The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 815 A Good Beating

Charles was losing himself in the lingering scent that came from Sheryl. His breath became quicker and searing. Sheryl, who was in shock and amazement just a moment ago, was gradually immersed in a deep and passionate kiss.

Charles' kiss deepened and became hungrier. After a good while, he realized that he had an erection. "Damn!" he cursed angrily and released Sheryl from his arms.

Sheryl blushed. She cast a furtive glance at Charles, but had no idea how to deal with such a situation. "I... I'll go now," she whispered, embarrassed and shy.

Then she immediately opened the door and pretty much ran away.

Charles struggled to get back his breath as he fixed his eyes on Sheryl from the car window. A smile of satisfaction broke on his lips. From the kiss, he was sure that Sheryl could not only get intimate with him but even enjoyed it.

This made his heart spring with joy.

Since the time Sheryl flung open the car door and escaped, she did not look back even for once. She ran straight back to her bedroom, rushed to the bathroom, and stood in front of the mirror.

She had a myriads of conflicting emotions colliding on one another. She should have been angry, or at least surprised, at the unexpected kiss, but the woman in the mirror was just flushed with shyness and showed no other expression. She tried to blame herself but her heart defied her with all its might. It just wanted to sing a happy song. She could not stop smiling. She tried to look strict but her face defied. It sported a sense of completeness and bliss that it had been missing for years.

She squeezed her cheek and scolded herself, "Sheryl, what's wrong with you? Get sober."

Then she took a shower to calm herself down. As the water fell on her face and glided over her lips, she could not stop herself from closing eyes and feeling the warmth of Charles' lips on hers once again. She had just sat down in bed after the shower when her cell phone rang. It was a short text from Charles, saying, "Good night."

Holding her phone in both hands, Sheryl stared at the text message and giggled for a while.

Sue didn't go straight home after she left the party. Her house that once gave her a sense of security had been acquired by people who would do everything to deny the slightest peace of mind for her. After walking along the street for a long time and feeling the wind on her face, Sue realized that she had to go back to her house even though she didn't want to.

Where else could she go? Her brain prompted her to move towards her house while her feet refused to take a single step in that direction.

'There is no place for me in such a big city. How ridiculous!' she thought, feeling deeply aggrieved.

Even after reaching her apartment, she stood downstairs for a long time. She wanted to stay away as long as she could. She did not move upstairs till the time she could not stand the mosquitoes. As soon as she opened the door of her apartment, she became all the more depressed. A sudden gloom fell upon her making her feel absolutely dark inside her mind. She had only been away for a day, and her clean house had become a pigsty. Sunflower seed shells, empty drink bottles and instant noodle boxes littered the floor. Crumpled clothes and shoes lay about on the couch, chairs and the floor. The room was in such a mess that Sue hardly had any space to put her feet and walk.

She knew Peggy was dealing her a head-on blow.

A stiff frown settled on her face as she watched her apartment from one side to another. She thought to herself, 'God knows when the dark days would come to an end?'

But now she had to clean up the house as soon as possible, or she would not be able to rest tonight.

Sue gave a heavy and weary sigh and began to tidy up the house silently. She took a glance on Peggy and Allen who were sleeping comfortably.

Peggy was sleeping on Sue's bed while Allen was fast asleep on the couch. Sue was amazed at the extent of their insensitiveness. Out of resentment, she made a loud noise when she picked up the bottles on the floor. Peggy came out of the bedroom angrily, pointed at Sue's nose and scolded, "Can't you be a little quieter? I'm going to skin you alive if you make any more noise."

After that, Peggy returned to the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Looking at the closed door, Sue was almost on the verge of crying. She felt so sad and helpless. After all, she was just a twenty-something girl who deserved some love and care from her family.

Many girls of her age are adored and indulged by their seniors. They are still the apple of their seniors' eyes. Take Sheryl for example. She was now a mother of two children, but in her family's eyes she was still a little girl who needed to be cared for. Sue's heart broke as she compared her state with Sheryl. She thought of Sheryl's family. How refined and cultured they all were.

