The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1599 Stay Away!

"Sher, I got too emotional. I didn't mean to do that! You don't blame me, do you?" Isla realized she shouldn't have talked so much, but at the time, she had no other choice. She had felt obliged to defend Sheryl With a faint smile, Sheryl shook her head and said, "Of course not, Isla. I know that you care about me. You were trying to speak on my behalf. How could I blame you?"

Sheryl, overwhelmed with sorrow, tried to keep her emotions in check as she responded to Isla. Her face, however, betrayed her. Intense sadness was reflected in her eyes. This did not escape Isla's attention. It broke her heart. In Isla's eyes, Sheryl was weak and needed care. To get Sheryl back to the present, Isla pulled her close and embraced her. "It's okay, Sher. Don't be sad. You have me. I will stand by your side no matter what happens."

"I am fine, really. I can do this alone. You don't have to worry about me!" Even though Sheryl was in a lot of pain, she didn't want to cause Isla any trouble. Nonetheless, Isla was a close friend. She had known how Sheryl really felt just by looking at her face.

After a while, Sheryl returned to her office. Upon checking her phone, she noticed several missed calls from the same number. She chose to ignore these, but her heart felt heavy.

Sheryl felt conflicted. On the one hand, she didn't want to divorce Charles, but on the other hand, she dreaded the humiliation that came with becoming Ferry's lover just in order to make a deal. There was no third option.

Aside from that, the news must have reached Charles by now, and he must be very disappointed in her.

'Are you going to give up on our marriage, Charles?'

Sheryl thought, as tears started flowing down her cheeks.

In Dream Garden, Leila and Melissa talked in hushed tones.

"Leila, who's this man? Is he the same person who was in the video that you showed me? The one filmed in the shopping mall?" Melissa asked, her eyes fixed on the news. She couldn't help but grow suspicious about how Leila had gotten so many pictures.

"These pictures were taken by my friend, quite unintentionally. Sheryl had been supposed to be with a man at that spot, Aunt Melissa. Someone must have photo-shopped the pictures to blur the man's face," Leila patiently explained to Melissa.

At last, Melissa finally knew the truth.

They exchanged smirks as they looked at each other.

Moments later, Charles returned to Dream Garden wearing a gloomy expression. When he stepped into the dining room, he saw Melissa and Leila sitting on the sofa, happily talking with each other. Charles' return immediately caught Leila's attention.

She jumped to her feet and walked over to him. She greeted him by remarking, "Charles, are you okay? You look awful today." Leila, showing much concern, grabbed Charles by the arm.

Charles was watchful of Leila's apparent care. He treated everything she did with a sense of misgiving. In an instant, he remembered what Isla had told him. For him, it was Leila who had made Sheryl turn her back on him and their marriage. If it wasn't for Leila, he and Sheryl wouldn't have been in the situation they were now in.

"Keep your hands off me!" Charles cast Leila a spiteful look as he angrily pushed her hand away.

Taken aback, Leila froze. She didn't know how to react.

Melissa quickly assessed the situation. Wanting to be a step ahead, she approached her son and grabbed his arm. With a reproachful look, she admonished him. "Charles, why do you direct your anger at Leila? She hasn't done anything wrong, has she? Sheryl is the one to blame. If you ask me, Leila has been nothing but thoughtful. She cares about you so much!"

She put her hand on her chest and faked a cough soon after she had spoken. She was pretending to be in distress to earn her son's sympathy.

It worked. This display of Melissa's frailty caught Charles' attention. He couldn't help but grow concerned about his mother's condition.

"Mom, are you okay?" Charles asked, full of concern, as he helped keep her steady.

Melissa's knees buckled. She stumbled slightly, took a few steps back, and then sat on the sofa. She shook her head and replied with a faint smile, "I am fine."

"Really? I am relieved to hear that. Well, I want to go upstairs now to get some rest!" Upon hearing that his mother was fine, Charles felt relieved. He turned away and decided to find a place where he could be alone.

Melissa and Leila exchanged looks behind his back. They nodded knowingly to each other but Melissa signaled for Leila to stay silent.

Leila followed Melissa's instructions. Since the situation was in her favor so far, she thought it would be better to just wait. It was still too early to leap into action. She could wait until Sheryl and Charles were completely and certainly broken up.

Besides, she hadn't played all of her cards yet. She was confident that Charles would lose all his faith in Sheryl before the end.

