The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1508 A Blessed Life

Choked by his sister, Clark was searching hard in his mind to replace words to retort. The uneasiness on his face reminded Sheryl of Charles at certain moments.

She beamed feeling all warm inside. That was the life she was longing for.

Her life completely changed after she gave birth to the twins. She used to devote all her time to her work in the past, but that changed in the last few years since she spent most of her time with the kids instead. Shirley and Clark were gifts from heaven, and living with them made her life happier and more colorful.

"Mommy, why are you home at this time?" Shirley asked out of nowhere a moment later, resting in her mother's arms.

Sheryl definitely didn't want to tell them about her breathtaking day, not wanting to scare them off. She poked on her daughter's little nose and replied with a smile, "Well, I don't feel like working today, so I took a day off."

"Hmm, I didn't know there's a time when Mommy doesn't feel like working!" Shirley exclaimed with an unbelievable expression.

Sheryl burst into laughter, and then rubbed Shirley's little head.

"You little goose! Mommy must have something more important to do other than work. That's why she took a day off," Clark butted in.

Sheryl shook her head and cast Clark a knowing glance. Her son was too smart to be deceived. Nothing got past him. Clark stared back at her with the same eyes he inherited from his father.

She then reached out another arm and grabbed Clark closer. Just as Melissa was coming downstairs, the scene of a mother and her kids talking and laughing stung her eyes. She felt jealous and decided to interrupt them.

"I see you're home! Shirley and Clark, would you like join me for desserts? They're freshly made and taste fabulous!" she said loudly with an affable smile as if she had been a kind grandma.

Clark just ignored her while Shirley's eyes lit up when she heard the word "desserts."

But she didn't answer, her gaze moving back and forth between her mother and grandma.

Sheryl noticed her little girl's dilemma so she patted her shoulders. "Do you want to grab some desserts, Shirley?"

Shirley nodded a few times, fixating her eyes on the plate on the table.

Seeing Shirley's reaction, Melissa clapped her hands and urged, "Come on! What are you waiting for?"

"Go ahead, sweetie. Don't forget to show your gratitude to your grandma." Sheryl kissed her daughter on the forehead before she let her go.

Witnessing this, Melissa was surprised that Sheryl didn't stop her kids from getting along with her. Melissa found it weird that she even told Shirley to express her gratitude.

In Melissa's perspective, Sheryl was a woman of narrow mind, so she suspected her of scheming. However, since she was unable to figure out what Sheryl was planning as of yet, Melissa decided to put it aside and braced up to cotton up with little Shirley.

With Sheryl's approval, Shirley got up and ran to the table, grabbing a piece of cake and taking a big bite. "Wow, it's extraordinary! Thank you, Grandma!" she praised sincerely.

Melissa was overwhelmed with joy upon hearing this and said, "Really? You're so sweet, my darling! Try this one. It's my favorite!" She came over to the table and picked another cake for Shirley. Then she turned to Clark and asked, "Clark, why don't you join us?"

But Clark had no interest to socialize with Melissa. He replied without looking at her, "No, thank you, Grandma. I'm not a big fan of desserts."

"Oh, my boy..." Melissa shook her head with a smile. But she didn't blame him for that and even found an excuse for him. "I remember that your father was not a fan of desserts too when he was a little boy. Like father, like son. You're an exact copy of Charles."

"Like me? In what way?" Charles' voice reached everyone in the room before he entered. He changed into a pair of slippers by the door before going inside. Everyone's attention was on Charles as he walked into the living room.

Sheryl was surprised to see him home this early, but before she could even replace an answer, Charles was already moving to the sofa where she was seated.

She felt her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Strangely, it had been a long time since she got such a feeling for her husband. It beat even faster as Charles moved to close the distance between them.

It brought her back to the days when she and Charles just started to know each other. How could the feeling of her first love cling to her until now? She chuckled and lowered her head.

"Daddy!" Shirley shouted, running to her father like a gust of wind.

