The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1606 The Second Operation

Sheryl's words reminded Isla of something. She hadn't realized how wrong she had been until just then. She realized that she was really such an idiot to have called Lewis without any consideration.

If anyone wanted to defame Sheryl, they could now make up a story from the situation. Isla felt intense regret for what she had done.

"Sher, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry," Isla apologized to Sheryl immediately.

At that very moment, Cassie pushed the door open in a rush and panted, "Sher, Mr. Lu has been sent to the operating room again!"

"What did you just say?" Sheryl asked as she sprang up from her bed.

Isla also started to worry when she heard what Cassie said. 'Didn't he just finish with his first operation just a little while ago? What's going on now?' she wondered.

Before Cassie could respond, Sheryl got out of her bed and rushed with haste to the operating room.

Isla immediately followed Sheryl out because she was worried about her.

They arrived at the operating room shortly after that.

The light was on, which meant that the operation was in progress. Sheryl looked at it anxiously and asked Cassie, "What's wrong with him?"

Unable to answer, Cassie regretfully shook her head. She didn't know anything either. She had passed by Charles' room moments ago, but she had only seen that he was sent to the operating room again. After she saw that, she had come straight to Sheryl's room to inform her of the incident.

Sheryl looked around, but surprisingly, she didn't see Melissa or Leila.

"Nobody was with Charles when they took him?" Sheryl asked Cassie in confusion.

Cassie shook her head again. She had been in such a rush that she didn't have time to even wonder where Melissa and Leila were.

Sheryl felt so scared for Charles. He had just finished an operation. How could they have left him alone?

Suddenly, a nurse came out from the operating room. She came to Sheryl and asked, "Are you a member of the patient's family?"

"I'm his wife," Sheryl answered firmly. She felt like her body was filled with strength now. She knew she must be strong in that moment.

"The patient developed a postoperative infection, so he needs a second operation. Please sign here," the nurse said. This was the second time that Sheryl needed to sign that sort of paper.

As soon as she read the word Disclaimer, her heart plummeted. She wondered if it was yet another life-and-death moment for Charles.

Sheryl signed the paper in a hurry. After she was done, she wanted to ask the nurse for more information, but the nurse left quickly without giving her any chance to talk.

"Cassie! Why are you idling around here? Replace the infusion for the patient in Room 7, now!" a voice called out to Cassie abruptly.

The speaker turned out to be the head nurse of that floor. She had been looking for Cassie for a while. When she found out that Cassie was loafing on the job, she couldn't help but get angry at her. Cassie was startled. She turned to the head nurse and answered immediately, "Yes. I'm on it!"

"Just go ahead. I'll stay here with Sher," Isla said and she waved for Cassie to go. Then she moved to stand by Sheryl's side.

Cassie also knew that she must carry out her duty first. She nodded to Isla and said, "All right. Isla, I'm leaving now. If you have any problems, just call me."

"Okay. Bye!"

After Cassie had left, the corridor outside the operating room became extremely quiet. Nobody was there except Isla and Sheryl. Isla didn't dare to say anything because she didn't want to remind Sheryl of any unnecessary worries.

"Charles will be all right, won't he?" Sheryl asked with a sad smile as tears rolled down her face.

It was unclear whether Sheryl was talking to Isla, or was just trying to convince herself.

Isla felt heartbroken when she saw Sheryl like that. She reached out and wrapped Sheryl's hands in her own. She gently asked, "What will you do if, for some reason, Charles doesn't wake up?"

"That's impossible! Charles would never leave me alone in this world. He promised me!" Sheryl shook her head resolutely. She didn't want to even think about the possibility that Isla came up with. Sheryl firmly believed that it wouldn't happen.

Fixing her eyes intently on the doors, Sheryl knew that Charles would wake up someday. She believed that everything would have returned to normal by that time.

They waited so long that they felt like a century had passed. The light was finally turned off, and the door opened. Charles was wheeled out on a gurney.

Sheryl dashed toward them and asked the doctor anxiously, "How is he now, doctor?"

The doctor gestured for the nurses to take Charles away. Then he removed his mask and replied, "He has cerebral congestion, so we need to clean it out bit by bit. Until we clear out all the congestion, he'll remain unconscious."

"He'll remain unconscious the whole time?" Sheryl exclaimed in disbelief.

The doctor nodded.

Sheryl felt like her heart was bleeding as she received the answer. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her hands shook nervously as she grabbed the doctor's arm. She asked in a trembling voice, "Doctor, could you make Charles wake up as soon as possible?"

"I'm sorry. We have done our best. The only thing we can do now is wait. He won't wake up until the congestion in his head is cleared out," the doctor answered in a sympathetic tone.

As a matter of fact, the doctor thought that Charles' survival was indeed a miracle, considering how badly he was hurt. During the first operation, they were unable to find anything injured in his head. Therefore, Charles had gotten a postoperative infection and a more severe intracranial hemorrhage developed. It wasn't the doctor's fault. When they had checked up on Charles, they hadn't found any injuries in his head through a brain scan, and there weren't any wounds in his head, either. The doctor had done everything according to the standardized procedure. They had stopped Charles' bleeding and had transfused blood to him during the first procedure.

After the doctor had left, Sheryl turned to the nurse who was with Charles. She had seen the nurse wheel him to the intensive care unit and she wanted to follow him, but the nurse stopped her in the doorway. "The patient is pretty weak right now. He needs to stay in a sterile ward, so you can't visit him right now," the nurse said. Then, she walked in and closed the door.

Sheryl and Isla went to the window and watched Charles through the glass.

He was lying unconscious in a bed and he looked like a lifeless dummy.

There were so many catheters and tubes connected with Charles' body. The sight was so gruesome that Sheryl couldn't help but cry out when she saw him.

Sheryl pressed both hands to her mouth to avoid making a sound, but her face still glistened with tears. Isla was deeply grieved to see her like that.

"Sher, don't cry. The operation was very successful, so I'm sure Charles will recover soon. He'll be all right!" Isla hugged Sheryl in her arms, hoping to make her feel better. Sheryl kept crying desperately despite the reassurance. She mumbled, "If anything happens to Charles, I don't want to live without him."

Isla sighed. She knew that she couldn't reason with Sheryl at the moment. She decided it'd be better to remain quiet and stay with Sheryl.

After a while, the nurse came out. Sheryl disentangled herself from Isla's arms and rushed to the nurse.

Meeting Sheryl's expectant eyes, the nurse knew that Sheryl was desperate to know how Charles was doing. If she didn't say anything, Sheryl wouldn't let her leave.

"He's all right for the moment. Whether he will wake up or not depends on the follow-up operations for the congestion in his brain. It's useless for you to stay here. I suggest that you return later. You should focus on taking care of yourself for now. Your health is as important as his. Once he is transferred to the general ward, you'll be able to see him and stay with him," the nurse advised. She knew that Sheryl was a friend of Cassie's, so she really wanted to help her.

"She's right, Sher! You should take time to rest now and go back to your room," Isla said to Sheryl. Then, Isla winked to the nurse, signaling that she was thankful for the backup.

The nurse soon understood what Isla meant. She came forward and asked seriously, "If you also get sick now, how can you then take care of your husband when he needs you?"