The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1585 At The Bureau Of Civil Affairs

The next day ushered in the morning sun against the sky that was an unbroken backdrop of blue.

Sheryl stretched out her arms. She lay in bed with her eyes closed, mentally preparing herself to start the day. A few moments later, she heard Joan's footsteps. Joan was moving softly from her room toward the kitchen. The day in their new home had started out just like any other day. Sheryl got up and dragged herself to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she yawned and then washed her face with cold water. She needed to put on lots of makeup in order to hide her pale complexion from people. She made sure her public facade was flawless before finally going out.

"Are you heading out now, Ms. Xia? Breakfast will be ready in one minute!" Joan asked when she spotted Sheryl trotting to the door with her purse clutched in her hand.

Sheryl stopped and nodded at her with a smile. "I'm in a hurry, Joan. Please take care of the kids for me and send them to school on time. If they ask about me, just tell them that I have a deadline to take care of!"

Deep down in her heart, Sheryl blamed herself. She had only been focusing on how to get a divorce from Charles in the past few days, consequently neglecting the kids. She felt guilty for not kissing them goodbye in the morning, swearing to herself that she would make it up to them as soon as she was done with Charles.

"Of course, Ms. Xia. Please don't worry. Everything will be fine," Joan replied and sent her to the door.

Sheryl bid farewell to Joan and walked toward the elevator. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain shoot up the sole of her foot. She had to slow down even before she could reach the elevator. Looking at her foot, she heaved a sigh. Soon, it became apparent to her that it would take longer than she had initially anticipated for it to get better.

"Sheryl! Here!" She heard someone call out her name the moment she stepped out of the building.

Sheryl turned around and found Lewis running toward her.

What a surprise! Knitting her eyebrows together, Sheryl wondered why he was here. The thought that he had been waiting here for her gave her an even bigger headache.

"Good morning! How's your foot now? Are you feeling better?" Lewis asked before she could even say anything else.

When he noticed Sheryl's confusion, he cracked a wide smile and said, "Since I was the one who dropped you home last night, I'm obligated to pick you up and take you to work today. Also, you don't have a car and your foot isn't looking too good. Please don't turn me down."

Lewis' words were quite convincing. Although Sheryl wanted to go to work by herself, she knew that she would be putting her injured foot at risk as she didn't have her car with her. She was reluctant to go with Lewis, but it felt like she had no reason to turn down his kindness.

"This way please!" Lewis reached out, attempting to lead Sheryl to his car.

Sheryl maintained distance from him and politely said, "Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Xu. My foot is fine and I can walk."

She cast a quick glance at her foot and nodded at him in assurance. It felt awkward to be so informal with a business partner.

Lewis smiled and drew his hand back. He stepped forward, opened the door and closed it right after Sheryl got inside.

He scuttled into the driver's seat and started the car. Sheryl kept talking about their cooperation on their way, deliberately bypassing any chance for a conversation on personal affairs. Before long, they arrived at the building where Cloud Advertising Company was based.

"Thank you, Mr. Xu. Please drop me off here. Isla and I will arrange a business dinner when you are available, for your kind favor at this time and our cooperation in the last few years," Sheryl said sincerely, implying that she only regarded Lewis as a business partner.

"Okay! I'll wait for your call!" Lewis replied briskly. This was a good start for Lewis. He didn't mind waiting patiently for the day when Sheryl would start to look at him in a different light.

Sheryl got out of the car and stood there until Lewis drove away. She walked inside after a while, but hardly had she taken a few steps when she was taken aback by a sudden pat on her shoulder. She turned to look and found a wide, mischievous smile on Isla's face. Isla winked at her and raised one eyebrow, not saying a word.

Sheryl sighed inwardly and stared back at her, feigning annoyance.

"It seems you were right about Lewis. He took me home last night and picked me up this morning. I think he's paying me too much attention. I'm afraid you'll need to deal with his cases later!" Sheryl shot Isla an innocent look, making Isla feel that she was obligated to get Sheryl out of this.

Isla stood on the spot, hesitating to say anything for a moment as she wondered what was going on. But Sheryl kept walking, as if she had just rid herself of big trouble. "Wait for me, Sheryl!" Isla quickened her steps to catch up with her.

