The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1556 Who Hired You To Kill Me

"You must be Joan," Sheryl asked as she spotted a middle-aged woman in plain clothes standing by the door.

"Yes, I am. Are you Ms. Xia? Nice to meet you!" Joan replied with an amicable smile. She exuded a very pleasant and polite vibe which touched the right chord with Sheryl at the very first glance. Joan looked exactly like the nanny she was looking for, and besides, Joan was recommended by Nancy. Sheryl made up her mind to hire Joan.

"Nice to meet you too. Please call me Sher," Sheryl said as she gestured for her to come in.

"Okay, Sher!" Joan said politely as she took brisk steps inside the room.

She then took her to the sofa and briefly discussed the KRAS with Joan. Joan would have to take care of the households which included three meals a day, the cleaning and the laundry while Sheryl would send the kids to school and pick them up herself. She would inform Joan earlier or call her in case she couldn't make it, and then Joan would pick up Clark and Shirley. It seemed to Sheryl that Joan was quite satisfied with this job.

"Okay, I got it. Please don't worry, Sher. Nancy is a friend, and she told me that you're a nice person. Trust me. I'll do my job well and I love kids!" Joan patted on her chest as if taking a vow.

Sheryl took her hand and showed her the room. Joan had to depart for the time being as she had to collect her luggage. She said goodbye to Sheryl and took the ring of keys into her custody after Sheryl handed them over to her.

Sheryl let out a huge sigh of relief and came to grab Isla into her arms.

"Thank you so much, Isla! Had it not been for you, I don't know how long it would take to fix all these. Look at the room! Everything is just perfect! Then, what would like to have for dinner? Let's go to a fancy restaurant. It's on me!" Sheryl exclaimed excitedly. She was really grateful for having a friend like Isla. Without Isla, it would be much difficult for her to get through all this. She wondered if at all she could get through it in the first place.

"Sheryl!" Isla glared at her and warned, "Stop making such ridiculous statements lest you want me to be mad at you!" Isla cast a displeased glance at Sheryl with her eyebrows stitched into a stern frown. Sheryl reverted to her anger by sticking out her tongue and shaking her head. Then she said, "Not at all! You won't. Let's make a move. It's getting late. Let's go and find your husband for dinner!" Isla took a glance at her watch and saw that it was time for dinner.

She asked, "But what about Clark and Shirley? Aren't we waiting for them?"

"No, Joan will pick them up today. She'll be here within half an hour. It's only five minutes' away. Don't worry!" Sheryl replied as she put on her shoes.

She had asked Joan to pick them up and make supper for them before Joan left.

"Okay, then let's go!" Isla walked out of the door followed by Sheryl who walked right behind her.

On the way to the gate, Sheryl looked around and was more than content about the environment of that community.

Every single flower and grass was so welcoming as if they were all greeting her to move in. The community looked more like a garden. Sheryl smiled as if there as a hanger in her mouth.

Isla spotted her silly smile and laughed at her from time to time. At the same time, she was happy to see her friend move on from her harassed past. After all, life was short and they needed to cherish it. Soon they arrived at Aron's workplace. Isla gave him a call on the way and by the time they reached there, Aron was already waiting for them outside the building.

"Neither too late, nor too early!" Isla teased Aron before they headed to the restaurant.

It was a well-known place for western food in the town. It required a prior reservation for having dinner over here. They were lucky because Sheryl was a member here; otherwise, they would have to find some other place to have their dinner that night.

"Please take the order, Isla. Don't' save for me, Aron!" Sheryl handed the menu to Isla with a generous smile.

Aron helped her with all the moving and furniture. Relocating and settling down was a thing that men could contribute a lot to, and hence Sheryl owed him a big favor too.

Sheryl would forever be indebted to them for supporting her in her time of need. Sometimes words were not enough to express gratitude. She would do the same for them when they needed it. "Thank you for your kind reminder. I won't save for you, rich woman! I will order the most expensive steak and have it billed to you!" Isla said with an exaggerated expression, winking at Sheryl. Aron let out a hearty laugh at the interaction between the two best friends.

