The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1261 Crazy Woman

Charles thought about the situation seriously. The doctor mentioned that Leila's case was very critical to the point that if she was sent to the hospital a little bit later, then the chances of her dying was high. 'What kind of person would risk and sacrifice her own life to set up other people?' he wondered. As far as Charles knew, Leila was not the type of person to do that. She loved herself more than anything else, so how could she risk her own life?

Then, the question remained, 'Who poisoned her?'

Charles paced back and forth. He didn't have a clue at all.

'Would it be Nancy?' Charles stopped and wondered. After a moment, he shook his head and continued to pace. Even though Nancy made tea for them, Sheryl mentioned that Nancy had been staying with them all the time, so it was impossible for Nancy to put poison in the tea without Sheryl knowing.

Moreover, Nancy had nothing against Leila, why would she poison her without any reason at all?

Charles thought about it over and over again, but he still couldn't figure this case out.

All he knew was that regarding this case, he wouldn't call the police and could only investigate by himself. Then again, his mother's safety was his primary concern. He would wait until Melissa woke up and prayed that his mother would be well and safe.

Charles stopped pacing and turned his gaze on the door of the operating room. Half an hour had passed, but the operation was still undergoing.

"Charles!"

A shout from behind made Charles turned around, and he immediately saw Sheryl rushing over towards him.

"Why... What are you doing here? How about the kids?" Charles asked, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

Sheryl stopped in front of him and took her time to catch her breath. After a moment, she looked at him and replied, "Clark and Shirley are with Nancy. Don't worry about them. How-" Sheryl stopped and hesitated for a moment. She shook her negative thoughts away and continued, "How is Mom doing?"

Her eyes then fell on the closed door of the operating room. Her face dropped and turned pale.

Charles heaved a deep breath as he shook his head and replied in a husky voice, "She's still in surgery."

Sheryl nodded slowly, not knowing how or what to respond, so she just stood beside Charles in silence. Charles didn't talk any further either and just stared at the door.

Slowly, as the time passed by, the atmosphere between them became awkward and tense.

Sheryl wasn't sure whether Charles felt it too, so she quickly stole a glance at Charles. When she saw how sullen his face was, her mood immediately plummeted.

She still wasn't sure whether Charles would blame her or not about Melissa's accident. After all, he cared for his mother very much. Even though they had been separated for a long time, they were still, in fact, mother and son, and no one could really top the love of a mother for her child and vice versa. For sure, Charles would never just let go of this accident that easy.

Therefore, as soon as Melissa woke up, Sheryl knew she had no other choice but to admit her fault whether or not she was responsible for it. If she defended herself in front of Charles, she knew this situation would worsen. The latter was what Melissa had exactly expected, but she didn't know that Sheryl was willing to lower her pride.

Still, Sheryl could remember clearly how Melissa fell down. As she fell down the stairs, Sheryl saw the hostility and resolution in Melissa's eyes. Melissa had done it on purpose, because she was smirking back at Sheryl as she fell down the stairs.

'What a crazy woman!' Sheryl thought.

Melissa just placed herself in danger to set her up and ruin her in front of Charles. She didn't even care about her life at all. Sheryl couldn't imagine how ruthless and cold-blooded this woman could be. Melissa had been tormenting her ever since she came back, but this situation was too much.

As for Leila, Sheryl thought that she was mad enough to risk her own life. Although Sheryl wasn't sure still how Leila got poisoned, all she knew was that Nancy and she were innocent, so it left the only possibility, which was that Leila poisoned herself.

Thinking about this sent a chill run down her spine.

After what took like centuries for Sheryl and Charles, the door finally opened and a doctor went out.

Charles' eyes lit up and immediately rushed over towards the doctor, while Sheryl followed him anxiously.

"Doctor, how is she? How's my mother?" Charles tried to look from behind the glass of the door of the operating room to see if he would be able to see his mother.

The doctor fixed the bridge of his glasses to his nose and replied, "As of now, your mother is stable and out of critical danger. However, she had intracranial hemorrhage and blood clot in her head when she fel down. That's why we still have to wait before she returns her consciousness. I will have to advice you that she will need to stay in the hospital under observation for several days."

Sheryl heaved a deep breath. Although she was relieved that Melissa was out of immediate danger now, she was still worried about her, so she asked, "Is it serious?"

"Her head was the affected part, but since she's quite recovering, it is hard to tell whether or not it is serious. It is now up to her, and if she recovers well and has recuperated her mental health once she wakes up, then let's hope and pray for the best outcome. We will do our best to do our part. However, she may have an emotional instability more frequently than before. As her family, you must also be psychologically prepared," the doctor answered.

Sheryl looked at Charles and wondered if he was still going to ask anything, but she only saw overwhelming pain in his eyes.

