The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1027 Conversation In The Tea House

"I have to admit that I haven't been attentive enough to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have left you in danger three years ago."

The yellowish glow of the golden hour sunlight looked beautiful on this fine day. However, Charles felt ashamed of himself. "Despite that, I still have something to tell you. Sher, I wish you would marry me again. Will you?" he said as his eyes looked deeply into Sheryl's own.

"What happened already happened. You should let it go. Why did you suddenly mention it again?"

Hot tears spilled down Sheryl's cheeks as the words tumbled out of her lips. Even if she tried to show that she had forgotten what happened between them in the past, her swollen reddish eyes betrayed her. However, she never thought that Charles would willingly bring up his own mistake again and apologize to her-it made her overwhelmed with emotion.

"A lot of things have happened to us, but it made me realize that it is your hand I should hold firmly to move on for the rest of my life. You're the only one I should love and cherish. Will you...marry me?" Without breaking eye contact with Sheryl as he spoke the words, Charles took out a velvet ring box from his suit pocket, and then eagerly awaited her response. Now, Sheryl was stunned.

"Please get up first," Sheryl nervously said. A bashful look crossed her eyes in trepidation. She reached her arms out to pull Charles to his feet, but he only looked at her pointedly in silence and refused to stand up. Sheryl finally gave in as she blushed furiously. "I will," she nodded.

Sheryl's sweet response pleased the living wits out of Charles. He plucked out the ring from the box and then carefully slipped it on Sheryl's ring finger. He raised his head and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Now that you've worn my ring, it means you're mine. You won't regret this," he said with a smile.

In turn, Sheryl could only lower her head shyly. Finally, her lips broke into a happy smile.

The couple's beaming faces made Shirley curious. Although the little girl had no idea what a ring meant, she grabbed Clark who was beside her, by his hand. "Clark, I also want a beautiful ring just like that one," she asked him with a finger pointed towards Sheryl.

"Okay. When you grow old, I will buy you one," Clark said and smiled at her.

At that moment, Sheryl had overheard what her son said and interrupted their conversation. "No, you can't do that darling," she gently said.

She approached Clark and told him, "Shirley's ring is supposed to be given by her boyfriend. You are her brother, so you can't do that. Understood?"

Clark nodded obediently and smiled at his mother. Happiness radiated from the family as they enjoyed the sunny afternoon. However, they were unaware that they were being watched by someone hidden in the distance.

Recently, Holley had been living a happy and joyful life. She couldn't wait to get a great deal of money from Donna. The mere thought of it made her feel over the moon.

But what worried her the most was that neither George nor Donna stayed in touch with her for two days yet. She started to question if they were planning something that would set her up. Finally, she had given Donna a call earlier this morning to ask her to meet up.

Nevertheless, Donna intended to refuse her request. "What do you want to discuss? Just say it on the phone. I'm so busy today. Too many things are waiting for me to deal with," she said in a clipped voice. "No. I won't do it any other way."

Holley frowned as she started to get impatient, but she managed to calm herself down and pretended to speak in a polite manner. "It's better for us to talk about it face to face," she explained.

Then she reminded Donna, "Aunt Donna, have you forgotten what you have promised me?" A wry smile formed on Holley's lips, then she started to threaten Donna. "You know how deep George's love for me is. If I want, I can ask him to leave you and come back to me at any time. Aunt Donna, you've tried so hard to drag your son away from me and it almost succeeded. You want to see all your efforts wasted?" she sneered.

When Holley finished speaking, Donna couldn't help but tilt her head to look at George, who was right beside her. She didn't miss the sour look on her son's face-it turned out that Holley's voice from the phone could be heard out loud.

She hesitated for a while, then answered, "Holley, what on earth do you want from me?"

"What I want from you?" Holley said and smiled coldly from the other end of the line. "I just want to talk to you face to face. I reserved a tea room for us to have a nice chat. Let's meet there in 30 minutes. I will be waiting for you."

Before Donna could even say a word back, Holley had hung up. The phone beeped and then went silent. She looked at a loss for words and turned to look at George. "What do you think? Should I go as she said?" she asked him.

"You should go! Why not?"