After giving their orders, as they waited for their food to be served, they used the time to catch up on the latest news. But the only one topic that was completely excluded from their conversation was that of Charles or anything regarding his company. Isla had urged Aron not to say anything again and again in private. And even if she didn't, Aron wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Being a sensitive human being, he was aware that it was immoral to make fun of other people's pain.

The dinner was served soon. Sheryl, being a member of the restaurant, earned them some extra privileges.

However, some unpleasant moments awaited them. Whether out of inattention or butterfingers, one of the waiters splashed several drops of oil on Sheryl's shirt while serving the steak. Sheryl knitted her brows and sighed, looking at the stains on her shirt. She was sort of a clean freak.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Ms. Xia, please don't be mad! It was an accident," the waiter hurriedly explained, bowing repeatedly in front of her. Sheryl, however, laughed instead of being annoyed. She said to the waiter gently, "It's okay. Never mind. Be careful next time."

"I will. Thank you, Ms. Xia. God bless you!" The waiter left their table hastily, afraid that they would ask him to pay for Sheryl's shirt. "Are you alright, Sher?" Isla asked in a concerned voice. She noticed the tension on Sheryl's face and worried she might be upset. "Yes, just several stains. It's not hot. I need to go to the lady's room. Excuse me, please enjoy your food," Sheryl said as she stood up.

In the lady's room, she scrubbed hard trying to wipe the stains from her shirt. After she was satisfied with her work, she began to wash her hands. Till then, her entire intent was to clean herself and join Isla and Aron. But then, all of a sudden, a chill ran down her spine. She felt as if there was someone else in the room. She straightened up and looked around cautiously, but found that she was the only one in the room. But she had the most ominous feeling now.

She had very sharp instincts and had sensed that something dangerous was close. Her instincts told her to leave here immediately.

However, it happened so fast that she hardly had any time to move. In a fraction of a second, she could feel a cold knife placed on her neck. She froze on the spot, holding her breath. Sheryl opened her mouth, about to scream for help. But an icy voice reached her ears before that. "You'd better keep silent and still. Otherwise, I may break your neck by accident."

It was a man's voice, low and cold. Sheryl was about to collapse on the floor. She gasped. The voice belonged to a complete stranger, and Sheryl believed that she had never heard it before.

She shut her mouth, so as not to risk her life. Closing her eyes, she remained as still as a statue, waiting for further instructions from him.

She had gotten a glimpse of that man under the dim light here. She was certain that she hadn't done anything to him, but why did he come to her?

"Who are you?" Sheryl asked in a choked voice. "And what is this all about?" The man didn't ask for money, and she guessed that he must be up to something else.

"It doesn't matter who I am. You're my target." His voice was pressing and Sheryl felt she was about to faint right away.

"You must be mistaken. We've barely seen each other before. How could I have offended you if I have never met you?" Sheryl probed the man with the hope that he might have caught the wrong person. She squeezed her eyes closed and silently prayed that her guess was right.

But he sneered and thought how ridiculous this woman was. He was professional and would never take a wrong target down. "Your name is Sheryl Xia, right? I'm looking for none other than you. I am a hitman a pro. Drop your stupid fantasies right away!" he whispered into her ears, which rendered her blood cold.

Sheryl was more than taken aback by the idea that someone paid him to kill her.

She was confident with her behaviors and believed that she had never offended someone so bad that she or he wanted her to die. She wrecked her head to find a name she could have possibly harmed. "Yes, I'm Sheryl Xia. But would you please tell me who paid you to kill me? I don't want to be murdered in confusion." Sheryl tried to get to the root of the matter.

The hitman, on the other hand, let his guard down a bit. Sheryl was a woman and now she seemed to be waiting for her fate calmly. "Are you nuts? You must be well aware who wants to end your life. It's not up to me to tell you!" He laughed.