The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1625 Charles’ Nominal Wife

On the other hand, the special nurse had witnessed Sheryl visiting her husband every night, which made her curious for the first few days, but eventually she got used to it.

Seeing Sheryl shedding tears as she was looking at Charles through the glass window, the nurse came over and comforted her. "Please, calm down, Ms. Xia. Mr. Lu is getting better. I'm not saying this just to ease your worry, but I check his physical parameters every day. He's doing great, and I believe that he will be waking up soon."

"Really? Oh, thank God!" Sheryl exclaimed in a low voice as she didn't want to bother others in the hospital. The gloomy expression on her face was gone with the help of the nurse's words. She held the nurse's hands and her eyes lit up like daylight.

The nurse was taken aback by Sheryl's sweet gesture as she had just said what she was supposed to say as her husband's nurse. She didn't expect any such touching reactions. She spared an embarrassing smile and said, "I'm serious. Please, be patient, Ms. Xia. I've got to go now. I need to change the dressing on his wound." The nurse patted the back of Sheryl's hand and then reclaimed her hand from Sheryl's grasp.

"Oh, please excuse me for my rudeness. Thank you for your kind and comforting words," Sheryl hurriedly apologized.

She felt like she was on cloud nine even after the nurse had left for a while. The feeling of recovering what one had previously lost was too hard to describe for her. She was impatient to see Charles open his eyes again and rekindle their past love.

Sheryl watched the nurse head inside the intensive care unit to redress Charles' wound. She held her breath and her eyes fixated attentively on the nurse's movements. For a moment, she wished she was the nurse so she could touch his face with her fingers. She suddenly smiled ridiculously, realizing her fantasy. She should appreciate that she could see him every day as she pleased.

Time passed, and Sheryl spent the entire night at the hospital.

When Sheryl woke up on the couch, the sun was already shining outside. The nurses and doctors had long ago started their day; while she was still fast asleep. Her body was so sore from sleeping in the wrong position, and she had to stretch now and then before lifting her arms to comb her hair with her fingers. Hardly had she sat straight than Melissa's voice reached her ears.

"What are you doing here?"

Melissa was having a chat with Leila as they walked in, but she spotted Sheryl's familiar figure. The smile on her face froze in an instant, and she couldn't control her temper, although it was still early on a supposedly good morning.

Sheryl just took her time and continued to tidy herself a little. Once she was ready to leave, she didn't take the trouble to cast even the smallest glance at them.

"What are you hurrying for? Are you scared of seeing me? Why do you bother to show up here over and over again? Don't you feel guilty?" Melissa started to sound hysterical as she snapped aggressively at Sheryl. Then she stopped right in front of Sheryl, preventing her from taking another step out of the situation.

Sheryl sighed hopelessly to herself. It was obvious that she had to say something, although she hadn't been prepared to encounter her mother-in-law. She then looked back quietly at Melissa and explained, "Mother, I'm here because Charles is here. He's my lawful husband. Besides, I don't think there is anything that can scare me away."

"Aha, it seems that someone doesn't know what she has done to actually show herself here. How ridiculous!" Leila sneered, crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the wall near the door. Sheryl's heart was sinking. Although she had no idea what they were talking about, she could clearly see that it must be something unfavorable to her.

Seeing Sheryl's confused look, Melissa turned to Leila and said in her coarse and annoying voice, "We shouldn't waste time on my son's nominal wife anymore, Leila. Since she has been determined to demand a divorce, I believe that she should rethink why she's here. Our opinions aren't important to her. Let's go!"

Sheryl became even more confused as she heard these statements that didn't make sense to her. She knitted her brows tightly without uttering another word.

Leila stepped forward and hooked Melissa's arm. Together, they shoved Sheryl aside and proceeded to Charles' ward like two peacocks strutting in their pride.

Sheryl heaved a sigh and decided to go to work first since she was unable to figure out what these two women referred to. She turned around and walked towards the elevator while she took out her phone to check whether there were any calls or messages that she missed overnight.

When she saw the rumors online, all of her confusion went away as it generally explained what the drama was all about. Instead of being annoyed by what she had read, she cracked a bitter smile first. She fel weak that she couldn't voice her own opinions, even if she had a hundred mouths to do so. Charles was in a coma, and as of this moment, the public had every reason to believe in all the misconceptions abou her after seeing these photos.

Photos of her and Lewis had been taken and were posted online again. Sheryl wouldn't have given a damn before, but now the circulating story was different. The person who needed an explanation from her was lying in the hospital bed, and the public would pour dirty water onto this recovering man, too.

The photos and videos that circulated were striking because they showed that she was with Lewis, showing up together at the entrance of the hospital. To make things even more complicated, Melissa was lying on the ground in those photos. People would make a 100-episode TV series out of it because of the prominence of the people involved. From the video which was also posted online, it seemed that Lewis was the one who pushed Melissa to the ground. The public had already concluded with the use of these sources that Sheryl was cheating on her husband with another man which was Lewis. They waged a crusade against Sheryl and petitioned her to divorce Charles.

When Sheryl finally calmed down, she decided to think about what she should do next. However, her head was exploding as it was still filled with negative comments. She rubbed her temples to signal herself to think and left the hospital absentmindedly.

