The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1605 Lewis' Appearance in Sheryl's Ward

Isla stole glances at Sheryl as she poured out what was in her heart to her. She cautiously spoke her mind. She wanted to gently tell her things in case Sheryl was displeased by anything that she said.

"I don't understand. Melissa is your mother-in-law, but she rejoices in your misfortune. Now, a car accident has happened to Charles, yet she continues to hold you accountable. I don't know what this woman is thinking about, that makes her act so badly."

As Isla kept criticizing Melissa for her conduct, which, in her eyes, was unbecoming of a senior, she finished peeling the orange in her hand. When she was ready to pass it to Sheryl, Sheryl's pale face was the first thing that she saw.

At that moment, Sheryl wore a gloomy face and sat in silence. It was as if she had been struck with a spell that had taken away her soul.

Isla understood it was a shattering blow to her heart that such a tragedy had happened to her husband, Charles.

She took action at once to comfort Sheryl. In the middle of the process, someone knocked on the door.

By reflex, Isla turned and lifted her eyes to the door. After being permitted to enter the room, a tall, familiar silhouette appeared in the doorway, blocking out the light from the hall. Surprisingly, Lewis had made an appearance. Isla had actually called him and asked him to pay a visit on the sly.

Sheryl gave him a rather surprised look as if she hadn't expected Lewis would be bold enough to see her during such stressful circumstances. It was too inopportune for him to visit her now, as far as she was concerned. They were in the spotlight of both the public and the press, so such a visit could only be considered reckless. There was no doubt that it might discredit both of their reputations to a further extent!

"Ahhh! Mr. Xu, I didn't expect to see you! You are here just in time! Sheryl needs extra care. Please help me keep her company. You can stay here while I go out to buy some food." Isla deliberately found an excuse for leaving to create some privacy for Lewis and Sheryl. Clearly, she was not subtle enough to conceal her intention. She made this sudden request as soon as Lewis arrived, so she was being quite obvious.

To make it less obvious, Isla didn't leave the ward immediately. Instead, she stopped at the door for a moment before she went out. She had made a decision on behalf of Sheryl without asking for permission in advance. She dreaded the fact that Sheryl might get irritated at her for setting up the visit.

However, her decision hadn't come from nowhere. In Isla's mind, Charles had Leila around him to keep him company, but Sheryl was alone and in distress. Isla had worried that Sheryl wanted a man to be around, instead of a friend like Isla. Struck by the idea, she had picked up her phone and dialed Lewis' phone number without hesitation.

Still, there was another reason for Isla's choice in action. If people from the Lu family knew that Sheryl had another man who cared about her, that would certainly send a bit of alarm through all of them. Besides, if Sheryl made up her mind to forget Charles, and was ready to start a new life with someone else, Lewis was a good guy to pick.

After Isla left, a sense of embarrassment immediately settled over the ward. To break the ice, Sheryl tried to end the state of silence. She shot Lewis a faint smile and said, "I'm not that sick! You really didn't have to come here!"

"Sheryl, don't tell me that! How could I not visit you when I knew that you were lying in the hospital? I'm your friend, after all!" Lewis quickly reacted with a plausible explanation, to dispel Sheryl's feelings of discomfort.

After a pause, he continued, "I heard that Charles got into a car accident, is that right? Is he okay now?"

Lewis was actually in no mood to mention Charles. He really had no desire to know about Charles' physical condition because of how he had hurt Sheryl.

If it weren't for the fact that Charles was the only suitable topic which Lewis could find at that moment, he would have made it clear to Sheryl that he didn't care about her husband.

Sheryl didn't reply. Instead, she kept a blank look on her face. Her attitude darkened Lewis' mood.

He stared at Sheryl, as he thought to himself, 'Sheryl, can't you open your heart to someone other than Charles? Why do you have to be so stubborn about him? I don't see him loving you back in the same way!'

Lewis had his assistant dig into Charles' business, as well as his marriage to Sheryl. He already knew some information which was unknown to the public. In his eyes, Charles was unworthy of her heart. "Sheryl, are you okay?" Lewis asked with a worried look on his face as he waved his hand before Sheryl's vacant eyes.

Having observed that Sheryl seemed stuck in her unhappy thoughts, Lewis tried to snap her out of it.

"Ahh! What did you just say?" Sheryl was embarrassed that she had gotten distracted. Realizing that she had not heard what Lewis said, she became apologetic. Lewis had made the visit with good intention toward her after all.

Despite being in a terrible mood, she still tried to keep smiling sweetly at Lewis. Sheryl hadn't anticipated the fact that Lewis would drop by and she was still stuck in her astonishment.

