The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1591 Mission Failed

Running Sheryl over had been both Holley's and Leila's idea, so when the two finally met, Holley was anxious to hear the good news.

When Leila had been on the phone with Holley the night before, she hadn't told her what happened. Holly was antsy. She hoped to find out as early as possible how things had turned out.

Therefore, when Leila started talking to Holley in a pompous way, holding her head high, Holley thought they had succeeded. 'She's acting so arrogant around me today! It seems like Sheryl has finally been killed, and Leila's proud of it. Finally! Finally, Leila has become the hostess of Shining Company!'

However, Leila went on to report to Holly the opposite of what she had been expecting. She drank her coffee and said, "I failed. Sheryl's fine." Leila was so angry that her voice shook as she spoke. She regretted failing to kill Sheryl.

Holley was shocked to hear this news. In her mind, she blamed Leila. 'Why on earth is she behaving so arrogantly in front of me? This is nothing to be proud of! She has obviously forgotten her position!' Without holding back her emotions, Holley replied with anger, "Leila, you are completely useless! It was such an easy job and you blew it! I asked you to do one thing! Only one thing! And you just couldn't succeed. You still want to be the hostess of Shining Company, don't you? You must be dreaming then, because you are so weak and useless!"

These words worsened Leila's anger. She thought to herself, 'While we are in this difficult situation, she's doing nothing except blaming me. By now, she should be thinking of other ways to end Sheryl, not putting this failure solely on me!' Leila sneered and looked provocatively at Holley. "I'm useless and weak? What about you? If you are so strong and useful, why don't you think of a way to kill Sheryl by yourself? You know nothing about dealing with Sheryl, but you can think of a thousand ways to blame me. You are useless, too! You're only good at running your mouth against your own allies!" Leila's provocation got to Holley. She was so angry that she slammed down her hands on the table. Standing up, she pointed at Leila. "From now on, don't expect any money from me. Never!" She emphasized the words "any money."

However, when Leila heard this, she just started laughing. She laughed so hard and for so long that it confused Holley.

'Why is she laughing?' Holley thought. 'What on earth is so funny about no longer getting financial help from me?'

Leila couldn't help herself. She kept chuckling for a while. 'Has she forgotten everything?' she thought to herself. 'Has she forgotten how I got the money from her in the first place?

If she doesn't give me money, she will never get what she wants.

Besides, I don't even care about the money. I'm just pretending to work for her. Truth is, I'm using her.'

Leila finally stopped laughing and stared at Holley. She said firmly, "Holley, you can stop paying me. But if you do that, you would never get any information about Shining Company from me." Holley's expression suddenly changed. She was shocked. 'How could I have possibly forgotten that?' she wondered to herself.

A couple of seconds later, her expression changed again. Suddenly, she was not angry anymore. Instead, she looked at Leila, this time with a calm and friendly face. She grabbed her by the arm and said, "Leila, I'm sorry. I was just too nervous. I lost it when I heard that the bitch is still alive. I didn't intend to push you so hard. We are like sisters, right? It is natural for us to help each other and deal with that bitch together, so there is no way I would stop giving you money. And you will keep giving me information, won't you, sister?" Holley talked in a soft voice and looked at Leila sincerely. If a stranger heard her talk like this, he would think that Holley and Leila were close, or that they were best friends at least.

But Leila wasn't a stranger. She knew Holley. And she knew that Holley wasn't the person she was pretending to be right now. 'She is just using me. We will never be friends. But of course, I too am just taking advantage of her, ' Leila thought.

Holley was well aware that without Leila's help, she couldn't get what she wanted. 'Without her, I can never destroy Shining Company,' Holley reflected. 'How could I ever face Ferry if that happens? Ferry won' leave me alone or let me go. I can't image what he will do to me if I fail!'

Leila also fully understood that without Holley's help, she couldn't do anything because she was always with Melissa.

"Yes, Holley," she said. "We help each other. But you have to remember that I'm not your subordinate and you are not my boss. We benefit from each other and we are equals. So, whatever your plans or decisions may be, you have to tell me first. We'll discuss them and you will listen to my advice. Besides, I don't want to see you acting so rashly anymore. If you yell at me and blame me again, this cooperation ends at once. I'm not the only one who's going to suffer because of it. Do you understand?" Leila obviously had the upper hand here. Holley couldn't respond to this. She quietly endured the humiliation and nodded in agreement.