She turned to the doctor once more and nodded, "Yes, we will. Thank you, doctor." The doctor then bowed and walked away. Soon, the rest of his team went out of the operating room with Melissa on a gurney. Charles' eyes dropped when he saw his mother still unconscious.

He then walked beside the gurney while the staff wheeled the gurney to the patient room. Sheryl followed them.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, the colorful lights decorated beautifully around the whole city, illuminating the night.

Rachel looked at her watch. It was almost time for the planned date with Alan. Even though she was not willing to see this guy, she had no choice but to make it.

The meeting place was a fancy KTV downtown, which was a hub for rich people to gather and have fun. Rachel heaved a deep breath as she stood in front of the door after she was let in by a bouncer.

As soon as Rachel pushed open the door and entered, she immediately caught sight of Alan taking advantage of a girl sitting on his lap.

As a businesswoman, Rachel wasn't fazed and just rolled her eyes at them. She had seen this kind of scene for so many times now. However, she still couldn't help but feel angry and disgusted at the thought that she might replace the girl pleasing Alan later.

She resisted the urge to turn around and leave and took some willpower to stop her real feelings from showing on her face. She gave out a smile and pretended to be overjoyed when Alan saw her. She waved at him and rushed over to him.

"Mr. Zhao, long time no see! It's been quite a while, isn't it? How are you doing recently? Oh my, you look great!" Rachel remarked and continued to fake her enthusiasm.

"Oh, Ms. Bai, you're so sweet! Why are you late though? Anyways, come. I already ordered wine for us, and as a punishment for you being late, you have to drink off this glass of wine!" Alan smirked and stared at Rachel seductively, which for Rachel was extremely creepy under the flickering lights.

Rachel turned her gaze at the glass which was almost full to the brim and couldn't help but feel intimidated and anxious by the content. She knew it was too much for her, but she also knew that she had to bite the bullet.

"Sure, give it to me!" Alan handed her the glass. Rachel took it and chugged all of its content. She didn't show him any hint of unwillingness, because she didn't want to displease him for a trivial matter. Afterwards, they started to talk about random things and drank in between. Luckily, Alan dismissed the girl on his lap and focused his attention on Rachel. After some time, Rachel felt that it was the right time, so she grabbed her opportunity and brought up the contract extension between their two companies. However, Alan did not reply. Instead, he took Rachel's hand and rubbed the back of her palm with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, dear. I can't make any decision right now concerning our cooperation. For me, the most important thing is your sincerity, Ms. Bai."

Alan raised his eyebrows and looked at Rachel with eyes like that of a predator to his prey.

Rachel got her wine glass from the table and took a sip before she moved closer to Alan.

"Tarsan Corporation is genuine towards our cooperation. I really appreciate it if you can give us an opportunity to prove it. For that, I'd like to give you a toast, Mr. Zhao."

Without waiting for a reply from Alan, Rachel raised her glass and drowned the contents until the last drop.

Alan grinned and applauded satisfactorily. "Wow, Ms. Bai, I admire your frankness. Well, I have to admit that it will be interesting to cooperate with you. Don't worry. I will re-evaluate your company and reconsider our cooperation."

Rachel tried to hid her frustration after hearing Alan's reply. She had already sacrificed her dignity, and yet all he gave her in return was lip service.

Then again, she was not the type of person to give up that easily. She must nail down this cooperation extension at all costs!

Rachel smiled sweetly and leaned closer to Alan until she was almost wrapped around his arms.

"Mr. Zhao, I can assure you that there is not a single problem with my company. I know that we will have a bright future together. I mean, we have been good partners for so many years, haven't we? Besides, if you end our cooperation, how sure are you that you can replace a replacement better than us? So, why don't we just continue our cooperation, eh?"

Rachel opened her bag and took out a contract.

She placed it on the table with a pen on it and said, "Mr. Zhao, you see, I am sincere enough. I even brought the contract with me. So why don't you just sign it now? After this procedure, why don't we have fun somewhere else? What do you think?" Alan looked at her back. Her sexually suggestive words had aroused something inside of him, especially how seductive she looked back at him.

This was the first time he had seen her like this. In the past, she always behaved like a queen, who was arrogant and proud, because her company was strong enough to stand alone.

However, right now, she even stooped so low to please him like a prostitute, which made the beast inside of him hungry and excited.

Alan raised his hand and touched Rachel's face, caressing her tender cheeks with his thumb. The delicate and soft texture made him thirsty. All he wanted to do right now was strip her off immediately.

He thought about it for a moment as he took his time caressing Rachel. As a matter of fact, this cooperation didn't matter too much for his company. Besides, Tarsan Corporation could still sustain operation. Now, to get Rachel, he knew what he had to do. He decided to sign the contract.