The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1553 Find A Place To Stay

Isla's sore words and aggressive attitude caused Charles a great amount of grief. He closed his eyes for a second and heaved a deep breath. He was not the kind of man who expected everyone to understand him. Since he only cared about Sheryl, he would put in the effort of explaining everything to her, but he wasn't going to afford Isla the same treatment even though her words carried a lot of weight with Sheryl. "I've got nothing to do with that woman. Please stop thinking in that way about me," Charles said, rubbing his temple.

"What way? Then why does she keep showing up in your house?" Isla refuted directly.

"Look, I'll explain everything to my wife myself. Please leave us alone." Charles tried to walk away, hoping to find Sheryl again.

However, Isla blocked his way again. She crossed her hands over her chest and looked at him from toe to head. "Mr. Lu, pardon me for speaking frankly. I suppose you need to get rid of Ms. Zhang before going to Sheryl."

"I will and I don't need you to tell me what to do." Charles' headache was driving him crazy.

He knew that Isla was just being hard on him for the sake of her best friend. Although he was starting to lose his patience, a part of him felt relieved to see how much Isla cared for Sheryl.

He sighed inwardly for not being able to check up on how Sheryl was doing.

At the same time, deep in his heart he knew that Sheryl wouldn't talk to him if she was right here right now.

His mind wandered back and forth on what to do, and then he finally decided to give up. The only thing he could do was wait for Sheryl to calm down.

"Fine. I'm leaving. Since she doesn't want to see me, I'll explain to her later. Please take care of her for me. Call me if she needs anything," Charles said sincerely.

Isla, however, was deeply annoyed at him for giving up so easily, mistakenly assuming that Charles was leaving because he felt guilty to confront Sheryl. "Save it! I'll take good care of Sheryl and the kids, but not for your sake!" she yelled at him.

Having never been shouted at like that, Charles put on a long face immediately, but he had to take it. Isla was Sheryl's friend, and it would be unreasonable of him to offend her now. Maybe he would need her help later.

He pressed his lips together tightly and turned around without uttering another word.

Isla watched him leave and then went up to their office.

Sheryl was sitting on her chair and waiting patiently, her mind as still water.

She looked at the door when she heard it open from the other side and found that it was Isla.

"Were you expecting Mr. Lu? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you!" Isla shouted, assuming that Sheryl was still thinking about Charles and would forgive him eventually.

Sheryl shook her head slowly, the hope fading away in her heart. Stubborn and reluctant to admit her true feelings, Sheryl forced a bitter smile and said, "Of course not. I can't face him now. I know we need to talk about a lot of things, but I just can't. At least, not right now."

"Look at you!" Isla came over and patted on Sheryl's shoulders. "I know this must be hard to take, but I'm here. I'll always be here for you. Look, I'm very disappointed in your husband. It feels wrong to say this, but perhaps he has shifted his affection towards that woman..."

"Stop! I don't want to hear anything about them." Sheryl raised her hand towards Isla, indicating her to stop, as feelings of despair engulfed her from within.

"Okay, but listen, you have to face him as soon as possible. The longer you drag this on, the more painful it will be for you, my dear friend!" Isla gave her a hug and then walked out of the office, leaving Sheryl to her thoughts.

Afterwards, Sheryl spent the entire day occupying her mind with her work and putting all the other things at the back of her mind while the kids enjoyed a good time on the rooftop.

When she finally took a break from her work, she called Isla to come over.

"Isla, I need your help. Please find a place for the kids and me. I'm moving out with them," she said directly, without pause or hesitation.

"Are you sure about this? It feels like you're making a rash decision." Isla thought that Sheryl didn't want to see Charles because she was acting out of anger, but now it seemed as though Sheryl was dead serious.

"I'm tired, Isla. Perhaps spending some time apart from him will be good for me," murmured Sheryl. Her face was pale and she looked into Isla eyes to show her determination.

Isla was taken aback. She understood that Sheryl was deeply hurt by Charles' infidelity, but she never expected that Sheryl would want to take the kids and move out. Although she argued with Charles as if he was unforgivable, it didn't mean that she wished for them to separate.

"You need to reconsider it. Don't rush into any decision," said Isla. Sheryl was the kind of person who believed in her decisions, and as long as her mind was made up, it would be near impossible to change he stance on anything.