George patted her back and tried to console her. He forced a smile and continued, "No matter what she is planning on us, you should go comfort her. Don't let her start to doubt us. As for Sula, I will accompany her to pick her parents up."

"Are you sure that you two can manage it?" Donna couldn't help but feel a little concerned.

"Don't worry. Such a small thing never bothers me," George said confidently. "Mother, thank you for doing all of this," he added with a genuine smile.

"We are family. Why do you say such things?" Donna said. She raised her brows and sighed deeply. "As long as you promise me that you and Sula will love each other and live a steady life, all the efforts I have made are worth it," she said to George as she looked steadily at him.

"I promise I will not let you down," George looked straight back at her and replied firmly. "When you meet with Holley, just accept her conditions no matter what she will request. I don't want her to recognize that she has been cheated on before my wedding with Sula. I'm scared that she would sabotage our wedding for revenge," he reminded her again.

"Yes, I got it," Donna replied just as seriously. After a few moments, George bid his mother goodbye and went on his way.

There were only thirty minutes left to get prepared, so Donna quickly got changed before she went out and then walked at a faster pace. When she had arrived at the appointed place, she slowed down and straightened herself a bit. With a deep breath, she stepped inside the tea house. Holley had picked a table near the window. It looked like she had waited for Donna for so long as she sat there looking bored, her legs crossed and arms folded.

When she saw that Donna had arrived, she raised a hand and waved at her with a confident smile plastered on her face.

The past few days made Holley figure out something within herself. She had been aware of how she used to be so stupid. She had depended on George too much, and it made her suffer a lot. Now she finally understood. She didn't need to lean on to any man-all she needed was herself.

Determined to survive by herself, she realized that an alternative way to fulfill her original purpose was to extort a great deal of money from Donna. The money she would get would allow her to accomplish her dreams and live a happy life once and for all.

"Aunt Donna, here you are. Please take a seat," Holley said. She gave Donna a hearty smile and then asked, "Would you like something to drink?" However, Donna was not having it.

"No thanks," she said brusquely. Donna was not in the mood to stay in the tea house for too long. "Tell me, what do you want to discuss with me today?" she asked Holley impatiently without even looking at her.

"Well, take it easy," Holley said smugly. The fake smile still remained on Holley's face. She didn't talk straight to the point on purpose. "How about we have a seat with a cup of tea first, then start our conversation?" she said.

"I am not as free as you," Donna smiled coldly and rolled her eyes. "You've caused a hideous mess to my company and left it to me to clear it all up. I've got a lot of things to do. You've asked me to meet you so we can talk face to face. I'm here now, so what do you want to talk about so eagerly? You better hurry up," she snapped.

"Your company..."

A smirk was formed on Holley's lips. "If my memory serves me right, I remember you have promised to hand over the Y City branch to me. So I assume what you should deal with currently...is to prepare the contract to transfer its shares to me and the money as well, instead of dealing with other stuff in the company. Am I right?"

Her steely eyes stared at Donna and tried to gauge her expression. "Are you confused about what you should do? Or...have you just changed your mind?" she asked again.

Her brows furrowed in irritation as her face turned cold. "I'm not that easily fooled. Don't think I am that stupid. If you dare to trick me on this, I won't let you get away with it," she added.

"Rest assured that I will keep my words. You don't have to worry about that," Donna scoffed at her. "Even though I have decided to hand the company over to you, there are still a lot of procedures. You don't have to be scared. I will do it as soon as possible," Donna pretended to be at ease as she explained.

"That's good to hear," Holley said. She was definitely pleased. She felt relaxed and became all smiles again. "Aunt Donna, I don't mean to push it, but I have to ask you about this-and it is also why I'm here today. I just want to ask you about the money...do you have it already?" she asked Donna once again. There was a small lapse of silence.

"I don't think I am an impatient person. I have given you so long to prepare the money. I have to make sure you have it. Otherwise, I will run out of my patience," she smiled and continued.

"It's such a huge amount of money. I need enough time to get it prepared," Donna said and frowned. She reassured Holley and said, "Be at ease. Compared to my son, the money is less important. I am willing to pay as long as you keep our agreement."

"If you say so," Holley said arrogantly and smiled. "I agree with you. George is more valuable to me as well. Now I feel somewhat reluctant to make that deal with you...to let go of him."