The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1054 A Matchmaker

"How is that surprising to you?" Sheryl laughed. "When my car got rear-ended the other day, it made me think..."

Sheryl paused for a moment, like she was thinking over something in her head. Looking at Charles, she continued, "Remember when you fired that new manager for me? I was even mad at you for it because I thought you had crossed a line. But you explained your reasoning to me later and you were right. We shouldn't just look at a potential business partner's ability; we need to take into consideration their moral character."

Sheryl paused again. She saw right through Charles. "Oliver is not a good person. His personal life is a mess and he has no moral compass. You ended your partnership with him because you didn't think he would be able to effectively lead his company to success, not because of me. What had happened this evening was just an excuse, I think you got this idea a long time ago."

Charles laughed, his eyes twinkling. "You've been with me for so long that you've learned many things," he said as he smiled proudly. Sheryl, who had been very observant of Charles, had slowly figured out how to think like him.

Pleased with herself, Sheryl smiled mischievously at Charles. "Yes, you're right. I've learned a lot from being in such close quarters with you, Mr. Lu. You are the mentor of my life," she teased.

Laughing happily in response, Charles winked and said, "I may have had my own selfish reasons in that, so I respect your selfish reasons to do other things."

Blushing, Sheryl couldn't contain a smile from stretching across her face. They were both silent as they gazed into each other's eyes. Charles finally spoke. "Although I can't understand why you want me to do this, I know that you have your reasons, so I'll just do as you say."

Touched by his words, Sheryl reached out and held his hand.

She loved the feeling of his large hand interwoven with her small one. As she looked at Charles, she decided that it was time to tell him about Yvonne. Taking a deep breath, Sheryl spoke. "Charles, have I ever told you that Holley is Yvonne?"

"No, you haven't," Charles responded after a couple seconds of silence. "But I've always been somewhat skeptical about who she is."

Charles seemed unfazed by this revelation. It was as if, in the depths of his heart, he already knew.

Smiling weakly, Sheryl confessed, "Even I didn't know until recently.

And although she isn't nice to me, she is still my sister. I can't let her endanger herself and ruin her life. If I allow her do these things, I will regret it for my whole life." "It's all right. I understand," Charles comforted. Stroking her back gently, he continued, "You are such a strong woman, but your one weakness is that you're softhearted."

Sheryl managed a smile and responded firmly, "You can say that I'm too softhearted and you can say that I'm innocent, but I cannot and will not watch her lose herself."

Sighing, Sheryl continued, "Not until today did I know what had happened to her three years ago." Shaking her head at her own ignorance, Sheryl anguished, "She had been shut by Ferry. She was forced to please his men and trained to be a..."

While Sheryl was speaking very cryptically, Charles understood what she was implying.

Trying to comfort her, Charles continued to stroke her back gently, but Sheryl was deep in thought.

Sheryl realized that the time Holley spent with Ferry was probably the reason why the girl thought it was okay to exchange her body for benefits. The thought made Sheryl feel ill with grief.

Sheryl quickly snapped back to reality when she saw that Holley's car was in front of them. Sighing, she continued to anguish over the past. "If I knew that was going to happen, I would have watched over her. Things wouldn't have turned out like this if I had just paid attention."

Charles didn't know what to say, but he hated seeing Sheryl in agony over this. "Don't think too much about it. Agonizing over the past won't change anything. Anyway, you can't blame yourself for everything. It wasn't you who did those things to her, and you could never know what was going to happen at that time."

Sheryl nodded skeptically, as his words seemed to temporarily ease her despair. The couple continued to follow Holley's car until, much to Sheryl's relief, the girl eventually pulled safely into her driveway. As Holley got out of her car, she quickly glanced at Sheryl's car. She knew that Sheryl had been following her and, unexplainably, had felt a little strange about it.

As soon as Holley closed her car door, she saw Sheryl's car quickly pull away from the curb and drive away. Then she went back home with no hesitation.

While it was kind of Sheryl to make sure she got home, Holley would not let herself think fondly of Sheryl. She told herself again and again that she was her enemy.

'I hate her. No matter how she treats me, it won't change the fact that she is to blame for my mother's death.' Holley repeated this thought over and over again in her mind. 'If it wasn't for Sheryl, things would not have turned out like this.'

"I will make her pay for all the pain she's caused me and all of the debts she owes me," Holley murmured to herself as she walked inside her home.

After escorting Holley back to her home, Sheryl finally felt as though she could relax a little bit. To relieve herself from the pressure of the day, she sat down and had a meal with Charles before going straight to sleep. It wasn't long before the sun came up and Sheryl had to waken, get ready, and go to work.

Despite being exhausted, Sheryl remembered that she had an appointment that morning with George and Sula, so she couldn't be late.

It was still quite early when Sheryl arrived at the company. To kill some time, she began watering the plants in her office. However, as she was about to finish, the company's receptionist knocked on her door. "Sher, your guests are here."

"Please let them in," Sheryl said, quickly fixing her hair. "Please bring me two cups of tea," she said to the receptionist.

"Coming right up." As the receptionist turned to leave, a thought crossed Sheryl's mind.

'Sula is pregnant. Tea is probably not good for the baby,' she thought to herself.

Sheryl quickly called out to the receptionist, "Actually, just bring a cup of tea and a cup of orange juice."

"Okay, Sher. I'll be right back," the receptionist replied with a nod, leaving the office. A few moments later, George and Sula walked into Sheryl's office. They happily shook each other's hands. "Ms. Xia, it's nice to see you again," George said.

"Mr. Han, I told you to call me Sheryl," she replied with a smile, turning to look at Sula. "And you must be Mrs. Han."

Sheryl studied Sula, who was standing beside George. She was sure she must have seen her once or twice before but did not notice her. In her opinion, Sula looked nothing like Holley.

Holley was beautiful, but she was cold. Men were often scared away by her and it was as though she wore a sign that said "please keep your distance".

Sula, on the other hand, was completely different. While she was beautiful like Holley, she came across as very sweet and approachable. Sheryl got the impression that she was nice to get along with.

It was surprising to Sheryl that George would be with a quiet and gentle girl like Sula.

'

But as she thought about it some more it began to make sense. 'Being with Holley is tiring, ' Sheryl thought. 'George is probably much more comfortable and at ease being with Sula.'

"Yes, this is my wife, Sula Piao," George replied. Holding Sula's hands, he turned to Sheryl and said, "Sula, this is Sheryl Xia."

"Yes, I've heard a lot about her," Sula responded, laughing lightheartedly. Reaching out her hand to shake Sheryl's, she said, "It's really nice to finally meet you."

Shaking Sula's hand, Sheryl was surprised. "You've heard about me?" She had been unaware that she was such a well known person.

"Yes, I have." Sula smiled softly, turning to look at George lovingly. "I've heard from George's mother that it's because of you I can be with George." Returning the smile, George kissed Sula on the top of her head.

"Is that so?" Sheryl laughed as she watched the couple. "I'm your matchmaker, aren't I?"

Sula giggled as she nodded. Their lighthearted conversation seemed to put Sheryl's guests at ease. Moments later, the receptionist entered the office and handed the couple their tea and orange juice. Settling into her chair, Sheryl smiled and said, "Please sit down. We might end up talking for quite some time."