The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1683 Despising Her Own Incapability

"Tell Charles? Are you crazy? We know very well about Ferry. Let's say that Charles replaces out, and he goes after Ferry. Are you sure Ferry won't harm Charles instead? What if we're making a bigger mess? What if the kids get dragged into this? And who knows? He might even go as far as to kill Charles. Do you think I'm going to risk it?" Sheryl helplessly told Isla.

Isla understood how Sheryl was feeling. Ferry was a sociopath, and there was a chance that Sheryl's greatest fears might come true.

When Sheryl saw the worried look on Isla's face, she patted Isla's shoulder. Even though she was just as scared as Isla was at the moment, she tried to comfort her. "Don't worry," she said. "If the end of my marriage guarantees everyone's safety, so be it. It'll be best for everyone if I divorce Charles."

Tears welled up in Sheryl's eyes as soon as the word "divorce" escaped her lips. She wasn't as strong as she had imagined herself to be. The thought of her leaving Charles filled her with sadness. She had wanted nothing more than to remain his wife and for them to raise their two lovely children together. Even if Leila had managed to cause a rift in Sheryl and Charles' marriage in the past, Sheryl still wanted Charles. She didn't want a divorce.

"Are you okay?" Isla asked. She had noticed that Sheryl had suddenly lowered her head.

Sheryl neither spoke nor raised her head. She merely nodded softly, letting her friend know that she was okay considering everything that was going on.

For a long while, they remained silent.

After the moment had passed, Sheryl suggested that they return to the office.

Isla nodded her agreement and went with Sheryl.

Eventually, the working day ended, and evening came.

Initially, Aron had planned to pick Isla up from work. However, today, he found himself stuck in a meeting, and thus, he couldn't come. It seemed that Isla had to go home by herself.

"Isla, come. I'll drive you home," Sheryl promptly offered. Apparently, on Sheryl's way down the stairs, she had overheard Isla talking to Aron on the phone. She had quickly figured out that Aron couldn't pick Isla up. Offering Isla a ride seemed like a good idea.

Upon hearing this, Isla beamed with delight. For one thing, she hadn't brought her own car to work. For another, accepting Sheryl's offer meant that they could chat during the drive home. "This means a lot, Sher," said Isla. "Thank you so much!" She looked at Sheryl with grateful eyes.

Now that Sheryl was in a better mood, she pretended to throw up. She jokingly frowned and clutched her chest as if astonished by Isla's response. "Stop it," Sheryl said. "Why are you acting so polite? Are you ill?"

"Girl, this is for your benefit," Isla responded before throwing Sheryl a fake angry look.

Sheryl smiled knowingly and shook her head.

Moments later, they got into Sheryl's car. Without much ado, they were on their way to Isla's residence.

Sheryl had been driving for a while when she felt something was wrong. For some reason, she felt prompted to look behind them through the rear-view mirror. Isla, noticing this strange behavior, also looked behind them several times. She didn't replace anything unusual. Confused, she asked Sheryl, "What do you keep looking at?"

"Haven't you noticed? That car has been following us for some time now." Sheryl stepped on the accelerator as she responded.

Isla started to panic. She looked at the reflection in the rear-view mirror once again. This time, she stared harder. Her voice shook as she spoke. "I think you're right! Has it been tailing us since we left work?" "Call Aron and Nick and tell them what's happening. Then call the police. We'll drive straight to my house, instead of yours," Sheryl responded after some thought.

Isla nodded and proceeded to make the phone calls.

Soon, they reached Sheryl's high-security neighborhood. The guards opened the gate for them, and Sheryl hurriedly drove the car through. Sheryl and Isla wondered whether they were now safe. When Sheryl saw that the guards had closed the gate and that she and Isla were close to her house, she slowed down and killed the engine. Then, she and Isla nervously watched the events unfold on the rear-view mirror. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the guards talk to the men in the car that had been following them. But this relief was short-lived. The men ended their conversation with the guards, parked their car, closed the doors, and proceeded to enter the neighborhood on foot.

When Sheryl saw this, she tried restarting the engine. It remained dead. She grabbed Isla's arm and said, "Come on. We're going to run." Sheryl and Isla stepped out of the car. They were ready to run for their lives when something stopped them.

