The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1464 Chaos

The women had no intentions of comforting Melissa. Instead, they were looking forward to seeing her broken family.

Some of them even added fuel to the fire. "A daughter-in-law is supposed to be submissive and take care of the whole family. How can she be so sluggish? I'm sorry to be this rude, but I have to say she doesn't deserve your son. Don't you think so too?"

"I didn't expect Sheryl to be this kind of woman. She doesn't look like a mean person. No wonder they say that cats hide their claws," another one chimed in.

Melissa flared. "Damn right! Truth be told, I do want to get along with her. But she is always putting me in some trouble or the other! How long am I supposed to tolerate this? What's worse, she is an extremely jealous woman. You know, Charles is a businessman, and he has to attend many social events. However, Sheryl would always assume that he is off with some other woman. When he is out on business, she urges him to come back soon. If he refused, she would lie that she was sick," Melissa complained.

Her sole purpose was to throw mud on Sheryl's image. She felt that slandering Sheryl would help her vent some of her pent-up anger.

"Oh my God! That is so sick! She's ruining this family," the rest of them echoed.

Shirley was tightly wrapped inside Helen's arms, and she heard them slandering her mother. The little girl was annoyed and angry. She shouted, "You're all bad guys! My mother is not like that. Don't speak bad of her!"

She even clenched her fists and waved it at them to show her protest. She glared at all of them with resentment, including Melissa. Shirley was always a polite kid. But it was in her nature to protect her mother from being defamed by these bad people.

The ladies were startled by Shirley's sudden outburst. They stopped playing and stared at Shirley, stupefied by her words. Everyone felt embarrassed because they were termed the "bad guys" by the little girl, especially Helen, who was holding Shirley in her hands. She didn't know how to react, or whether to let her go or not. Finally, she loosened her arms.

The atmosphere became sullen all of a sudden. Melissa flared up immediately. If those rich ladies spread rumors about these incidents, what would people think of her? They would gossip that she had no place in the family, and that even her grandchildren didn't respect her. It would be an irreparable damage to her image. They would look down on her and none of them would respect her or be friends with her. The thought of it annoyed Melissa. She stared back at Shirley with hatred, as if her granddaughter were her sworn enemy.

In an instant, Melissa reached out and hit Shirley on her arm, creating a loud thud. Shirley's arm reddened immediately.

Everyone were shocked by Melissa's action. They didn't think that she would ever dare to hit her own granddaughter. Moreover, it was clear that she had used all of her strength to hit the small girl. 'What a cruel, crazy woman!' they thought, in utter disgust.

Shirley felt an extreme pain spread through her arm. The spot where she had been hit started prickling, and then there was only numbness. She couldn't feel her arm anymore. Shirley was struck dumb at first, until she stared blankly at Melissa's face. The images of the abductors flashed in front of her eyes again, and they overlapped Melissa's face. Shirley couldn't stand it anymore, and extreme terror gripped her. She screamed hysterically and cried out desperately for her parents and her brother. Soon, her face was wet with tears.

Clark was heartbroken when he saw what had happened. He glared at Melissa with enormous hatred in his eyes, but he also knew that the priority now was to comfort Shirley. He rushed towards her. Helen couldn't help but feel intimidated by Clark, though he was still a small boy. 'Like father, like son,' she thought.

Seeing Clark walking towards her for Shirley, she was genuinely afraid that Clark would do something to her. Quickly, she pushed Shirley in Clark's direction to stop him from coming any closer to her. Clark caught Shirley and held her arms to stabilize her.

He glanced around furiously, as if he were trying to remember everyone's face. He would never forgive them for what they did to his little sister today.

There was an awkward silence. Then Clark snapped in a deep, angry voice, "Both my mother and my sister are kind and nice. This is our family affair. It's none of your business to judge them!"

Clark led Shirley upstairs immediately, without wasting any more time on them. Those women made him sick. He remembered to cool down Shirley's bruised arm with an ice bag.

Feeling insulted by Clark's words, Melissa's guests refused to stay any longer. They took their leave. The game was over.

As they stepped out the door, all three of them swore that they would never come back here again. What they had experienced today was a huge humiliation!

Soon, Melissa was left alone in the empty room. She grabbed the edge of the table so forcefully that her nails scratched the surface, making harsh noises. Her face was distorted with fury. "You're such a bitch, Sheryl! You've already taught your son to insult me!" Melissa yelled.

Her teeth were clenched in rage, and her eyes were burning with anger. However, there was also a hint of fear deep in her heart besides anger. After all, she had hit Shirley. Charles adored his children. How would he react if he found out?

She would be prepared for what was to come. She didn't think that Charles would hurt her for real. If he got too angry, she would explain that Clark and Shirley had behaved impolitely to her guests. She would make him understand that she had only meant to teach them a lesson. Children needed to be disciplined.

Nancy sneaked away from behind Melissa without making any noise.

She had witnessed everything, including how Melissa's friends had spoken ill of Sheryl, and how Shirley had gotten hurt. She wanted to protect the kids from the very beginning. However, she knew Melissa very well, and she also knew that she couldn't change anything on her own. Therefore, she waited secretly and watched.

Since Melissa had lost her cool, she didn't notice her surroundings. Nancy grabbed the chance and slipped away silently.

She went to another room, took out her phone and dialed Sheryl's number. However, no one answered even after several rings.

'Where is she?'

Nancy had assumed that Sheryl had only stepped out for a moment, and would come back soon. That was why she hadn't called her earlier. It was already dusk, and she still wasn't back home. She wasn't answering her phone either.

Left with no other choice, Nancy decided to call Charles instead, because she was concerned about the children.