"What do you mean? Are you kidding? Lewis is one of our biggest clients. Wouldn't it be strange if I suddenly take over without any reason?" Isla said seriously, mouth agape incredulously.

Sheryl only nodded solemnly, patting Isla's shoulders as if giving her strength to go through this. "So you got the point, my dear friend," she replied. "He's one of our biggest clients. If I keep contacting him, perhaps he will end up asking me out. You know better than anyone else that I will turn him down without hesitation. Then if he gets angry and stops cooperating with us, it will cost us tens of millions in losses. Therefore, it's better if I leave him to you. It's called making hay while the sun shines!"

Sheryl walked off straightaway, leaving Isla pondering on the spot.

They left the elevator before walking into their office, but Isla was still lost in thought. Sheryl shook her head hopelessly and murmured, "Are you okay, Isla? Just try to think logically, please!" The next moment, Isla pushed the door open and walked in.

She cleared her throat and declared, "All right, I think your analysis is making sense to me. You'd better avoid meeting Lewis from now on. I don't want to lose any of his cases."

"He's all yours, Ms. Zhao!" Sheryl looked at her with amusement, gesturing with her hands that she would listen to whatever Isla said.

Isla realized that Sheryl was making fun of her. She was the one who wanted to make fun of Sheryl at first, but now things had taken another direction.

"Save it! Stop making fun of me. To be honest, I don't think I can handle Lewis. He came to us because of you, and if I ruin it in future, you'll blame me and I'll blame myself too. So, he's still yours!" Isla countered, pouting and knitting her brows.

Sheryl sat on her chair, resting her elbows on the table and gazing at Isla silently. Her long eyelashes and her captivating eyes glowed under the warm rays of the morning sun that crept into the room through the windows.

"Stop looking at me like that! I have no interest in women!" shouted Isla, sticking her tongue out at Sheryl.

Sheryl couldn't stop laughing at this. She knew that it would take a while before Isla went back to being pleasant with her. But she also knew that Isla wasn't really mad at her. This was how they got on every day, like a pair of quarrelsome, but loving partners.

Right at that moment, Sheryl's alarm went off with a resounding buzz that seemed louder than usual.

The smile on Sheryl's face faded away almost immediately and she drifted off into her own thoughts.

"What's up, Sher?" Isla asked, looking concerned. She was frightened by the sudden change of expression on her best friend's face. One moment, Sheryl was joking with her, and the next, she looked like the sky was falling down on her.

"Nothing. It just, uh, I need to step outside for a while. Please take care of the company for me." Sheryl lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with Isla. She decided not to tell Isla that the alarm was a reminder for her to go to the Bureau of Civil Affairs.

Sheryl stood up and grabbed her purse on the way out, leaving Isla standing there, puzzled and confused.

Isla rubbed her head and said to herself, "Cheer up, Isla! God always provides for good people. There's nothing wrong with Sheryl, and everything is right on track!"

Sheryl took the elevator to the parking lot and got inside her car.

Before turning the ignition key, she took out her residence booklet, her ID card and her marriage certificate, all of which were required for the divorce. She gazed at the red certificate and ran her fingers across it as a myriad of feelings rising from the bottom of her heart. Her eyes stung due to redness, and so did her heart.

She heaved a deep sigh and then drove to the bureau.

Charles was not there yet when she arrived. She decided to catch some fresh air as she waited for him outside.

After a while, which somehow seemed like forever to Sheryl, Charles' car came into sight. Sheryl turned around and took a deep breath. Upon hearing the familiar footsteps behind her, she turned to him. Neither of them spoke, but they kept looking into each other's eyes, searching for the things they longed to find.

Charles moved closer to her, but Sheryl walked straight inside, giving him no chance to say anything.

She casually ignored the expectant look on his face, afraid that she would collapse under his deep gaze.

There were only a few people waiting in line. Soon, it was their turn.

The officer took their certificates and went through them carefully. After confirming that all the required documents had been submitted, she raised her head to face the pair of them who were standing there like emotionless statues. She asked, "Just for the record, may I ask why you two want to divorce?"