The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1543 Clark's Words

Suddenly, Leila's face turned serious. She took Melissa's hand and solemnly said, "Aunt Melissa, although the abduction was fake, I can promise you that I'd do anything to save you if it was real. Aunt Melissa, look, you're the only person I can completely depend on in this world. If there is anything that I didn't do well enough before, please excuse me for that. I'll show you the rest of my life that I'll always love you and respect you."

Like a string of pearls, tears began falling down from Leila's eyes.

Overwhelmed, Melissa patted the back of Leila's hands and said sincerely, "You're always nice to me, Leila. If there were any misunderstanding between us, it might mostly been my fault. I've learned my lesson. I can identify good from bad now. We're going to take care of each other in the future."

Melissa's words sort of assured Leila. She felt secured.

Delighted by the thought that she would soon move back to the Lu family and could see Charles every day, Leila gripped Melissa's hand again and sobbed, "I must have done lots of good things in my previous life, or I must be blessed by heaven. Meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me, Aunt Melissa!" Looking at Melissa attentively, Leila felt like she was watching her own mother.

Melissa enjoyed Leila's flattery and couldn't help smiling. She gazed at Leila gladly and promised with determination, "I'm deeply flattered, Leila. Please wait for some time. I'll make arrangements so you can move back to our house soon, and then I don't have to be alone anymore!"

"Thank you, Aunt Melissa. I have no other wishes in my life as long as I can stay with you!" Leila said placidly, but the truth was, she was jumping out of joy from the inside.

"I'll find a perfect time to talk to Charles later, and I believe that after he has seen how well you treat me, he'll agree without any hesitation," Melissa assured her.

Leila smiled and nodded. She could already paint the picture in her mind.

Inside Dream Garden, Nancy was busy packing food into lunch boxes.

"Sher, are you going to visit Mrs. Lu?" she asked. Sheryl had asked Nancy to cook several dishes, which were all Melissa's favorites, but with low lipid and high protein. Although Sheryl didn't mention it, Nancy supposed that was what Sheryl would do.

Sheryl cracked a faint smile at Nancy, and then nodded. She came to help Nancy in packing and sounding a little annoyed, she said, "Charles told me that Leila was stabbed in her arm when rescuing his mother, and I want to pay her a visit to show my gratitude."

Sheryl was sensible. Even if she resented Leila for bringing so much trouble in her life and couldn't get along very well with Melissa, she still decided to visit them, mostly because of Charles.

"Don't worry, Sher. I think it is no big deal, else Mr. Lu would tell you if she has been badly wounded. Are you taking Clark and Shirley with you?" Trying to make Sheryl feel better, Nancy decided to change the topic.

"Right. I'll take them with me. They don't have to go to school today anyway. I hope Melissa feels better when she sees them. I'll send them back when we're done there," Sheryl replied. While Nancy and Sheryl got everything ready, Clark and Shirley happened to run down the stairs, hand in hand.

"Mommy, where are we going? To visit Grandma?" Clark asked as he stopped by the dining table, holding Shirley's hand.

Sheryl nodded for approval and held the two kids in her arms, kissing them on their heads. She then squat down to button Shirley's shirt for her. A few moments later, she drove them to the hospital. It was a sunny day. Getting through the smooth traffic, they finally arrived at the hospital after less than an hour.

Sheryl initially planned to visit Nick first, but they ran into Melissa the moment they entered the building.

It seemed like she had just finished a checkup and was on her way back to the ward with a nurse.

"Good morning, Mom. Is everything alright?" Sheryl asked as she stopped right beside Melissa. Her voice was carrying an alienated courtesy. Sheryl sighed inside. Given a choice, she would rather not see Melissa, but now she had to put on a polite expression. She reminded herself that she was Charles' mother and her children's grandma, so she needed to act civil no matter how she despised her. "Hmm, let me guess. You must be secretly praying for me, but not for my well-being. Am I right about you?" Melissa replied in a sarcastic tone, not even trying to be in good relation with her daughter-in-law.

Sheryl, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed by Melissa's straightforwardness, but she restrained herself. After all, they were in a public place. The nurse cast a quick glance at Sheryl and sighed inside too. She assumed that the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law in rich families was exactly like what was shown in those TV programs. She actually felt glad that she didn't need to marry into one of these families herself.

Sheryl took the kids following Melissa and the nurse to the ward, but to her surprise, they ended up at Leila's room. The moment the door was pushed open, they saw Leila lying on her back in the bed. It was too late for her to turn around. It was as clear as water to Sheryl now that there was nothing wrong with Melissa, aside from her trauma, but Leila seemed badly hurt.

"Leila, I really appreciate what you have done for my mother. Thank you! If you need something, please feel free to tell me," Sheryl said out of courtesy. She had to take things as they came. Turning to her kids, Sheryl urged Clark and Shirley, "Go and say hi to your grandma!"

"Do I have to?" Shirley pouted her rosy lips. Kids were the most sensitive creatures on this planet, especially when they had witnessed how coldly their grandma treated their own mother. Clark took Shirley's hand and dragged her with him towards Melissa. He greeted with a bright smile, "Grandma, Shirley and I are here to visit you. We hope you can go home as soon as possible!"

"Really? I thought the three of you are hoping that I'll never go home again!" Still feeling annoyed to see Sheryl, Melissa vented her anger to her grandkids.

Clark didn't dare talk to her anymore and led his sister back to their mother. He was upset, but was afraid it would bring their mother more trouble if he added fuel to the fire.

Although Sheryl initially came all the way with good intentions, she was now pissed off. Casting Melissa a warning glance, she dropped the idea of being nice to her.

"I won't even think twice about doing it again. Melissa has always been nice to me. Sheryl, why did you bring the kids here? A hospital may not be a good place for them to play in," Leila interrupted, cottoning up with Sheryl like they were close friends.

Sheryl sneered in her head, but smiled at Leila on her face.

"The kids don't have school today, so they want to visit their grandma," she replied.

"Visit me? Great! To see whether I'm dead or alive?" Peeling an apple for Leila, Melissa concluded sarcastically.

Sheryl didn't answer. Instead, she looked at her kids worriedly, regretting even taking them here. Shirley's tears were welling up in her eyes already and Clark was clutching his hands.

"If there is anyone in this world who treats me with heart and soul, it must be Leila. If you were there, I bet you would never risk your life to save me! What's more, you may have wished me dead, so you will be the only hostess in the Lu family!" Melissa had gone too far. She began blurting out the things in her imagination.

Sheryl looked at Melissa and Leila, who already had her tail up. She realized that the more she gave in, the more Melissa would advance. She then decided to fight back, but Clark was faster than her.

He couldn't take it anymore. Clark supposed that their grandma might have hurt her brain. Looking for a bone in the egg, their grandma was clearly provoking their mother. Their mother could stand it, but he couldn't.

"Grandma, why do you have to talk like that? Why are you treating my mother so wrongly? You treat this strange woman nicer than how you treat my mother. The nurse here might even take her as your daughter-in-law and my mother as your foe." Clark said with a well-organized thought, straightening his back.

"Ridiculous! What are you talking about? Who taught you to say that? Tell me! Is that your mother?" Melissa shouted angrily, feeling embarrassed that the little boy was able to point out what she was thinking. Staring at Clark fiercely, Melissa pounced at him and took the bait.