The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1548 What Happened

"Charles, was this intentional? You are well aware of my hatred for Leila, yet you chose to ignore that! Why you did this to me?" Sheryl stopped, unable to go any further. Tears were about to flow.

After a long pause, her face contorted to an angry expression. She looked at him and shouted, "Get out!" She couldn't stand it anymore. Charles seemed to be making the same mistake again and again. With a glare, she pointed towards the door and gestured for him to leave.

Dumbfounded, Charles didn't know where Sheryl's rage came from.

Realizing that Charles hadn't budged in spite of her shouting, she stamped her feet angrily. Then she took a quilt from the bed and decided to leave.

Now Charles understood why she was leaving. He quickly took hold of her hand to stop her.

"Sher, stop being so unreasonable!" Charles blurted out. He had drunk too much and didn't feel himself at this moment. To him, Sheryl's company was very much needed. An argument was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't bear to go to sleep without Sheryl by his side.

However, Sheryl's fury surged through her as she watched him behave irrationally. He clutched her tightly. Without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped him right across his cheek. His grasp on her hand loosened. Then she took the opportunity to run away from the scene.

Drunk, Charles had trouble keeping his balance while moving around. Yet he was determined to chase Sheryl. He saw Sheryl rush into the guestroom. Before he could join her, she closed it with a loud thud. And Sheryl carefully locked it from inside.

Charles rapidly knocked and started to kick like a maniac but to no avail. His shouts fell on a deaf ear. No matter how hard he tried, he received no response.

Being aware that he might disturb the kids' sleep, Charles decided to stop. He leaned his head against the door and used a gentle tone. "Sher, can you please open the door? Let me talk to you!" Still, there was no response.

The drunkenness started to take control of Charles and he became impatient. Without being able to think properly, he began to knock using all his might.

Unable to take it anymore, Sheryl sat with her hands clasped around her ears. After a long while, peace and quiet reigned and Sheryl knew Charles must have given up. Indeed, he had retreated back to his bedroom. Even so, she didn't obtain any joy from her victory. Feeling not sleepy at all, she walked out on the balcony and blankly stared into the distance.

Sheryl sat there for what felt like hours. When drowsiness finally caught up with her, she let out a yawn and went back inside. Though it was only a few hours till sunup, Sheryl had a sound sleep.

On the other hand, Charles was in his bed sleeping. But something woke him up. Looking outside, he could see it was almost dawn. And beside him, there seemed to lie a woman. With his gentle hands, he touched the woman's back and his lips curved into a smile.

In his mind, he was certain that the woman lying next to him was Sheryl. He happily cried in his heart, 'I knew it! Sheryl can't stay away from me for a very long time.'

Now Sheryl had woken up after four hours of sleep. She decided she had to check on Charles. From yesterday's behavior, she knew he was overly drunk. As a concerned wife, she slowly walked to their bedroom.

She quietly opened the door and stole a quick peep into the room. She wanted to go in, but her sanity told her not to surrender so easily. The last thing she wanted was to show weakness. Without Charles admitting his mistake, she had no desire to reconcile with him.

Hence Sheryl went downstairs and took a walk through the garden. Sometimes when Sheryl was overcome by trouble or unhappy things, she wandered in the garden. This had always put her mind at ease. Now, she noticed that Nancy was busy cleaning up the garden.

Seeing Sheryl's sudden appearance, Nancy was a bit startled. She didn't expect Sheryl would take a walk here so early in the morning. With a curious face, Nancy asked, "Sher, you are up so early today...Are you okay? Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Oh, not really. I only slept a few hours. Now that I am up, I am finding it hard to go back to sleep. But why did you start work so early? And this is not your job. I thought the gardener took care of it!" Sheryl had treated Nancy like a member of her family. Given Nancy's old age, Sheryl cared about her health and couldn't watch as she toiled.

Seeing Nancy covered with sweat, Sheryl couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. But Nancy ignored Sheryl's concerned gaze. She swiftly wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand, and then smiled. "Sher, I am fine. I like to work. I am too old, and my body needs exercise. I believe this is good for my health." Nancy's kind smile touched Sheryl. Facing Nancy's gaze, Sheryl shot a smile back, and then joined Nancy to clean up the garden.

With Sheryl's help, they worked more effectively. Within half an hour, they had finished cleaning. Sheryl and Nancy exchanged a victorious smile with each other. Then Sheryl turned her eyes to her favorite flower-lily.

Nancy stood there and watched Sheryl. She had a vague notion that Sheryl might have had an argument with Charles again. She remembered overhearing some shouts from upstairs last night. Moreover, she even heard that Sheryl demanded to sleep in the guestroom.

Thinking for a while, Nancy decided to do something. She approached Sheryl and held her hand as she walked toward a wooden bench nearby. With a smile, she gestured for her to sit down. Then Nancy sat next to Sheryl. Letting out a sigh, Nancy said in a serious tone, "Sher, I've lived long enough to know a few things, and I have to tell you this. The most terrible tragedy for a couple is mistrust. You have to believe each other. Never lose faith in the other one, no matter what happens. And there is nothing that cannot be settled by a good conversation. Don't let misunderstanding and misgivings get in the way of your marriage."

Sheryl closely listened to Nancy and kept her own mouth sealed. As the words came out of Nancy's mouth, she carefully listened to it.

Nancy's speech lasted for a long while. Then she paused and fetched a cup of hot water. Passing it to Sheryl, she said, "Sher, I guess Charles is about to wake up soon. Why don't you give him a chance to speak? Go to him and listen to what he has to say. And please be patient. Don't act rashly!"

Nancy understood why Sheryl got pissed and lost her temper at Charles last night. It was Leila's unexpected arrival that led to this fight. And to make things worse, Melissa claimed that Charles was perfectly fine with this decision. 'How could Sheryl not be enraged? Her anger was plausible, ' Nancy thought.

But she prayed that everything would be sorted out. Now Sheryl took a deep breath and nodded her head.

Before leaving the garden, she shot Nancy a thankful smile. Her hands were tightly clasped around the cup of hot water.

Soon, Sheryl arrived outside the bedroom. Before she pushed the door open, she composed herself a little. She didn't want to look nervous even though she was.

She pushed the door open and the scene that came into her view stunned her. Too shocked, her hands began to tremble vehemently. She lost her grip and the cup tumbled to the floor, shattered into pieces. By instinct, Sheryl raised her hand to cover her mouth as she exclaimed with utter shock, "Ahh..."

She couldn't believe what she had seen. In her eyes, such a ridiculous scene was supposed to take place only in her dreams. Then anger and humiliation rose to the peak in her heart.

The sound of the cup breaking had awoken Charles.

He rubbed his eyes before he sat up to look around. When he found Sheryl standing right in front of him, his drowsy expression immediately turned pale. He rubbed his eyes once again to check whether his eyes were playing a trick on him. No matter how hard he looked, the face that met his eyes was no one else's but Sheryl's.

Much startled, Charles whispered in his heart, 'If Sheryl is standing in front of me, then who is the woman lying in my arms?'

Charles whipped his head around. He spotted Leila snuggling up to him. To make the situation even worse, Leila now was completely naked and Charles had just put his hand on Leila's waist. A second look wasn't needed to decipher such a carnal scene. Sheryl was no dummy. She knew what she was seeing.

Charles' eyes dropped to his own body. He was astonished to find that he was naked, just like Leila.