She went to work at Cloud Advertising Company, and was technically present but certainly absentminded and decided to shut herself in her office alone.

"Are you okay, Sheryl? You have to be strong!"

The door of her office was suddenly pushed open, not long after she arrived, and Isla stormed in, worrying about Sheryl since she had learned about all the rumors all over the news sites.

At the same time, Sheryl was taken aback by her concern. She raised her head and forced a smile at Isla. It could be only Isla who could dare to show up in front of her at this difficult and sensitive moment. "It's nothing, Isla. My heart is already immune to this kind of news. Don't worry about me," she comforted Isla who seemed to worry more than herself.

On the one hand, Isla felt a little relieved by Sheryl's calmness. She was glad that her best friend was strong and didn't take all these demeaning things personally. Isla, talking to herself, sent a thankful prayer up above.

"It's okay for you to lean on me, my dear friend. I'm always here for you," Isla said as she came over to Sheryl and put her hands on her friend's shoulders. She was almost deceived by Sheryl's projection of calmness. On second thoughts, she realized that only saints could face all this vindictive slander without minding what others might think.

"I won't sulk because of this, Isla. It won't help. I can't let my enemies laugh and my allies cry. I'll hold on and do what I'm supposed to do." Sheryl knew she couldn't escape Isla's eyes that stared at her intently, checking on her. So she made it clear that she would be alright.

"Right. I can imagine the contempt and proud smiles on Leila's and Melissa's faces right now. Oh, what can we do now?" Isla let out one sigh after another. There was nothing between Sheryl and Lewis, but it was a different story in the eyes of the public now that those malicious photos were out.

Harsh comments and were flooding the internet and even Isla was pissed off. She had almost smashed her phone when she tried to read more.

This was why Isla came to the company in the first place; to check how Sheryl was coping. She wanted to stay with Sheryl at this difficult moment, believing that what she could provide was her presence and some kind of support.

Isla then sat across the table, lost in her thoughts as she gazed at her friend. "I won't leave the people who spread rumors about you alone! I won't let you get hurt, or deal with this on your own this time. I'll teach them how to tell bad from good!" she hissed from between her teeth, angered by even the slightest comment.

Although Sheryl believed that a clean hand needed no washing, they would not stop throwing mud on her, especially when Leila and Melissa fanned the flames from time to time. Isla, on the other hand, purged her head of ideas on how to fix this issue for good. She wanted to manage this new but familiar situation for Sheryl and to throw these two shameless women to the center of the storm.

"I'm going to sue the person who took the photos and sold them to the media. I believe there must be a place to uphold justice here!" Isla snapped, clenching her hands into hard fists as if she couldn't wait to punch the person who took advantage of her friend's situation.

"Forget about it, Isla. You'll encounter a lot of trouble to replace that person. Also, there are no waves without winds. I should have been more careful about how I carried myself," Sheryl noted in a detached tone to calm her angered friend. Sheryl wore a determined expression of seeing everything through as if she had figured it all out on her own.

Isla rose to her feet in an instant. Resting her hands on her waist, she shouted with her pupils dilated in wrath, "You're helping the wicked perpetuate more wicked deeds, my dear friend!" However, Sheryl shook her head with an unconvinced smile and countered, "You're in the wrong place, my dear."

"I don't care. You know what I'm talking about. I'll take them to the bitter end this time. You need to listen to me, please! This fight will be endless if you're reluctant to act on it!" Isla stared into Sheryl's eyes, trying to win her friend by showing angst. It seemed that Isla was determined to make them pay, and planned to fight a good fight for Sheryl.

"Listen, I understand that you're putting yourself in my shoes, Isla. But Charles is the only one on my mind now. I hope that he will wake up as soon as possible. If they want to gossip, let them do so. It won't make me bleed either way. I don't care about what they say. I only care about the feelings of the people who are dear to me!" Sheryl explained, attempting to talk Isla off her idea of attack.

Isla opened her mouth wide, ready to yell her thoughts and contradict Sheryl, but no words came out. She sat back and turned her head away from Sheryl, feeling frustrated and panting with rage. Sheryl also kept silent. She bit her lips, afraid that what she would say next would hurt Isla's feelings. She hoped that her best friend would agree with her and respect her decisions. Also, in the meantime, she didn't feel that creating more troubles would help her situation.

Time passed by without them realizing it. About an hour later, Isla finally began to lose her cool. She knocked on the table to interrupt Sheryl who was focusing on the business documents and said, "You win. It's your decision to make anyway. But, please, keep this in your mind. I'll always be here for you. I will try my best to help you, no matter what happens, so please, keep me updated!"

"I will, Isla. I am really grateful for all of your help. It's so nice to have you around. As long as you're here, I won't fear unexpected blows coming my way!" Sheryl promised her friend as she lightly tapped on her own chest, pretending to be serious and sincere.

Isla was amused by her friend's gesture, but finally, she was convinced and decided to calm down. She sighed and hoped for Sheryl's peace of mind.

The two good friends then burst into laughter, exclaiming that they were lucky to have each other. Isla stayed in Sheryl's office until noon and then dragged her friend to lunch, worrying that Sheryl's appetite was affected by the spreading rumors.

Sheryl had to go with her thoughtful friend, although she was indeed not in the mood to have anything to eat.