The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1466 Hatred

Charles wanted to rush home. But when he saw the conference room, he hesitated.

It wasn't good for him to leave in the middle of the meeting and the Marketing Department and the Sales Department were fighting. As the president, he was responsible for stopping the fight from escalating. The kids were just having a moment. Sooner or later, they would calm down. And Clark was considerate and mature enough that Charles believed that he could comfort his little sister.

After giving it some thought, Charles took a deep breath before he walked back to the conference room.

On the highway, Sheryl sped up a little, eager to go back home. She had been out for so long. She wondered how the kids were doing. She couldn't help but worry about her kids even though she had asked Nancy to take good care of them.

Therefore, Sheryl decided not to visit Nick today. She took out her phone and dialed Nick's number again.

Nick answered the phone on the first ring.

"Hello, Sher." Nick's voice was low, which Sheryl noticed. It shocked her. It sounded noisy on the other end of the phone. 'Where is Nick?' Sheryl wondered.

"Nick, where are you? I need to talk to you, face-to-face," she said.

Nick was silent for a bit. A few minutes later, he replied, "Sher, I want to spend some time myself. Can you leave me alone?"

"Where the hell are you? Cheer up, Nick! And please don't hurt yourself. I'm sure things will get better. I've talked to Cassie and I know what happened. Tell me where you are now so that I can explain it to you face-to-face."

Nick paused. He thought about her words for a while before opening his mouth again. "What's the point? Cassie will never trust me again. And I..."

'I will never trust anyone else,' Nick sighed silently.

What hurt Nick most wasn't the fact that Cassie misunderstood him. It was that Cassie still came to him when she was seeing another man. Why couldn't Cassie just live her peaceful life with her new man? Why would Cassie give him hope?

Nick closed his eyes. He was by the sea, and he could hear the waves crashing against each other and the rocks, lapping over each other, seeming to mock his wishful thinking.

"Sher, I am a little tired. I need some time alone. Bye." Nick was going to hang up.

"Wait!" Sheryl yelled. Her phone was low on battery but she had to tell him that Cassie loved him.

"Sher, what else do you want to say?" Nick sighed.

"Nick, I understand that there is some misunderstanding between you and Cassie. If you two don't fix them, the problems between you two will only become bigger and bigger. And then there will be nothing you can do to save your relationship. It'll be over. Are you sure you want that to happen? You need to do something before it's too late."

"I know..." Nick said.

Sheryl interrupted Nick, "But I don't see you doing anything! Man up, Nick. Where's your responsibility and courage? You really make me..." Before she could finish, she heard a "beep" sound in her ear. She cursed under her breath as she looked at the screen. The battery was dead.

Disappointed, she threw the phone on the passenger seat. How could her phone turn off in such an important moment?

Sheryl was upset for a long time. She decided to visit Nick and ask him what he was thinking tomorrow. She needed to replace out who the woman staying at his house was!

Sheryl started the car engine again and drove. All she was thinking now was her two kids.

Sheryl missed them and wondered what they were doing.

What Sheryl didn't know was that just when her phone was turned off, Nancy called her.

In the bedroom upstairs, Clark looked at Shirley, his eyes red and swollen. The bruise on Shirley's arm was still visible even after he used a cold compress on it. It turned from red to purple and anyone could see it from a distance.

Clark hated his powerlessness. He failed to protect his little sister. After what happened, Clark made a goal that he would learn taekwondo when he grew up so that he could be strong and powerful. That way, he could protect his sister and no one would bully her again.

"Clark, it is fine. Please don't be sad. You can blow on my wound and make the pain go away."

Shirley was very sensitive. Even though she felt pain from her arm and there was tears in the corners of her eyes, she still tried to smile at Clark. She didn't want him to be sad.

This made Clark even sadder. He was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He felt regretful that he couldn't protect his sister but at the same time, he was moved by Shirley's words. She was so thoughtful and considerate. All of a sudden, he felt like he had lost his voice and he couldn't say anything.

He smiled and touched Shirley's head gently. Then he leaned down to blow on her bruise, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I promise no one will hurt you again, Shirley," Clark told her. It was a promise to her as well as to himself.

Clark and Shirley cuddled together, their arms around each other, hugging so tightly that it would be hard to pry them apart.

At night, Sheryl finally came home. Although she was tired, the first thing she did was replace Shirley and Clark. She went to their bedroom and saw them. It was dark, which confused Sheryl. When Sheryl turned on the light, she found that Clark and Shirley were holding each other tightly, like two injured puppies.

Shirley's eyes lit up when she saw Sheryl. She ran to Sheryl and Sheryl pulled Shirley into her arms. Sheryl noticed Shirley's swollen eyes. Her anxiety and worry grew bigger. "Ouch!"

Shirley cried and Sheryl quickly let go. She had accidentally touched Shirley's bruised arm as she was hugging her.

Her heart tightened. Why was there a bruise on her daughter's arm? Did someone bully and punch her? Sheryl got more and more confused.

Before she could ask, Shirley spoke. Clark was too upset to speak, and too mad at their grandmother. She needed to tell her mother what had happened.

"Mom, Grandma brought a lot of people home to play cards today and they kept saying nasty things about you. I asked them to stop talking about you and Grandma hit me. Clark and I are very upset. Mom, say something to cheer Clark up please."