"Josef?" Isla mumbled. She had taken her first step forward when she thought she spotted Josef.

Sheryl stopped in her tracks upon hearing Isla. She couldn't make out what Isla had said, so she followed Isla's gaze instead. There, standing a few feet away from them, was Josef.

"What are you doing here!" Isla exclaimed. Without a second thought, she grabbed Sheryl's arm, and together, they ran toward Josef and hid behind him.

"My cousin called me just now. He's on his way here. The police are on their way as well. Are these the guys who are following you?" Josef frowned and looked at Isla with concern.

Isla nodded her confirmation, and Josef turned once more toward the men, who were now approaching them. When the men from the car reached the trio, Josef told them calmly, "You are bothering these two women. Do you know who they are? You are stalking the wife of Charles Lu, who is the president of Shining Company, and Aron Gu's wife. Do you think you can get away with this?"

Josef and the strange men stared at one another without a word. Then, the apparent leader spoke up, saying, "We were paid to follow orders. It's nothing personal."

"How much were you promised? I'll pay you double to buy these women's safety."

Josef looked tough as he talked to the men, instantly changing Sheryl's impression of him.

These men were clearly scamps who only wanted money and were willing to serve whoever would pay them.

"A hundred thousand," one of the men said. The man moved toward the front of the group, stood beside the leader, and showed Josef his palm.

"Okay. Come with me. There's an ATM nearby. Let's go get you your money," said Josef. As Josef led the group away from Isla and Sheryl, he looked back at the women and gestured for them to go inside. Sheryl's house was only a few steps away. Sheryl and Isla understood Josef's signal and quickly walked in through the security door.

When Josef saw that the two were safe, he led the men in the direction of the bank.

"Sher, what should we do? Are they going to hurt Josef?" Isla asked worriedly as she tightly clung onto Sheryl's arm.

At the moment, Sheryl was equally nervous. After Josef had left with the men, Sheryl dialed Nick's number.

"Nick. Phoebe's boyfriend, Josef, led the guys away from us, toward the bank near my house. Are the police on their way? I fear for Josef's safety."

Sheryl hoped that Josef would not be in trouble. Otherwise, Phoebe would be worried about him.

"Sher, we're almost there."

Immediately, Nick hung up the phone.

Sheryl and Isla didn't go upstairs. They remained downstairs near the door, waiting.

After about half an hour, there was a knock. Sheryl checked nervously. When she saw that it was Nick and Josef, she quickly grabbed Isla and opened the door. "What happened?" Sheryl and Isla walked out of the security door, their eyes filled with worry.

Before Nick responded to the women, he first looked at Josef with obvious respect and admiration. "I was surprised. You are awesome."

Sheryl and Isla were momentarily confused.

Finally, Nick told them everything.

After Josef had walked with the strange men toward the bank, he turned around and fought them. He did this to buy himself some time to wait for police.

Although Josef was outnumbered, he had some knowledge of martial arts. Thus, he received very few injuries. Soon, Nick and some policemen arrived, and the police took the offenders away.

"Have you asked them? Who they were working for?" Isla was afraid that those people would continue to hurt Sheryl. She wanted to know who the actual enemy was. "It's Leila Zhang," said Nick.

"What? I slapped her in the face today, but she still hasn't realized who she's up against?" Isla looked at Nick in complete disbelief.

Nick shook his head helplessly. "Leila wants to hurt you this time, Isla. It seems that the slap did exactly what it was supposed to do."

When Sheryl heard that Leila had sent people, an entire group of men, to harm Isla, she looked at her with apologetic eyes. She felt like it was her fault and couldn't speak.

Isla didn't like to see Sheryl like this. She shook her arm instead, and said, "Why do you look as if you want to apologize to me? I'm fine."

"Isla, I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have gone to Leila and confronted her." Sheryl hated herself for being helpless and incapable of protecting Isla. Without Nick and Josef today, Isla would have gotten in a lot of trouble. As Sheryl reflected on the events of today, she felt a tightness in her chest, and she found it difficult to breathe.