"Hey, sweetie! How's your day?" Charles asked as he picked Shirley up and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I had a wonderful day! Daddy, you know what? My teacher praised me! Tell Daddy, Clark!" she described excitedly and gestured for her brother to continue.

"Yes, she's done great and the teacher praised her," Clark confirmed.

"Wow, then tell me about it. I can't wait to hear," Charles asked curiously. Shirley used to make troubles in the kindergarten, although he thought it was no big deal.

Clark stood up from the sofa and imitated their teacher's voice. "I want to praise Shirley. She took her meals on time, took her nap on time and didn't make any mistakes today. I hope you can continue to do better!"

Shirley clapped her hands at her brother and shouted, "Wow, that's exactly how our teacher said it! Where did you learn that, Clark? You're a genius!"

Both their parents let out a loud laugh afterwards, and kids burst into laughter too.

Charles gazed at little Shirley and then averted his eyes to Sheryl.

Putting Shirley down, Charles walked towards Sheryl, rubbing Clark's head when he passed by him. He sat on the sofa beside Sheryl, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Feeling the warmth of her body, he signed emotionally inside. It felt great to have the people he loved most around him.

However, it was a different story for his mother, who watched them from the other side of the room.

Her son didn't even greet her when he arrived. He carried his daughter in his arms, talked intimately with his son and gave his wife a hug. She believed that there was nothing was left for her.

Melissa had been watching Charles the moment he showed up. She didn't expect him to give her a hug, but at least he should have greeted her or something, but he didn't. It was as if she wasn't even in the same room with his family.

Melissa had never felt so dispelled and lonely. Happiness was within her reach, but distant at the same time. She couldn't feel any warmth or kindness in this house. Not from anyone. Not for her. Her son was supposed to be the closest person to her, because she brought him to this world, but it turned out that he treated her as a complete stranger. She had to taste the bitterness herself. And there was no one to blame but that woman. If it was not her, Charles wouldn't act like this.

They used to be close before Charles married her. That woman stole her son from her so it was all her fault. She shouldn't live under the same ceiling with Sheryl. Melissa clutched her fists and swore secretly that she would do whatever she could to kick her out. Then she would lay aside all anxiety and rest content.

Melissa cast another glance at the four of them and turned to the staircase quietly, leaving them to have their fun.

Sheryl would never know how her mother-in-law thought about her. She was soaked in her own nervousness and upset now.

There was nothing unusual about Charles, but she couldn't seem to stay calm as she used to be. She felt awful because she had deliberately ignored him the other day. She wanted to force him to make up his mind on how to deal with his mother. Actually, she was hoping that Melissa could stay away from their life. But to Sheryl's surprise, he helped her out without any hesitation and did lots of things for her without letting her known. Mixed emotions welled up in her heart as she rested her head on his shoulder.

At the same time, Charles had felt her uneasiness at first and was glad to feel her relaxed later on. He understood that Sheryl had not completely gotten over what happened these past two days.

Charles turned to his kids and asked, "Clark, why don't you take your sister upstairs to your room? I think the teacher will be glad if she sees Shirley do well at her homework tomorrow. Daddy and Mommy wan some time alone."

Actually, Clark had sensed the tension between their parents a while ago. It seemed that their mother had something on her mind, although she never mentioned it. He was glad that their father would take care of it eventually, and secretly hoped that one day he would be able to share their responsibility.

He nodded at his father and took his sister's hand. "Let's go upstairs, Shirley. We need to finish our homework before dinner," he explained and led her to the staircase.

Shirley, however, was reluctant to leave. She wanted to stay with their parents a little longer. Noticing the stern expression on both her brother's and father's faces, she felt the need to follow Clark. She might be spoiled, but she knew what she was supposed to do, if necessary.

Sheryl remained silent. She felt more unease and nervous as soon as the kids left the two of them alone.

She hesitated for a long moment before getting enough courage to face Charles. Then raising her head, she looked into his eyes.

"Charles, I..."

"Sher, look..."

They both opened their mouth at the same time and stopped abruptly when they realized the other one had something to say. They couldn't help but laugh at each other.