The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1468 Confronting Melissa

A puff of air came out of Charles' lips as he sighed heavily. Frustration crept over his face, for he didn't know what to feel about Melissa. On the one hand, she was his mother; on the other hand, she was also hurting his family.

The end tone beeped from the phone as Sheryl completely hung up. She was anxious to confront Melissa. She'd been out for just half a day, but Melissa already hurt Shirley. Who knew what she would do to the children in the future when both she and Charles were outside?

Thus, she had to give Melissa a lesson for what she did this time. She wouldn't let her get away with it so easily.

Anger steamed out of her system as she strode directly to Melissa's room. Her sullen face burned with fiery anger, and the way she walked made her look like a furious Nemesis.

Soon enough, she reached Melissa's door. She reached out and pounded on the wood with all her might, the door trembling with a loud thud.

Melissa was startled, then she realized that it might be Sheryl or Charles who was there for Shirley. Despite her unwillingness, she stood up and opened the door-only to be greeted by an angry Sheryl in front of her.

Although Sheryl had always been kind and gentle, that wasn't the case at that moment. Melissa couldn't help but feel a little intimidated since she was indeed guilty.

"Mom, why did you beat Shirley today? You also know what a sweet and lovely girl she is. How could you abuse her like that? Do you really treat her as your own grandchild?" Sheryl hissed.

Sheryl's direct and intense questioning almost made her fail to restrain herself as she accused Melissa of her disgusting conduct.

On the other hand, Melissa felt utterly frightened by Sheryl's fierce attitude. Her sharp glare was so piercing that Melissa couldn't help but look away. She quickly whipped her head to the side and thought abou how to react. She was Sheryl's mother-in-law, an elder. How dared Sheryl yell at her like that?

In addition, she was Shirley's grandmother. Why couldn't she discipline her? Sheryl was making a mountain out of a molehill!

When Melissa thought about it, she regained her composure. "I don't treat her as my own grandchild? Nonsense! I did that for her own good. She was being naughty, so I taught her to behave herself. Did you think I hit her for no reason?" Melissa said nonchalantly.

Melissa held her head high arrogantly as she spoke, and stared back at Sheryl as if her reason was good enough.

However, Sheryl was even more enraged at Melissa's behavior. Not only did she fail to confess her faults, she also defended herself with lame excuses and put the blame on Shirley instead.

Melissa's shamelessness almost rendered Sheryl speechless, which only angered her more to the point of wanting to burn Melissa down.

A cold snort passed from Sheryl's lips, and her eyes sharply locked with Melissa's own.

"Really? How was Shirley being naughty? What did she do?" Sheryl asked.

Now Sheryl's question put Melissa's nerves on edge. She opened her mouth but couldn't produce a coherent sentence, because she knew that Shirley didn't do anything wrong at all. "Shirley was...she was... very impolite... Yes, she was impolite... to the guests," she stammered. Finally, Melissa managed to replace an excuse. She even nodded after she finished speaking, as if to prove that she was credible.

But Sheryl just snorted. "Really? Shirley was impolite? Ask yourself if you even believe it! Everyone who knows Shirley and Clark would know that they are very polite and cultured. You can ask her teachers or classmates at school, or the staff at home. I'm sure none of them will say that Shirley is impolite! Why do you slander a child!"

Sheryl's words were sharp and harsh, which made Melissa panic as she didn't know how to respond. All she gave was a slight slap. Why was Sheryl making a fuss? Couldn't she just let it pass? Melissa was both angry and embarrassed.

"Mom, I know you don't like me, but you can't vent your resentment on Shirley no matter what! You even slandered her just to make an excuse for yourself. Have you no shame?"

At this point, Melissa felt deeply hurt by Sheryl's frank words, because it was all true. Red patches started to color her cheeks in shame.

But still, she would never admit her own mistakes. "I didn't vent my resentment on Shirley. Why are you making a fuss? I'm her grandmother, I simply lectured her to behave herself. Stop slandering me!" Melissa complained as if they had treated her wrongly. She even sobbed and covered her eyes with her palms, even if there were no tears at all.

At the same time, she peeped at Sheryl through the space between her fingers. Sheryl just sighed in frustration.

"I know that you know well the truth, but I have to tell you today, everyone in this family can lecture Shirley, except you!"

As Sheryl lashed out, her eyes looked so clear that Melissa felt all her secrets were exposed right then and there.

Although Melissa felt that way, Sheryl's words still ignited her. It was such an insult! Her face turned red in anger.

"I'm Shirley's grandmother. How can you say that a grandmother can't lecture her own granddaughter? Sheryl, why are you doing this to me?" Melissa said while she pointed a finger at Sheryl. The tip of her finger was pointed directly at Sheryl's chest, so close that it almost touched her.

But Sheryl ignored her offensive act. "You know the reason, don't you? You can't cover secrets forever," she said with a scornful glance.

All of a sudden, Melissa's body was frozen on the spot. Silence hung thick in the air, and the atmosphere became awkward. The distressing air almost drove Melissa mad.

Why did Sheryl say that? Did she know that she was also involved in Shirley's kidnapping? If not, why did she say that then?

The mere thought of it filled Melissa with guilt. Her eyebrows creased, her lips quivered, and even her fingers began to tremble. She wasn't as confident as a few moments ago.

Her ego withered like a deflated balloon. She didn't dare yell at Sheryl anymore, afraid that Sheryl would know something about the abduction and decided to keep investigating her. Meanwhile, Sheryl tried her best to restrain herself from lashing out completely at Melissa. She couldn't forget Shirley's and Clark's pitiful faces. She really wanted to bring them justice!

However, she returned to sanity in the last minute as she didn't want to solve this problem by violence. It would only hurt their family even more. Moreover, if she hurt Melissa physically, Melissa might use that against her and spread rumors about her. That wasn't a good way to end things.