Still, Leila didn't stop there. She continued, "Alright, then. Since you agree, I think you should go home now and come up with other ways to deal with Sheryl. Killing that bitch is not my job alone. It's ours. You can't just stand there and watch me do everything for you. Okay?"

'After all I have done my part. I should ask her to do her fair share, ' Leila thought to herself.

"I get it. Don't worry. I will help you think of a way," Holley answered, smiling.

Leila managed a smile too, but it disappeared at once. She grabbed her sunglasses and said coldly, "Then I'm going back home. Melissa is waiting for me."

After enduring this humiliation, Holley watched Leila walk away. 'I don't know what she was being so arrogant about. She's done nothing but kiss Melissa's ass!' she thought in anger once Leila left. Leila, not knowing any of this, walked out of the cafe feeling victorious. 'I finally get to be in charge now.' She smiled smugly.

She returned to Dream Garden and thought over everything that had happened today. She decided she couldn't just wait here and do nothing. She had to be in Shining Company at once. It was the only way to keep Sheryl and Charles from getting back together.

When she saw Melissa walking toward her, she hurriedly looked away and tried her best to look upset. She turned back to face Melissa once the latter had come closer to her. When Melissa looked at Leila's face, all she saw was sadness.

She asked, "Leila, what's wrong? Did somebody do something? Tell me! What happened?"

As soon as Melissa stopped talking, Leila burst into tears. She held Melissa's hand and said, "Aunt Melissa, my lingerie store has gone bankrupt. I've decided to close it down, but I have nowhere else to go. I can't find a job. If I'm unemployed, I would not be able to make a living for myself."

Without hesitation, Melissa said, "No problem! You live in Dream Garden. You can eat here and live here with me. You don't have to worry about anything."

But Leila shook her head, saying, "Aunt Melissa, I appreciate your generosity, but I don't want this. I want independence. I don't want to rely on you. I want a job so I can be on the same level as Charles." Melissa took note of this concern and agreed. 'She's right. And it'll be good to have someone help Charles at work,' she thought.

"Don't worry. I remember what you said last time. You want to work at Shining Company. I'll talk to Charles when he gets home from work tonight. I will help get you back into the company." Melissa spoke with determination. She looked at Leila, trying to persuade her into believing her.

"Really? Aunt Melissa, you would really do that for me? You're willing to talk to Charles about this? Leila asked Melissa in excitement.

Melissa nodded. She was happy to see Leila so eager.

"Aunt Melissa, thank you! Thank you so much! You are the best," Leila said with tears in her eyes. She seemed deeply moved and gave Melissa a big hug.

It worked on Melissa. She was also moved by Leila's reaction. She patted Leila's back and comforted her. "It's alright. There's no need to thank me. We will be a family very soon," she said.

"Yes, we will!" Leila said as she flashed Melissa a big smile.

After comforting Leila, Melissa walked upstairs. Leila's eyes followed her. After Melissa disappeared from her sight, Leila laughed, satisfied. 'Sheryl,' she thought, 'after I finally return to Shining Company, you will never make it back to Dream Garden.'

At Eton Kindergarten, a meeting was about to take place.

Clark and Shirley had been asked by their teacher to invite their parents to the meeting. Sheryl arrived at the kindergarten very early.

Clark saw his mother first. He ran toward Sheryl and jumped into her arms happily. After a while, he asked in a soft voice, "Where is Dad? Is he not coming?"

Sheryl hadn't told Charles about this meeting. Last time when they had seen each other, it had not been pleasant. She didn't want to forgive or see him so soon.

She grinned at Clark and kissed his face. "Dad is busy, but Mom is here for Clark and Shirley," said Sheryl.

Clark had always been a good boy, so he didn't respond. Still, he missed his father very much.

Sheryl sighed and thought, 'I know how much he misses Charles, but after I left Dream Garden, Charles never talked about seeing the kids. I don't know if the kids are even important to him. Maybe he just doesn't love them as much as I thought he did.'