The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1663 The Only Way Out

In front of Sheryl and Phoebe was a picture of Sheryl and Lewis hugging. People who didn't know the story behind the image might have easily believed that there was something between the two. "Sheryl," Phoebe asked. "Is there something going on between you and Lewis?" Phoebe had been working for Sheryl for many years and knew the woman quite well. She knew that Sheryl wouldn't treat a person she didn't like a lot in such a friendly and familiar manner. Other than Charles, Lewis was the first and only man to be in such seemingly intimate interaction with Sheryl.

"Calm down," said Sheryl. She cast Phoebe a mischievous look. "If I had a boyfriend, I'd tell you." Then, trying her best to look unbothered, Sheryl walked away with the picture. Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the picture hadn't affected Sheryl's demeanor at all.

'Somebody must have been playing a prank! A mere prank wouldn't anger Sheryl,' she thought.

After walking out of the company building, Sheryl sat quietly in her car. She stared at the picture, puzzled. She couldn't figure out who could have maliciously taken the picture.

If it had been Leila, she would have shown it to Charles by now. However, Charles had not yet seen the picture. That was enough proof that the mystery photographer wasn't Leila or someone working for her. Who could it have been?

After thinking for quite a while, Sheryl was exhausted. She finally gave up and drove to the hospital.

The drive was pleasant. Traffic was light, and Sheryl arrived at the hospital earlier than she had expected, which improved her mood a little. Immediately, she was also able to replace a parking space. Sheryl was on her way to the gate when someone stopped her in her tracks.

She almost lost her balance since she had her head down while she walked. When she finally stopped, she raised her head to see who it was. Ferry was standing a few feet away from her, his disgusting face easily recognizable.

"What do you want?" Sheryl snapped at him.

"Be careful, Sheryl. Do you really think that I wouldn't hurt you? It's true. I adore you. And I intend to be with you, but it wouldn't bother me if you came to me with a few injuries on you," Ferry said coolly. He then smirked at Sheryl.

His elation bore a striking contrast to Sheryl's anger.

"It seems that you're not going to divorce Charles after all," Ferry remarked. The smile that had been plastered on his face just moments ago was now gone. Without waiting for a response, Ferry pulled out some pictures from an envelope, stared at Sheryl for a couple of seconds, and continued, "What do you think of these pictures?" He then presented the pictures, right side up, so Sheryl could see them. Sheryl didn't respond. She didn't even look at the pictures. "How about I give them to Charles as a gift on his and my first meeting?"

Suddenly, alarm bells started ringing in Sheryl's head. 'How does he know that Charles has woken up?' she wondered.

At that moment, she realized that Ferry must have little birds in the hospital. He must have had people spying on them and reporting back to him. At this point, he was probably aware of everything that had been going on between her and Charles.

"It was you!" Sheryl exclaimed and turned her gaze toward the pictures. They were the same pictures that she had received earlier today.

She thought about it over and over. How could she have overlooked the possibility that it was Ferry, the vilest person she knew?

"These are indeed great shots, aren't they? I had them taken by professional photographers. What great photos!" Ferry said, looking admiringly at the pictures.

'He truly is a psychopath! He even goes out of his way to cross people and make them feel unsafe!' Sheryl thought but kept quiet. She glared at Ferry, keeping her emotions under control. "This is the last time I'm asking you. Are you or are you not getting a divorce?" Ferry asked impatiently.

He had always been temperamental, and at that moment, Sheryl couldn't figure out what was on his mind. It seemed that there was only one way out. She had to listen to him and do whatever he wanted. "Getting a divorce is a big deal. I need some time to think about it," Sheryl replied in an attempt to buy herself some time. Even one more second would make a difference.

"Okay! I'll give you more time to think about it, but you know that I'm not a patient man. You'd better hurry." Ferry stared at Sheryl with a vague look on his face, like he had a lot on his mind. Sheryl stared back at him, careful not to reveal anything.

"It seems like you're not taking my warning seriously. Or are you simply that determined to go against me?" There was a moment of silence between them, which Ferry broke with a sneer. "I got it. I'll take care of it as soon as I can,"

Sheryl answered. Tired of this exchange, she turned her body away from him and took a few steps forward to leave.

Ferry stopped her again, positioning himself in front of her so that she couldn't advance. He leaned closer to her, glared at her delicate face, and said, "If I were Charles, I wouldn't be able to part with you either."

Sheryl was terrified. Where there had been a safe distance between the two of them moments earlier, there was now only inches.

"What do you mean?" Sheryl asked. She tried to keep her voice from shaking with fear.

"Let's see who gets you in the end. Will it be Charles or me?" Ferry responded. When he saw that Sheryl was in a daze, he gave her chin a gentle squeeze.

That did it. Ferry's hand on her chin startled her and made her step back immediately.

While it was clear that such a reaction proved her aversion to Ferry, he appeared unaffected. Instead of getting annoyed, he flashed her a strange smile.

"Sheryl, the time will come when you will come to me, begging,"

Ferry said softly. Then, he turned away and left.

Sheryl didn't understand what he meant. Why would she have to beg him for anything?

Immediately, Sheryl looked around. She felt glad when she didn't see any acquaintances nearby. If anybody she knew had seen them, she would probably be in a much bigger mess.

Once Ferry was out of sight, Sheryl breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly to the gate and into the hospital.

The hospital lobby and its halls felt different today. Sheryl had walked into this same place many times before, but today, she felt unsafe. Ferry knew her every single move. It was like she was naked in front of him. She had no privacy at all.

She made her way to Charles' room and scanned her immediate surroundings. She couldn't replace anyone or anything suspicious.

Charles was on the phone with his assistant David.

"How's the business doing?" Charles asked.

David had been thrilled when he found out that Charles had finally woken up. He had wanted to drop by, but Charles hadn't allowed him to.

"Rest assured, Mr. Lu, that everything's going well, but..." David suddenly stopped talking. He was thinking about everything Leila had done and how she had been acting, but he was on the fence about telling Charles.

It was his duty to tell Charles everything about Leila working at Shining Company, but Charles had just woken up. David didn't want to stress him out any further. He wondered if he should tell Charles the truth. Even though Leila had gotten Charles' approval to work in the company, how she had behaved while Charles was in a coma was intolerable. David had seen everything she had done, but he hadn't interfered, for Melissa's sake.

"What is it?" Charles asked when he noticed David's hesitation.

"Mr. Lu, I'm afraid Leila displeased a lot of people in the Secretary Department. Everybody dislikes her," David said at last.

"Okay. I got it. I'll take care of that. Other than that, there's one more thing I want to know," Charles said, lowering his voice. "How's Sheryl?"

David hadn't expected that Charles would be asking about Sheryl. He was caught off guard and was rendered speechless by the question. "Tell me. Has something happened?" Charles spoke coldly.

Noticing David's uncertainty, Charles could tell that something wasn't right.