Sheryl then cracked a smile and nodded, which reminded Isla of the Sheryl she knew before.

"Okay! It's your decision to make after all. You can move in to my place with the kids. There is enough room for you guys. Besides, it will take some time to find a suitable place for you and the children," Isla offered.

Sheryl, however, shook her head immediately. Isla was a married woman with a child of her own. Aron might have no problem with them moving in, but Sheryl didn't want to be a burden on her friend. Besides, she needed her own space.

"Thank you, Isla. But I need to find a place anyway. The three of us need a home, and you've got your own family to take care of. You know more people than I do, so please find me a place near our company. Sheryl pointed the key problem, which Isla couldn't deny.

Isla nodded her head to say that she understood what Sheryl meant.

"Fine, but you must stay at my place tonight. No further discussions!" Isla looked at Sheryl as if she weren't going to take no for an answer.

But Sheryl turned her down again.

"I'm afraid we can't. Look, I've just booked a fancy room in a hotel for us and I've already paid for the reservation," Sheryl explained and waved her phone at Isla.

Isla let out a loud laugh and shrugged her shoulders. It was nice to see that Sheryl had started to make plans for her future.

"Fine! Enjoy your night at the fancy hotel. I'm going to find a place for you now!" Isla said as she headed towards the door. Sheryl saw her out and stretched herself. Since she was done with her work, she decided to see how the kids were doing on the rooftop.

Sheryl heard the joyous laughter of Clark and Shirley before she saw them.

A smile etched its way into her face on its own. Fortunately, the kids weren't affected by the problems between their parents.

"Clark! Shirley!" Sheryl stopped there with outstretching arms.

The kids ran to her immediately and held her tightly.

Phoebe, who was with the kids at all times, couldn't help but smile, wondering how her boss could manage both the company and the kids so well at the same time. "Ms. Xia!" Phoebe greeted with a nod.

"Thank you, Phoebe. Please call it a day and go home now. It must have been a long day for you." Sheryl took the kids to sit on the cane couch after Phoebe left.

"Mommy, I feel so tired I want to sleep!" Shirley said, rubbing her eyes.

Sheryl rubbed her nose against little Shirley's and tenderly said, "Then close your eyes and take a nap. Look how wonderful the weather is today!"

The weather was moderate, not too hot and not too cold. The couch was sufficient for Shirley to sleep on and the rooftop could be covered up by a curtain with the remoter to block the sunshine.

Before long, Shirley fell on her mother's lap. Clark wrapped his arms around his mother's shoulders and asked, "Mommy, are you going to leave Daddy?"

Clark was more mature than his peers, and always perceived things like an adult would. Thus Sheryl could discuss a lot of her problems with Clark when Shirley was not listening.

"I'm thinking about it. Clark, will you blame me if I divorce your father?" asked Sheryl nervously. She could neglect her own feelings, but not the kids'. If they were opposed to her divorcing Charles, she wouldn't know what to do..

Clark was silent for a while and Sheryl could see that he was struggling with his thoughts. "Mommy, have you thought it through?" he asked, fixating his eyes on his mother.

"Clark, I didn't come to this decision without consideration. You've seen what was going on in Dream Garden these past few days. I'm too tired to deal with it, and I want to spend more time with Shirley and you. Your father, he has the right to pursue his own happiness. If he's happy with Aunt Leila, why shouldn't I give in? What do you think? Do you agree with me?" Sheryl explained seriously.

Clark then nodded, having only a hazy notion. "Mommy, it's your life and it's up to you. I respect your decision."

"Thank you, honey. I'm a lucky mother, right?" Sheryl drew him close and kissed him on his forehead.

Relaxing comfortably in the afternoon sun, the three of them fell asleep on the couch.

Meanwhile, in her office, Isla had found a place for Sheryl and the kids. She even made the down payment directly. She knew what Sheryl liked and what she disliked, and so she chose the place without even informing Sheryl, knowing that Sheryl would be satisfied with her choice.

"Phoebe, where is Sheryl?" Isla ran into Phoebe, who was just on her way out of the office. She waited anxiously for Phoebe to reply, scared of hearing bad news.