Leila couldn't help but grin at the thought. Her lips curved into a cheeky smile.

Deeper into the night, tensions were mounting in Dream Garden. Leila had been having second thoughts and couldn't sleep. Against her better judgment, she quietly approached Charles' bedroom. She had gathered all the courage that she could just to talk to him. She had no idea whether he was willing to talk to her or not, but she thought that it was time to show Charles the cards that she held in her hands, and what he should know about Sheryl.

Charles opened the door after hearing a knock. When he saw that it was Leila, he furrowed his brows and shouted, "Stay away!"

"Charles, please! Do you really have to treat me this way?" Leila pushed herself against the door, preventing it from being shut. Her eyes were full of distress.

"Stay away!" Charles repeated in the same loud voice. He ignored the sad look on Leila's face and shouted at her without hesitation.

"But, Charles, you have to see this!" Leila didn't budge. She had almost lost the chance to hand Charles her phone, when he pushed too hard and the door narrowly missed Leila's fingers.

She knew that she had to show Charles what she had gathered. Otherwise, all of her efforts would have been in vain.

Despite his vigilance and the grudge which he held against Leila, Charles gave up and grabbed the phone from her. In the process, he accidentally glanced at the pictures. A general feeling of resentment overcame him. He lost his temper and shouted at Leila, "Get the fuck out!"

Leila shivered at his violent reaction. Her face turned pale, and, in a panic, she quietly slid away.

Charles was now alone in his bedroom. Heartbroken, he stared blankly at the pictures.

"Sher, you..." His face became contorted with fury. Overwhelming rage made him choke. He could only stare at the pictures but could no longer speak.

At Cloud Advertising Company, Sheryl's phone rang.

She was startled. She had expected that the caller must have been Charles. To her surprise, it was Lewis.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she picked up the phone.

"Sheryl, I saw the news. I am so sorry. I never intended to get you into trouble." Lewis apologized with the utmost sincerity.

He regretted having spent so much time with Sheryl in private. He realized now just how much it would damage Sheryl's reputation. She was still Charles' wife.

Sheryl was moved by Lewis' apology. This whole time, Sheryl had thought that it was she who was supposed to apologize. After all, Lewis had also been dragged into this mess.

"Lewis, I should be the one to apologize," Sheryl argued but in a rather unconvincing, monotonous voice. Then there followed a long moment of silence. Clearly, she was upset about the issue.

Lewis had previously had a lot to say before he made the call. All of a sudden, he was at a loss for words.

When a good amount of time had passed and no one had spoken, Lewis finally broke the silence. He said, "Well, let's use this time to take care of our own issues as soon as possible. This is our top priority. Remember to call me if you need any help. Goodbye!"

"I will. Thanks. Goodbye!" Sheryl's tone still sounded blank when she hung up.

Lewis stared at his phone. After a moment's contemplation, he dialed a strange phone number. Quickly, the call was put through.

"Have your guys found anything? Who released the video to the public? Tell me what you have so far!" Lewis demanded in a stern voice. Seeing the video so early in the morning had both disturbed and infuriated him.

"It was a woman called Leila Zhang." The voice on the other end of the line promptly gave Lewis a detailed report.

Lewis, in turn, grew more and more furious as the truth was gradually revealed. He clenched his fists and furrowed his brows. He was overcome with hatred. It was almost as though he was ready to kill this Leila Zhang.

After hanging up, Lewis looked straight ahead. He gritted his teeth as he swore, "Leila Zhang, you did this to Sheryl. I will make you pay for this!"

The fire in Lewis' eyes burned brightly.

If looks could kill, his eyes would have caused a bloodbath.

When Sheryl returned home, she immediately headed for the bedroom, desperate for some rest. But no matter how hard she tried to go to sleep, she failed. Initially, she had thought that it was because of the change in environment. She always had difficulty sleeping whenever she was staying in a new room. Was her insomnia because of that, or because Charles was not by her side this time?

The kids had fallen asleep much earlier. Sheryl felt exhausted, but she was not drowsy at all. It was the exhaustion in her heart which kept her from sleeping.

Confused, sad, and feeling alone, she whispered, "Charles, is this marriage coming to an end?"

After a whole day of thinking things through, Sheryl had come up with a decision, one that she believed would set them both free. That night, she suffered through sleepless agony though.