The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1089 Melissa's Lie

"Mom, please listen to me. Those were business calls. The guy who called is a client," Sheryl explained. She was upset about Melissa's accusation. The only thing she could do was explain everything to Charles' mother.

Sheryl thought to herself, 'If I don't make everything clear as early as possible, this might make the condition worse. Moreover, she might hold a grudge against me, and hate me more than she already does.' "That's enough!" Melissa snapped. "I don't care whether that man is a client or someone else. I just need you to remember one thing: you are married to Charles, the CEO of Shining Company. Everybody's eyes are on you!" Melissa quietly studied the woman in front of her. 'What is so good about Sheryl? And why is my son so enchanted by her? I don't get it,' she thought.

'My son is wasting all his good years being naive, credulous.'

Sheryl had her hands clasped, almost as if in prayer. "Please. I'm trying to make everything clear to you. I never hooked up with other men. And I don't plan to! Charles knows all my male friends. Charles and I share everything with each other. We...." She was desperate to defend herself. As a woman and as a daughter-in-law, she simply could not stand the way Melissa thought of her.

But Melissa did not give her the chance to finish. Instead, feeling impatient, she raised her voice at Sheryl. "Stop! Why are you so determined to keep this up? You had to rub it in my face that you're the person Charles cares about the most? More than once! Come on, Sheryl. I can see you're doing this on purpose. You're not fooling anyone with your little schemes," Melissa bellowed as she wagged a disapproving finger. "Do you think you are the hostess of Dream Garden, the woman everyone loves and whose orders everyone should obey? Do you think everyone just agrees with whatever you say?" Sheryl's face was frozen with horror, her mouth agape in disbelief. Melissa took the opportunity to continue berating her. "I admit you really are something. After all, you were able to trick my Charles. But don't get too cocky and think that you can charm other people as easily as you charmed him. Your tricks might have worked on him, but you will never deceive me!" Melissa's face was distorted in anger. Silence swallowed the two of them.

She wanted to warn Sheryl and remind her that not all the Lu family members were idiots at her mercy.

Melissa was an arrogant, stubborn person. She believed she knew the entire truth, and that Charles' wife was, in fact, an evil, devious woman. But she had no idea that she had been fooled from the start. Sheryl, despite her disbelief, found her voice once more. "What are you talking about, Mom? I know you don't like me, but you've got it all wrong. I never desired to be hostess of Dream Garden, nor control anyone. All I wanted this whole time was for you to accept me, for the sake of Charles, Shirley, and Clark." Tears welled up in her eyes.

A woman's intuition was too often right. She somehow had this feeling that Melissa hated her. This feeling never went away. Now, she knew why.

Holding back tears, Sheryl racked her brains. 'I can't think of a reason why Charles' mother despises me this way. I have sensed that she has always felt contempt for me...

But why?' Sheryl looked at Melissa.

Melissa laughed scornfully as if enjoying a vile joke. Looking at Sheryl, she gasped, "You know what? You really are a shameless woman! You want to appear as the victim here, don't you? Do you really believe the words that just came out of your own mouth?" Sheryl found herself unable to speak. Melissa went on, "If you never wanted these things, why did you trick my son into marrying you? I'm telling you, I will no longer allow you to fool Charles even more than you already have, as long as I am in Dream Garden." There was a tone of finality in her words.

"So you think I'm not good enough for your son, don't you?" Sheryl managed to ask despite the shock. There was no turning back now. Since she first met Melissa, she had made sure to show her the respect she thought Charles' mother deserved. She did her best to be humble and obedient, but to no avail. No matter how hard she tried, she could not please her.

Melissa was furious. She hissed, "Now that you know, what are you still doing here? Do you want me to kick you out myself? Have you forgotten where you are?" She crossed her arms and looked away. "You don't deserve Charles. Have you no shame? Knowing your worth, are you so shameless as to remain by his side? Do you know what you are? You are like an annoying wart that nobody wants but never goes away."

Sheryl did not fight back. She had expected herself to be angry toward Melissa. Instead, she felt an overwhelming sadness envelop her. "So this is how you actually feel about me," she muttered just loud enough for Melissa to hear. Sheryl did not expect any of this. When she realized where the conversation was going, she told herself to be strong. Nevertheless, she still felt upset when she actually heard these words coming from Melissa.

"You just got what you deserved," Melissa said, matter-of-factly. "If you wanted respect, you should have learned to be a respectable person first." She regarded Charles' wife with disdain. 'Sheryl is the type of person I hate the most,' she thought. 'She is rotten inside, but she pretends to be pure and pleasant, like an innocent-looking red apple with worms inside it.'

"I bought you a gift and volunteered to sleep in your room and keep you company at night! Do you think I did these things out of evil will?" Sheryl exclaimed. She did not know what else to say. 'Why is she so convinced that I'm a horrible person?' she wondered.

"And?" Melissa was unperturbed. She flashed Sheryl a knowing smile. "Of course you wanted to give me a gift. Do you think I am unfamiliar with the concept of bribes? Or offerings? Or distractions to throw me off your trail?" She chuckled. "After all, you are spending my son's money," she said, tapping a finger on her temple. She wanted to let Sheryl know she was onto her. "Besides, how can you even prove that you offered to keep me company in the evening, out of the goodness of your heart?" Melissa's question was phrased that way to mock Sheryl. She was not yet done. "Was it that? Or did you offer to do that for me...to please Charles?" Melissa stared into Sheryl's eyes, provoking her.

"I..." Sheryl was rendered speechless. She did not know how to respond.

"Come on, Sheryl, stop acting innocent. There's no use. You know you're wrong. If you keep this up, you'll only embarrass yourself," Melissa said sarcastically, almost sounding amused. "Do you really think I have nightmares? I just wanted to make you and my son sleep in different rooms! I don't care what you did in the past. But since I'm already here, you better behave yourself and think twice before making a move."

"What did you say?" Sheryl asked, a little too loudly. She was shaken by this revelation. She made a fist and closed her eyes in frustration. 'The nightmares aren't real?' she wondered. Her breathing became labored.

"I thought you heard me," Melissa snorted. "Do you want me to say it again?" She went on, like a devil on someone's shoulder, "I already made myself clear to you. I don't want you to stay by my son's side. I will let Charles know what you really are. Making you sleep in different rooms is just a start."

"This is all a surprise to me." Sheryl spoke. "I served you wholeheartedly in the hopes you would change your mind. But you thought I did all of this to please Charles... And worse, you even feigned having nightmares to split Charles and me up." She let out a desperate laugh. She thought she was losing her grasp on reality. She could not believe just how far Melissa was willing to go to tear them apart. "Congratulations! Now that you know, you better think twice about playing tricks on Charles. I'm watching you!" Melissa sternly warned. Sheryl was left with no other choice.

It was time to fight back. She spat out a string of words she never thought she would ever say. "I see. Even without proof, you want to believe I am a horrible person. I will no longer waste my time trying to explain. It's useless, for you aren't going to believe a single thing I say. But know this: if you try to get in the way of my marriage in any way, I'm telling you, you will never succeed," she said with a straight face. With that, Sheryl walked out the door, slammed it, and stormed out of Dream Garden.

She had not intended to get into a fight with Melissa. After all, the latter was an older, respected woman and was her husband's mother. She had to suppress the overwhelming rage she felt and left the house. She could not imagine what could have happened if she stayed in the same room as Charles' mother for another second.