The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1802 Are You Feeling Cold

"You'd better clear up your own mess, and then give me a good explanation. I am not spending the night in this house. When you have enough evidence to prove your innocence, I'll be back!" Cassie's eyes were throwing daggers at Nick as she spoke. After she was done talking, she looked at Nick like he was nothing more than a stranger, her eyes exuding complete indifference.

"No, you have to stay with me and let me walk you through everything. You can't go! I won't let you!" Nick pleaded, refusing to let go of Cassie's arm. He knew that once he let her leave, he might lose her forever. Her heart would walk away with her if she left. So whatever happened, he needed to make her stay.

"Hands off me, Nick! Let me go!" Seething with rage, Cassie struggled to pull her arm from Nick's grip. He could detect an obvious tinge of fury creep across her face.

Threatened by Cassie's rage-filled demeanor, as this was the first time he saw her with such a hideous expression, Nick's determination to keep her wavered. Subconsciously, he loosened his grip, but he still kept Cassie within reach, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. But to his remorse, before he could even continue his persuasion, Cassie took her chance to run away, leaving Nick dumbfounded. When he finally came back to his senses, Cassie had already gone down the stairs and reached the ground floor. Knowing it was already impossible for him to catch up, Nick watched her head towards the door, slamming it closed behind her.

Once Cassie got away from Nick, she walked alongside the road alone, carrying her large suitcase. Her heart was heavy with sadness, but her head was fuming with anger because of her boyfriend's betrayal. Stopping for a while, she suddenly broke down and wept loudly. She was in much need of someone to turn to for consolation, or someone to pour her heart out to. The first person who crossed her mind was Sheryl, her best friend. Sheryl and Cassie were always there for each other. But the timing was not good, as it was already late. Sheryl's kids must have already fallen asleep, and a sudden overnight stay would be more than a hassle to Sheryl. Dispelling the thought, Cassie didn't know where she should head to at this hour. Thinking for a while, she decided to check into a nearby hotel.

Lying in a queen-sized bed, without Nick beside her, Cassie tried her best to get some sleep but failed. She had so much in her head, and these thoughts wouldn't let her mind get to rest. After tossing and turning in bed for about half an hour, she finally gave up and decided to call Sheryl.

Meanwhile, on the liner, Twilight, in Malaysia

Sheryl was in the restroom, retouching her make up. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she took a deep breath and smiled. Pleased with how she looked, she was about to head out when a familiar ringtone started playing, and a strong vibration came from her handbag. Realizing it was her phone ringing, she fished it out and checked who was calling.

Seeing Cassie's name on the caller ID, Sheryl was surprised to see who was calling at this hour. She did rough math about the time difference between them and knew that it was very late for Cassie. Why was Cassie calling her now?

Feeling that something must have gone wrong, Sheryl quickly accepted the call.

"Cassie, what's wrong?" Sheryl tried to contain her worry in her tone and paused before leaving the restroom.

Cassie tried her best to prevent herself from being emotional. But all in vain, upon hearing Sheryl's voice, tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down like a torrent. At that moment, Cassie felt like a child in trouble, and Sheryl was like her mother consoling her.

She failed to contain her feelings anymore. Her heart ached as if it had already exploded into a thousand pieces. She kept sobbing uncontrollably, making Sheryl more concerned. With a frown, Sheryl tried to comfort Cassie before asking her in a gentle tone, "Cassie, what happened? If you have any problems. You can tell me. Let me help you with it."

"Sheryl, Nick was intending to sleep with another woman behind my back," Cassie reported. "I was so shocked and furious, so we fought, and I took off. Now I don't know what to do," Cassie advised in between sobs, making it difficult for her to speak her mind.

