The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1654 Melissa Backing Leila Up

Despite being in a panic, Leila still tried to keep her cool. She tried the best she could to read the situation instead of letting anxiety control her.

"We have a witness. As a civilian, you owe your country the duty to cooperate with us, and help us complete our investigation!" one of the policemen stated in a serious voice, as the others guided Leila to the police car.

"Who's the victim? Do I know who they are?" Leila had a faint notion as to what the police were bothering her about, but she pretended to know anything.

"Don't you already know what you did? You should look to yourself for the answer!" Nick shouted in rage at once. He couldn't be more disgusted by Leila's hypocritical behavior.

Taken aback, Leila shook in fright. She was scared by Nick's presence because he seemed emotional, and Leila was afraid that he might try to beat her up in a fit of violence.

A policeman immediately shot Nick a warning look, gesturing for him to compose himself. Nick smoothly fought for calm and collected his face after that. He finally shrugged his shoulder toward the policeman after throwing Leila one last glare.

"Cassie is the victim!" another policeman replied. He then paused to observe Leila's reaction. "You are coming to the police station with us!" the man added.

Hearing the name, Leila was shocked. She stood deathly still as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. She hadn't expected that the damnable woman would get her memories back so soon.

There was no doubt that she couldn't avoid an investigation from the police if Cassie remembered what happened.

She was only worried as to whether she could still hide the truth. That, in her view, depended on how much Cassie remembered.

Leila's mind kept spinning as fast as it could go. She had to look back on what had happened and make up a believable story.

Then an idea hit her in a flash-even if Cassie remembered everything, Leila was the only person who could give witness to what happened. The police couldn't convict Leila on only Cassie's one-sided story. They had to gather up enough evidence, or else she could still be found innocent. Thinking of that, Leila's nervous face turned into a relaxed expression. "Well, of course, I will cooperate with you, and help you guys get your job done. I am ready to serve my duty as a good civilian!" Leila uttered joyfully.

Leila's reply put Nick into a state of confusion. 'What is on her mind? Isn't she afraid? She is not supposed to be so calm, is she?'

Nick whined to himself in his mind. After the police car started its engine, Nick realized that he could only entrust the case to the police. He then turned and got into his car. He intended to go back to Cassie. Surrounded by the policemen in the car, Leila stayed unfazed. To dissipate the charged atmosphere which she felt, she started speaking to a guy beside her, saying, "Sir, may I ask how things are going with Cassie? Is she okay now?"

"The case is under investigation. We can't tell you more about the victim's condition for now." The officer refused to reply, and Leila realized that she wouldn't be able to learn anything else from him. Leila gauged the situation, and decided to shut up. The more she talked, the more details she might leak. She was afraid that if she talked too much it might invite the policeman's inquiry. As soon as they arrived at the station, Leila was taken to the interrogation room.

Leila answered every question that she was asked, and her fluent and unperturbed tongue took the officers by surprise.

Leila's testimony provided no evidence, as her lips were tight about the truth. Though the officer had the surveillance video in his hands, he still failed to find anything that Leila had said contradicting of the video. From the video, the officer could only tell that Cassie was the one who followed Leila to the rooftop. Even though Leila's behavior was suspicious, no one could prove Leila was the culprit, except for Cassie. Cassie was the victim, so she couldn't also act as a witness.

"Sir, you know Cassie and I don't get along well. It's likely that she may be trying to frame me, right?" Leila grumbled, putting on a feeble facade.

"That depends on what we find out in our investigation!" the guy quickly replied, without thinking too much about it. Obviously, he was not interested in Leila's explanation. He would not pay attention to what she was going to say.

"Sir, I have a case to report! Cassie is trying to frame me!" Leila demanded in a serious tone. She wouldn't budge. She would take advantage of any possible chance to defend herself, even it sounded absurd. The policeman finally lost his composure. He was shocked by Leila's claim, and it seemed that the woman had no intention of admitting to her crime.

Leila had braced herself for every possible consequence since she had pushed Cassie. Even if she was caught by the police, she was not frightened at all. She could still play tricks on the police, as long as they had no evidence against her.

"Well... Fine, then! We will take this case seriously!" the policeman replied after he recorded the testimony Leila had offered.

"Is there anything else that I can help with? If not, I have to go now. I hope that you will contact me any time you need, and I will cooperate with you however I can!" Leila gave the officer a friendly smile. She wanted to leave a good impression on him.

