The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1586 Divorce

Both Charles and Sheryl remained silent, as if they had an agreement not to answer this question.

The officer was speechless. She had seen lots of couples and heard countless reasons on getting divorce. On the other hand, Charles and Sheryl seemed like a perfect match. Charles was handsome and Sheryl was beautiful. 'What a pity they ended up like this,' she thought to herself.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the officer asked Charles and Sheryl. "There's no turning back once you start the procedure. As the saying goes, if something is broken, you should fix it, not throw it away. This applies to marriage too. When something goes wrong in a marriage, couples should try to sit down and talk it out so they understand each other better and love each other more."

Listening to the officer, Sheryl felt more upset. Taking a peek at Charles, who was silent and seemed like he wasn't paying attention at all, Sheryl grew sadder and more determined. "It just didn't work out for us," Sheryl said firmly. "Our marriage has come to an end. No need for it to continue."

The officer glanced at Charles after Sheryl finished talking. He did not comment, so she took that as an agreement.

She coughed and asked, "Have you signed a pre-nup or something like that before? And are there any other things you two need to settle down?"

"No, I don't plan to take any of his money. All I want is my company and the custody of my children." Sheryl wasn't a gold digger. The last thing she needed was the Lu family's money.

She wasn't the kind of woman who depended on her husband to make ends meet. She was talented and had a head for business. Although Cloud Advertising Company wasn't as good as the Shining Company, their annual profit was considerable.

"I don't agree. The assets can be 50-50. But the children's custody has to be mine!" Charles objected without any hesitation.

"Really, Charles? You are much busier than I am, and you spend all your time at work. I don't think you have any time to take care of the children," Sheryl talked back, feeling disappointed and a little angry. Charles was going to be with Leila very soon. And sooner or later, they would have their own kids. Sheryl would never let Clark and Shirley stay with Charles and Leila. She couldn't even imagine how Leila would treat her children.

"Then, do you have the time to take care of them?" Charles asked Sheryl, taking a firm stand himself.

Charles just didn't want to divorce Sheryl and he used the children's custody to make her change her mind. But Sheryl couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"That's none of your business. Everyone knows that you are busier than me!" Sheryl was determined too. Although what Charles said was true, she did have more free time than him. Kids around their children's age were closer to their mother than their father.

"You..."

"Alright, you two, stop fighting," the officer interrupted them. "There are many people waiting behind you. Why don't you go home first and come back here once you have settled your problems?" She urged Charles and Sheryl to leave.

Before Sheryl could even react, Charles had already walked out of the Bureau of Civil Affairs, so she too left and caught up to him. Grabbing his arm, she questioned him with disappointment, "What do you want exactly?"

"Clark and Shirley are my kids and their surname must be Lu. There is no way that I will let them change it when you get married to someone else." Charles looked at Sheryl in anger, warning her that his decision was final.

"That's ridiculous!" Sheryl sneered. Shaking her head, she continued, "Then I won't let my kids call any other woman Mom!"

"Then we can just stay married. Everything will remain the same. Problem solved!" Charles blurted out. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was the only solution to their problem.

Sheryl couldn't hide her shock. Lowering her eyes, she murmured in a low voice, "Can we?"

Sheryl's question reminded Charles of the day he was lying in bed with Leila. He wanted to explain himself to Sheryl, but he didn't know where to begin. He decided to stay silent.

Hearing no answer from Charles, Sheryl sighed. Once again, he had let her down. So she asked indifferently, "Can't we just break up peacefully? I am the one who has taken care of the children since the day they were born. I don't think what I'm asking for is irrational. I can't live without them. And I'm sure that they can't live without me either. Can you not understand that?"

Sheryl's eyes welled up and she started choking between sobs, which upset Charles. He wanted to step forward to comfort her, but she took a step back instinctively. She could only hold up for so long. Her heart felt like it was being torn at the thought of losing her children now.

Charles didn't know what else he could do. He felt sorry for Sheryl. Seeing her like this, he didn't want to let go. He didn't want a divorce.

"Are you still not giving up?" Sheryl pressed him.

But Charles just remained silent.

Sheryl felt furious that she was begging Charles but he just wouldn't give in. Pointing a finger at him, she yelled, "Charles, you are an asshole!"

She turned around and left in a hurry.

Suddenly, a car came rushing from nowhere, heading in Sheryl's direction. Charles ran toward Sheryl, held her in his arms and protected her with his body.

Before Sheryl could realize what had happened, she found herself in Charles' arms. His embrace was warm and assuring as usual.

Sheryl looked at the car and then at Charles.

Luckily, the driver was able to hit the brakes in time. Neither Sheryl nor Charles got hurt.

The driver was scared and sweating a lot. He had almost killed them. He got out of the car to check on the couple. After making sure that both of them were fine, he apologized again and took his leave. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Charles turned Sheryl around to make sure that she was fine.

Sheryl stared at Charles blankly, unable to speak.

She was deeply moved that Charles had saved her keeping his life on the line, which meant that she still held a special place in his heart.

"Sher, can we just stay married?" Charles asked Sheryl affectionately.

That was what she had been waiting to hear. Sheryl almost said yes. But then, Ferry's words came back to her. Sheryl didn't know what to do. She lowered her head, avoiding Charles' loving eyes, and said, "I'm not feeling very well. I have to go!"

Before Charles could register what happened, Sheryl had already walked away and he couldn't catch up to her. He was left standing still, upset and heartbroken.

'Sheryl, I don't want to divorce you. Why do you keep pushing me away?' Charles furrowed his brows, his face looking dreary.

Driving back to the company, Sheryl cried hard, her tears flowing endlessly.

In the past few weeks, she had been feeling that she had become very vulnerable. Even the littlest thing depressed her and there was nothing she could do to improve the situation. She let her tears drown the pain that she felt inside as she made her way back to the Cloud Advertising Company.

Back at the company, Isla was still waiting for Sheryl. After Sheryl had gone out, Isla told Phoebe to let her know when she was back.

Phoebe knocked on Isla's door. Even before Isla could tell her to come in, Phoebe pushed the door open and walked in anxiously. Seeing Phoebe's fretful face, Isla stood up right away and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ms. Zhao, Ms. Xia is back. But she has been crying a lot." Phoebe pointed at Sheryl's office, asking her to check on Sheryl.

Without second thoughts, Isla ran toward Sheryl's office.

Sheryl had closed her door. She needed a moment to be alone and didn't expect others to come into her office.

She wiped off the tears on her cheeks when she saw someone coming in. Initially, she thought about asking the person to leave, but when she lifted her head, she saw Isla.

She knew that she didn't need to hide her feelings in front of Isla. Before Isla could walk to her desk, Sheryl ran and wrapped her arms around her before letting out a cry.