The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1580 Stupid Woman

Nancy knocked lightly on Melissa's door and then came in. "Mrs. Lu, I made some porridge for you," she said gently.

Melissa, who was lying in bed, answered with her eyes half-closed, "Fine. I'll eat some."

Leila reached out to take the bowl from Nancy and came to Melissa's side. "Aunt Melissa, let me feed you, okay?" She scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Melissa's mouth.

"That sounds good. Thank you, Leila. You are such a good girl." Melissa smiled. The two went along with the act and performed a great play in front of Charles.

Since Melissa was sick, Charles knew that he couldn't leave her and go to work. However, he was also getting tired of seeing Leila and Melissa get along harmoniously, so he didn't feel like staying here with them.

"Mom, take care of yourself. I need to go over some important business files in my room," Charles said. Before Melissa could say anything, he simply took off and walked out of the room.

Nancy followed him out shortly after.

"Nancy, thanks for taking care of my mother. Please, get some rest," Charles said to Nancy and stepped into the study.

Meanwhile in Melissa's room, the sickly old woman asked Leila to put the bowl on the table after she had eaten her fill.

Now that nobody was there, they looked at each other with complacency. "Leila, you're such a good girl," Melissa said. "I know that you are much better than Sheryl. I'm sure Charles will change his attitude toward you after he sees you taking care of me for an entire day."

Melissa had pretended to be sick so that she and Leila could put up an act in front of Charles.

"Aunt Melissa, I'm so sorry that you have to pretend to be sick just to help me out!" Leila said with a guilt-ridden expression. She took Melissa's hands in her own, tears running down her cheeks. Melissa wiped away the tears from Leila's cheeks and comforted her. "Leila, don't cry. I did it for you because I like you. I'm willing to make this sacrifice so long as you can become my daughter-in-law." Leila was deeply moved by Melissa's words. She wrapped Melissa in an embrace almost immediately.

Today's incident was all a part of Melissa's elaborate ruse. Lying in bed, she thought about the relationship between Charles and Leila. She was worried because Charles didn't like Leila at all. If she allowed for the situation to continue, Sheryl would come back sooner or later. By hook or by crook, she had to do whatever she could to bring Charles and Leila together.

Melissa knew that the only way she could make Charles stay back at home was that she pretended to be sick. As Leila would be pre-occupied with taking care of Melissa, both she and Charles would finally have the chance of spending more time together. And if Melissa was lucky, Charles would finally notice the kind and gentle side of Leila.

With that in mind, Melissa had come to Leila's bedroom after dinner the night before.

Leila was already in bed, fast asleep. Earlier when Melissa had told her about her plan, she couldn't even digest what she was saying. However, after Melissa explained it to her again, Leila came to realize how well-thought of and meticulous Melissa's plans were.

Needless to say, Leila was over the moon with joy. But she couldn't show it on her face. Instead, she pretended to be worried and nervous. "Aunt Melissa, are you sure this will work?"

"Of course it will! Don't worry. I know my son well enough. He'll fall for this," Melissa replied confidently.

As soon as Charles arrived home, their fictitious display of affection for each other came into full play.

The entire afternoon, Leila busied herself around the house. Sometimes she'd go over to Melissa's room to take care of her. The next moment she'd appear at Charles' side and serve him tea or snacks. However, Charles remained unmoved by her efforts, as if Leila was merely a servant in this house.

Leila, however, didn't mind his cold attitude toward her. Looking at Charles' handsome face, she summoned up the courage to say, "Charles, do you need anything?"

"Get out!" Charles snapped at her. He didn't even bother to look at Leila when he spoke.

Leila was clearly annoyed, but she didn't dare say anything. She pretended to be unmindful of his words and then walked out.

As soon as she went to Melissa's room, Melissa could tell that something was wrong with her. She looked at Leila's aggrieved face and asked, "Leila, what happened?"

"Um...nothing. I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Aunt Melissa," Leila replied. Leila was good at playing weak in front of Melissa so that the latter would have pity on her and protect her.

Melissa waved her hand at Leila, gesturing her to come close. She let Leila sit by the side of her bed.

"Leila, I know that Charles treated you badly. That's because he hasn't fallen in love with you yet. You must try to understand him. I want you to believe that if you treat him nicely and take care of him every day he will see your sincerity one day. He will surely change his attitude sooner or later!" Melissa comforted her.

Leila felt somewhat relieved because at least she had the support of Charles' mother.

"You're right, Aunt Melissa. Don't worry, I love him no matter what. I'll keep going!" Leila knew that her efforts would be paid off one day in the future.

With Melissa's help and support, Charles would eventually come to accept her.

At Cloud Advertising Company

Sheryl waited at the company for the whole day, but Charles didn't call her. She managed to get Charles' flight information through some friends, so she knew that his flight had already landed. She went to the airport, but when she saw his driver, who was also there to pick him up, she shrank back. Still, she followed his car all the way.

Sheryl thought that Charles would go straight to his company from the office. Much to her surprise, however, his car went to Dream Garden.

He hadn't come out ever since he arrived home. Sheryl kept waiting for him outside all the while. When she saw Leila go up and inside the house, her mood plummeted gradually.

If Charles really cared about her, he would have called her long ago, instead of putting her aside and totally forgetting about her.

Sheryl couldn't hold back her tears, saddened by the mere thought of this.

All of a sudden, the ringing of her cellphone startled her.

She swallowed to restrain herself from crying. When she finally checked who the caller was, she was surprised to see that it was none other than Melissa.

Puzzled, Sheryl wondered why Melissa would be calling her. Did Melissa arrange someone to spy on her? Why else would she call her now at this very moment?

Sheryl didn't know what Melissa would say, therefore she decided not to answer the call. She rejected it straightaway, but to her surprise, Melissa kept calling her repeatedly. Losing her patience, Sheryl decided to pick it up in the end.

"What do you want from me?" Sheryl asked coldly.

"Sheryl, you haven't divorced my son Charles yet! Show your mother-in-law some respect!" Melissa snapped at her. She called Sheryl to humiliate her since Charles and Leila were spending the whole day together in the same house. However, she didn't expect Sheryl to have the courage to ignore her call.

Leila, who heard Melissa's words, couldn't help but frown. Her eyebrows creased together.

'Are you crazy, old woman? Why would you remind her that they haven't been officially divorced yet? You're just giving her an excuse to come back!' Leila kept her thoughts to herself.

"Since you know that I haven't divorced Charles yet, you should make sure that your pet Leila behaves herself. Don't try to mess with me again!" Sheryl spat in fury. She knew that it was impossible for her to reconcile with Charles, so she didn't need to be polite to Melissa anymore.

"Sheryl, are you threatening me?" Melissa sneered in a high-pitched voice.

Leila winked at Melissa to remind her not to lose her temper, which was exactly what Sheryl wanted to see.

Sometimes Melissa's impulsive outbursts would cause Leila to question her intelligence. As foolish as she was, how did Melissa manage to marry Charles' father in the first place?