, but please don't argue with them for me, especially Sheryl. She has a problem with me for a long time and it's not easy for us to shake hands. I don't want you to get into trouble for me. And besides, I can't afford to be kicked out of your house over and over again. It's so humiliating. I hope you understand." Leila shook her head reluctantly stretching her lips into a bitter slime.

Melissa patted on her shoulders to make her feel better and said, "Please leave all that to me. I'll figure it out. I promise I'll make them agree as soon as possible. Please wait for my good news!"

Melissa looked determined. She knew that she would face objection from Sheryl. It wouldn't be easy to make her accept Leila once again inside Dream Garden. But Melissa needed not to take her advice seriously. She would find a way to convince Charles. After all, she and Charles were bounded by blood, not Sheryl. Charles would not be able to refuse her.

"Aunt Melisa, yes, I would love to move back, but please don't take the trouble of confronting Sheryl. I know how you two get along." Leila's eyes turned gloomy the moment she finished her words. The look on her delicate face melted Melissa's heart.

She could not help blame herself for not being able to do enough to make sure that Leila found a permanent home in Dream Garden. At the same time, she hated Sheryl all the more. If Sheryl was a little more open-minded, all these wouldn't have happened. The more Melissa thought about it, the stronger her motivation to go home at the earliest and confront her daughter-in-law just grew.

"Okay, leave it to me. You need to trust me, Leila. I would like you to live with me. We can support each other in time of need. You won't be wronged this time. I will try my best to stop any uncalled-for situation.' Melissa gave Leila her firm and solemn promise.

Hearing Melissa's words, Leila cracked a smile and nodded at her.

"Thank you, Aunt Melissa. It felt terrible to live alone. How I missed having you around!" Leila feigned excitement at the idea of staying with Melissa.

Melissa smiled back and touched her head lovingly just like a kindhearted grandma would devour her care to her grandchild.

Holley was sitting on the couch of her living room, with a glass of wine in her hand and a heavy heart. Her anxiety eased out a bit after she paid a visit to Black and he gave her his words to protect her. However, she was unable to be at ease completely.

The Hu family was very well known and socially established in Y City, but the problem was that Black was not the one who gave out the commands yet, and on the other hand, Rex didn't like her at all. She was afraid that Black alone couldn't make everything right for her, and thus she'd better consider a backup plan just in case.

She narrowed her eyes as she thought through the matter, taking a slow sip of the wine she held in her hand.

Suddenly, she put the glass down on the table and took the phone. The next few moments saw Holley dialing several numbers on her mobile.

Gradually, the frown on her face disappeared into a contended look as she heard the voice from the other side. It was an old acquaintance. Although they had not been in touch for a long time, she knew that they would be on her side this time.

Earlier, Holley had hired one of them to kill Rachel. It was said that their organization was the best in the industry. Although they were mysterious, they had a strong reputation to accomplish their job as long as they took it. The hitman they sent to her was none other than Bernard.

As far as Holley was concerned, the group made their own rules and that was why she had chosen them in the first place. When Bernard failed at his last task and started to have feelings to the target he was supposed to kill, Holley couldn't believe it at first. But she had no other option than to accept it.

She wondered how they would react if they learned what she decided to try now. Since Bernard had betrayed both his boss and her, they had become a sort of an ally in some way, and she hoped that they would help her to teach Bernard a lesson.

Hence, she was confident that she would get what she wanted. She brought a smile on her face before saying politely, "Hey, it's me." She spoke first because the man on the other side did not utter any words. "Nice to hear from you, Miss Ye," the man greeted in a low and cold voice. The nonchalant and unforgiving undertone in his voice sent a chill down Holley's spine.

She let out a suppressed sigh and swore that if she had a choice, she would have never contacted them again.

"Tom, I'm calling to discuss something urgent with you," Holley said, coming straight to the point. She told Tom how Bernard had ditched his task and got together with Rachel. She told him how they threatened her.

Tom remained silent for a few seconds and replied, "Bernard is a traitor to us, and we will track him down even if it's okay for you. Please don't worry about that."

"I know, and that's why I called you the moment I learned that they were back. I paid for you to get rid of Rachel. And now they showed up together in front of me and threatened me to turn a blind eye to them. This is not acceptable to me, Tom," Holley complained.

There was complete silence on the other side of the phone as Holley completed her words. "It was our mistake not to complete your task, and I promise you'll get what you want very soon," Tom promised sternly. "I'll send one of my most able men to protect you, and take care of Bernard. This is my promise to you," he continued.

Holley took a sigh of relief then and hung up the phone after exchanging some words of appreciation. Her heart was lightened immediately as one of her biggest problems was expected to be settled very soon.