"Sure, you can leave. I am sorry for keeping you here for so long. We will notify you when it is necessary for us to speak to you again," he said as he passed a piece of paper to Leila and asked her to sign it before he allowed her to leave.

As she left the police station, Leila felt relieved. All the pressure that she had bottled up since she had stepped into the police office, all dissipated after she walked out. Trepidation still lingered in her heart when she glanced back to the gate of the station, though. She just prayed that she would never have to go back there, again. To avoid being sent to prison, she felt that she needed to deal with Cassie. Leila's history couldn't afford to be dug into, so she had to make plans to avoid any dire consequence.

Still, Leila was not a single-minded woman, and she was good at analysis. From what she had sized up, Cassie didn't seem able to provide valid evidence to the police. Why was she just released from the station otherwise? Clearly, Cassie was still trying to find proof.

Leila walked toward Dream Garden. She didn't want to be bothered by Sheryl, so she didn't head to the hospital. To her, Dream Garden was a good place for her to find a peaceful moment.

In the hospital, Charles was still in his coma, and Sheryl was waiting quietly by his side. There was a silence that hung in the air of the room for a while.

Suddenly, with a bumping thud, the door was swung open.

Melissa stormed in and rushed straight over to Sheryl. She was furious and seemed like she was about to explode. At once she approached Sheryl, she pulled her to one side.

Rather confused, Sheryl didn't know what had happened, she only felt the pain caused by Melissa's tight grip. In annoyance, Sheryl chose not to lose her temper at Melissa. Still regarding Melissa as her mother-in-law and she didn't ignore the respect that was due to her. In a reserved voice, Sheryl murmured in anger, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Taken off guard, Sheryl didn't have time to dodge her. After taking Sheryl's arm, Melissa tightened her grip. Sheryl could clearly see the glare in her eyes, but was still confused.

"Sheryl! I warned you so many times not to pick on Leila! Did you try and get back at her? Have you always turned a deaf ear to what I have to say?" Melissa shouted to her face while pointing angrily. She was so furious that her voice was trembling.

Before Sheryl could respond, Melissa continued, saying, "Even though my son still hasn't divorced you, it doesn't mean you can act in any way without any scruples! Once my son wakes up, he will divorce you immediately! You'd better not get out of line again! If you dare to hurt Leila again, you won't be given a penny in the divorce!"

Sheryl was startled. She really had no idea how Melissa's mind worked. Every idea from the old witch's mind sounded crazy and ridiculous.

Sheryl resented Melissa's constant meddling in her and Charles' affairs. Sheryl and Charles were a couple, so whatever happened to them, it was supposed to be none of Melissa's business. Even if she was Charles' mother, she had no right to make decisions for Charles.

"Mom, I don't want to argue with you! Especially not in front of Charles!" Sheryl seethed in anger. She had not intended on retorting, but Melissa's overbearing manner pushed her to her limits.

"Why? Are you guilty for what you have done to my son? So you have no honor to talk about it? Aha!" Melissa sneered. She thought Sheryl must have a guilty conscience. So Melissa took it as a great opportunity to oppress her.

"Mom, I don't feel guilty, because I haven't done anything wrong. You know that I'm telling the truth!"

"Of course, I know how you disappointed my son. It's not just me--everybody on the internet knows! We all know how you started an intimate relationship with another man, during Charles' coma," Melissa accused reproachfully. The reminder of Lewis irritated her.

"I don't want to argue with you on that issue! Here is what I want to argue about--if that Leila is such a good girl, as you always think, then why doesn't Charles love her?" In Sheryl's eyes, the rumors have always been nothing but nonsense. Sheryl refused to talk with Melissa about it. She only had one topic that interested her the most-why did her mother-in-law have a bias against her? Why did Melissa prefer Leila so much?

"You tell me! If it weren't for you, Charles would have fallen in love with Leila a long time ago!" Melissa shouted, as she raised her hand and pointed at Sheryl.

Staring at Melissa for a moment, Sheryl was shocked. She suddenly understood why Melissa had treated her badly all along. Melissa had never accepted her as her daughter-in-law. No matter how much effort Sheryl tried to put into earning her stay, Melissa wouldn't give a hoot about it. She had always regarded Leila as her son's perfect wife!

"Why won't you talk? Why are you sitting there in silence?" Melissa shot Sheryl a brash look, as she continued disdainfully.