Unfortunately, Sue didn't have a happy family. She was forced to learn to be independent and strong at an early age. She even had thought countless number of times that why her family didn't just give her

away.

"Stop it!" Allen yawned as he sat up and stretched. "What's the use of all this? Even if you clean it up, it's going to be as messy as a pigsty tomorrow." He gave a disregardful glance at Sue as he spoke this in a sleepy voice.

"You..." Sue got furious at Allen and dropped her broom out of anger. "What do you want?" she demanded in a cold and hushed voice.

No sooner did Peggy and Allen reached, Peggy started her physical and verbal abuses on her. Last night she punched Sue. But neither Allen nor Peggy mentioned what they came for. Sue knew that the punch was just the beginning and that life would only get worse for her.

Sue was tired of her family. She was really fed up of being haunted by her mother and brother like this. Now she was desperate to break up with them.

It was actually been a long journey for her now and she wanted it to end at any cost. Whatever life would throw at her in the future, she would be content as long as she could just get rid of Peggy and Allen. "Sh! Quiet... " Allen hushed her as he moved closer to her. "Behave yourself." Allen stared aggressively at Sue and sneered, "If mom wakes up one more time because of you, she is going to beat the shit out of you." Then he gave a very wicked and dirty smile.

Sue felt very bitter towards Allen's scoundrel manner. She felt miserable and frustrated thinking about her own family.

'This is my family. This is one place under the sun where good sense can never prevail. And these are the people closest to me. They drag me down and plot against me all the time. Why do I have such a terrible family?' The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart started to feel.

Sue brought a cold smile on her face and spoke in a stern voice, "Allen, mom does spoil you all the time. But don't you dare expect me to tolerate your nonsense. I'm telling you, I'm not the girl I used to be three years ago. If you still treat me like you did three years ago, I will absolutely..."

Before Sue could finish, Allen literally plunged on her from the couch and grabbed her by the neck. He spoke with a grimace of rage in an extremely cold and intimidating voice.

"How dare you mention what happened three years ago? That was the time when you created your own death!" Allen gritted his teeth and looked fiercely at Sue. "Three years ago, you escaped and got your freedom. Did you ever think of me?" As he spoke, he mercilessly tightened his grip on Sue's neck. "That bitch took my money and ran away. The man you were supposed to get married to demanded his money from me. But where would I get the money? He almost maimed me. Open your eyes and look at my leg! Look! I'm still not able to walk properly. It was all because of you. All your fault!" Allen thundered. Sue was choking under Allen's tight grip. She gasped and struggled desperately to loosen his grip. He let out another dirty smile and continued in a cold and hissing voice, "So, you owe me. Do you understand? Don't play tricks with me, or else you will have to repent."

After the threat, Allen threw Sue back on the ground as he released her. Sue coughed and recovered from choking. After catching a few breaths she felt better. Then she looked up at Allen and spoke in a croaked voice that happened due to the prolonged pressing on her vocal chord. "You brought this on yourself. How could you even think of selling me for money just because you wanted to get married? I tell you, if it happens again, I will still run away and this time you will not be able to find me."

Sue glared at Allen with hatred and blurted her heart out. Evidently, she had no niceties to share with her brother. She then laughed angrily as she continued with bitterness in her voice, "Rest assured. If you are really disabled, I will support you by all means. After all, you are my brother." She looked at Allen with pity.

"You bitch, how dare you curse me..." Allen's face was flushed with fury. He flung onto Sue and started hitting her. He kept taking out all his frustration on her with every blow and did not stop until he saw Sue lying on the floor almost on the verge of death.

He left her on the ground bleeding and wreathing in pain. Of course, he wouldn't beat his sister to death. After all, he and his mother came to Sue with a purpose, and Sue was useful to them till the time they achieved their purpose.