The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1410 Sheryl's Mercy

"Sheryl, I am sorry that I haven't been completely honest with you before. About our daughter's kidnapping, I have secretly investigated Leila and tried to gather as much information as possible. Now I finally have enough evidence. To my knowledge, Leila is the mastermind behind all of this, so we can now put her into prison."

Hearing this revelation, Sheryl pursed her lips and turned her head away from Charles.

With a long face, she said, "Haven't you disbelieved me? I once told you that it must be Leila who schemed this kidnapping, but you said I was paranoid and insane. You thought I was being unreasonable. That my doubts came from nowhere..." Many images when Charles misunderstood her emerged into her mind, and Sheryl felt infuriated recalling them.

Back then, even her husband was not willing to trust her, so how could she forget the sort of pain Charles had caused without his explanation? All of the grievance remained in her head, and now it came rushing back and struck her heart with a painful sting. Sheryl's face turned gloomy as she cast an indifferent look at her husband.

Gradually, tears began to well up in her eyes. Trying hard not to let Charles learn about her weakness, she squeezed her eyes shut. On the verge of weeping, she quickly took a deep breath to swallow all her sorrow back into her heart before she raised her head.

"Sheryl, it was not because I didn't trust you nor because I purposely reproached you. I had everything planned back then. I just pretended to be indifferent to you, so Leila would be less cautious and I could ruin her plan."

He regretted that he hadn't told Sheryl the truth earlier. Still, Charles wanted to explain everything to her, in hopes of erasing the trauma he had left in her heart.

Luckily, he still had time. Before Sheryl got too disappointed at him, Charles offered her the truth and apologized to his wife.

Sheryl was startled to know about it. She had never anticipated that, the entire time, Charles cared about the kidnapping even more than she had. 'He has been collecting evidence all along? He was more careful and cautious than I was. That's why he didn't follow my suggestion to arrest Leila right away. He was trying to get more information. Oh, why was I so stupid back then!' Sheryl felt guilty towards her actions. In an instant, the grudge she had nursed in her heart against Charles disappeared without a trace.

"Sheryl, can you forgive me now? Please forgive me," Charles begged as he took her hand nervously and looked into her eyes. He hoped that after hearing him out, she would still be able to replace it in her heart to forgive him.

Silently, Sheryl stared at Charles. Her expression turned warm and tender. She raised her other hand to touch his face and gently ran her fingers against his cheek. With her eyes closed, her fingertips touched his heart. At that moment, Sheryl could feel how much they loved and needed each other.

Her love for Charles never receded. Instead, it developed and deepened as they continued to go through thick and thin. Every smile and frown, every word and touch-every action from Charles affected her heart.

She realized that her heart was still attached to his, so how could she ignore his sincere apology?

"Charles, I forgive you. But next time, I want you to let me know in case you have a plan. We are a couple, and we share things. It's not right to be keeping these things between each other."

"I won't do that again, I promise!" Determined, Charles agreed.

Then they just kept exchanging their looks. After a while, Charles brought up the unfinished topic again.

"Going back to the information gathered, I have found out who the other kidnapper was. That guy's name is Jim. And he is already in prison. Now we just need to send Leila to the police, then justice will be served. Let's do it. Leila has to pay for what she has done!" Charles said angrily. The ruthlessness in his tone even brought a shiver to Sheryl's spine.

In fact, Sheryl had also waited for this moment to come. If there was anyone in this world who wanted to see Leila be put into prison, that would be Sheryl. Leila had brought so much pain and damage to her family. She even intended to kill her. So Sheryl couldn't be happier if justice would be served. However, since Leila also helped her to get her daughter back, she wanted to spare her this time.

"Charles, I think we should just let it go. Our Shirley is back safely, isn't she? And as you said, one of the kidnappers has been brought to justice. How about we spare Leila this time? I want this whole farce to end as quickly as possible." Sheryl sighed with a tired look. She leaned forward to put herself into his arms. With her hand caressing his chest, Sheryl looked straight into Charles' eyes with an imploring expression.

Astonishment crossed his mind, and Charles widened his eyes. To his confusion, as to what he had known, Sheryl had always been the one who hated Leila the most. Now that he finally collected enough evidence to send her to prison, he was surprised that Sheryl changed her mind so suddenly.

He found it difficult to believe Sheryl's reply.

"Sheryl, I can't just let her go. She is a criminal. It's really lucky that she didn't hurt our Shirley this time. But if we allow her out at large, I am afraid that she will come bother us again. I know you are always kind to people, but Leila deserves to be punished for what she has done!"

Sheryl nearly failed to resist Charles' persuasion. She agreed deep inside, 'Charles is right. Why not? Even if I made a deal with Leila and was supposed to keep my promise, she is just a criminal. It doesn't hurt to break the promise I have made with someone like her.'

However, Sheryl found it hard to persuade herself. She had been brought up with integrity, which her grandmother used to coach her to have.

From her perspective, she shouldn't have made a deal with Leila, if it would require her to lie. She couldn't allow herself to cross the bottom line of morality.

So she decided to disagree with Charles' opinion. She decided to give Leila a chance, so she racked her brain to help Leila replace a reasonable excuse.

"Charles, you and I both know that Mom is fond of Leila. If we put her into prison, Mom will be hurt. Besides, we still don't have enough evidence, do we? In my opinion, as long as we drive Leila out of our house, then we can prevent her from making any other plots, and she won't be able to deceive our mom anymore. That is the happiest ending we want to see, right?" Sheryl urged Charles.

"Sheryl, is this idea really coming from you? Don't you hate her anymore?" Charles doubted, unable to hide his shock.

"Of course, I hate her. I couldn't hate her more! But at the same time, I also thank her."

"What?" Charles stared at Sheryl in disbelief. He supposed that her words might mean more than what it sounded.

"Think about it. If it weren't for Leila, I would never replace out how sincere and deep your love for me is. And how could I understand that your care for this family no less than I do? I believe, our mom will change her impression of Leila once she replaces out who she really is. Therefore, there's no need to punish her ourselves. We just need to make her leave our home, and let her die by herself."

Charles creased a frown and sank into contemplation. After a moment of silence, he retorted, "But she caused us so much trouble. I still don't agree to just let her get away without punishment. That's way too kind of you."

Understanding Charles' grudge against Leila, Sheryl nodded, "Indeed, it is way too kind. How about we ask Mom for her agreement? After all, when Mom was in prison, she also had taken good care of her. If Mom agrees to forgive Leila, then let's just give her a lenient punishment. What do you say?"

Charles chuckled. With an appreciative look, he agreed. "You are right. Let's check our mom's opinion first."