"Well, nothing actually. I just wanted to know if you have been okay lately. Is there anything that you need me to help you with?" Lewis asked thoughtfully. He was trying to pick his words carefully.

"I am fine. Thank you for your consideration!" Sheryl just answered with formality. She didn't say any more than she needed to.

The atmosphere felt strange.

"Sher, I brought you some medicine that's known to be calming and nourishing to the heart..." Cassie entered the room without knocking on the door. When she saw a strange man was sitting beside Sheryl's bed, she was completely astonished.

It took Cassie a moment to come back to her senses.

"Sher, is this your friend?" Cassie had barely seen any of Sheryl's male friends. To the best of her recollection, the only male friends that Sheryl had made were all work related, and did not visit her privately.

"Yes!"

"Nice to meet you! My name is Lewis Xu!" Lewis introduced himself, in a natural and relaxed manner.

Out of politeness, Cassie returned a greeting to him, even though she had never met such a nice, charming and charismatic guy before. She quickly put the medication she had bought on the bedside table and then turned to leave.

When Lewis had first looked up at Cassie, she had caught a glimmer of love flashing in his eyes. She had quickly read the situation and made her departure without much hesitation. However, as she stepped out of the room, she noticed that Sheryl seemed indifferent toward the man. Cassie couldn't help but heave a sigh in her heart.

"Lewis, as you see, I have Cassie by my side. She works here, and luckily, she happens to be my friend too. There is nothing that I should worry about. I also know that you are a busy man, so why don't you... Sheryl was in a dilemma. Her husband was still recovering from surgery and was possibly in a coma. Her full attention was on Charles, so she had no intention of considering what was or could be between her and Lewis. She really wanted to ask Lewis to go away, but that would be too rude.

"Okay, as long as you are fine, I won't bother you much more. I think I should get going. Call me anytime you need my help!" After saying that, Lewis turned and prepared to leave. Having noticed Sheryl's resistance to his visit, he didn't want to stay and continue to make her uncomfortable.

As he stepped out of the door, Isla was just coming back.

Isla was puzzled and didn't understand why Lewis had decided to leave so early.

"Mr. Xu, I can see how you feel just from the look on your face. I know that you love Sheryl, but I want to be sure that your affection toward her is not just a sudden, fleeting impulse. So, tell me, do you really love Sheryl?" Isla teased, as she blocked Lewis' way when he tried to leave.

Lewis was a smart guy. He knew what Isla meant. After a momentary consideration, he quickly answered while his face took on a stern look, "Of course, I'm serious about her! I couldn't be more serious! Sheryl is always trying to avoid me, though. I have no other choice but to wait until she's ready. I won't force her to make a decision. I am not that kind of man. As you can see, I have a lot of patience, and I'm willing to wait for her answer."

Isla smiled upon hearing Lewis' words. His stern face looked so funny to her. With a shake of her head, Isla urged, "Then why are you in such a hurry to leave? Sheryl is weak right now. A man like you is exactly what she needs by her side! You should stay by her side and whisper some sweet words in her ear to comfort her!"

Lewis didn't say a word. He only hung his head in silence. After a while, he started to shake his head and sighed. "As Sheryl's best friend, you don't know a lot about her."

Isla was confused as to what he meant. She didn't fully understand what Lewis meant by that.

With another sigh, Lewis still didn't say another word. He turned and left. Watching his receding figure, Isla let out a sigh of her own. She thought to herself, 'Lewis is a good man, but he is not brave enough to truly strive for Sheryl's love!'

Coming back to her senses, Isla knocked on the door before she entered the sickroom.

"Sher, did you ask Lewis to leave? Why would you do that?" Isla pulled a face as she questioned Sheryl. She wanted to make her feel a little guilty.

She had acted as an intermediary to provide Sheryl with such a rare opportunity, but Sheryl had just wasted it!

"Did you call Lewis to come over on the sly? Why did you do that? Don't you know that I am still Charles' lawful wife? How can I accept another man's love at a time like this?" Sheryl ignored Isla's resentful look and shot her own grievances back at her.

In Sheryl's eyes, Isla was very reckless. Under the current circumstances, the rumors about her and Lewis were still a trending topic out there. Every news outlet was reporting on the suspected affair and the pictures of them together were widely spread on the internet. The wise choice for Sheryl was not to see Lewis to avoid causing any additional trouble! How could Isla not see that?

Sheryl wouldn't have expected that Lewis would take Isla's suggestion seriously, or that he would have appeared in her ward. Didn't he worry that his reputation might be ruined to a further extent because of this?