She had never expected Nick would betray her, and neither had Sheryl. She found it very hard to believe that Nick would do such a thing. As a witness to their sweet romance, Sheryl always kept a careful eye on Cassie's husband-to-be. In Sheryl's eyes, Nick had many good virtues. Being earnest and thoughtful, he was a suitable man for Cassie. Nick's loyalty to Cassie was supposed to be unquestionable. Taking these into consideration, Sheryl immediately smelled something fishy was going on. Still, she continued to comfort Cassie, "Cassie, please, don't cry. Tell me what exactly happened."

Hearing that Cassie was so emotional, Sheryl reminded her to come back to her senses, before they went further into their conversation. When Cassie finally adjusted, she briefed Sheryl on the details of what exactly had happened. Listening to her friend's story, Sheryl thought deeply.

She knew that part of the reason why Cassie called her was to turn to an outsider for an opinion. Clearly, Cassie was not sure about her own judgment; in other words, she was sensitive enough to detect that something was wrong. But Sheryl was even more sensitive than Cassie. She was certain that something was not right. She was sure that someone must be behind the story to set Nick up. She just couldn't put a finger on who it could be at the moment.

"Look, Cassie, you better calm down and think soberly. I am currently in Malaysia for a business trip, but I will look into this with you once I get back. During my absence, you just put this whole thing aside and focus your attention on something else. I believe Nick is a good man. He is never going to do anything to deceive you. I'm thinking of what is best for you, so I hope you will follow my suggestion. I don't want to worsen things between you two. Just promise me, please, wait until I am back!"

Sheryl never put her trust in anyone blindly, but she trusted Nick, so she made this statement.

Cassie's mind was in a complete mess. She wanted to trust Nick, but whenever she recalled that woman, she found it hard to keep the lid on the rage bubbling in her heart.

Struggling to take Sheryl's words seriously, Cassie tried to follow her advice to put her mind to rest. "Okay, I'll see you when you're back," Cassie finally answered.

Finally, ending the call, Sheryl seemed to have a lot in her heart, making her feel troubled. She was startled to replace that Cassie and Nick were going through something similar to what she and Charles had gone through.

But Sheryl had learned to be optimistic. What had happened already happened. The wise thing to do was to let the past stay in the past. Shaking her head, Sheryl tried to pull herself out of her thoughts. She checked herself in the mirror again, and after taking a deep breath, she was ready to walk out of the restroom.

Opening the door, Sheryl placed one of her feet outside the restroom, when she heard a series of strange voices from somewhere. There was a mixture of a man's panting and a woman's groaning.

As a married woman, who was raising two kids, it was easy for Sheryl to figure out what was going on. She could picture that a couple in love were having fun with each other like she used to do with Charles when they were dating.

Sheryl blushed at the memory. Not wanting to stay there for one more second, she quickened her step and left the restroom.

In Leila's cabin

Looking at Charles, Leila whined in a coy tone, "Charles, my foot aches so much! Can you do something to help me?"

After raising it to Charles' attention, she crouched down and clamped her hands against her foot, wearing a rather painful look.

"A cold compress might be helpful," Charles answered, wrapping some ice cubes in a towel. "Let's see if this will work. Otherwise, I will replace you a doctor." Charles grew worried after hearing Leila's complaint about her foot, but he still kept his head down. He tried to keep Leila at a distance by avoiding any eye contact with her.

Seeing her trick didn't work, Leila gave up and looked for another way to keep Charles in her room tonight.

"Charles, you are so nice to me. You always care! I am so grateful!" Gazing at Charles intensely, Leila made sure that her words were soft and gentle. She hoped to open up his heart by using such sweet words.

"You don't have to be grateful. I caused your trouble, so I have to get you right. There really is nothing that you should thank me for," Charles replied, still in a cold tone. Being a realistic man, he didn't want anyone to mess up his logic.

Receiving a strong sense of rejection from Charles, Leila initially felt at a loss for what to say next.

"Charles, will you stay with me for a while? It's not convenient for me to move around, so I need somebody to look after me for the time being," Leila's request was pretty straightforward. She cast Charles a look full of expectation, hoping he would pity her.

Since Charles had entered the room, he hadn't even looked in her direction. The room went dead silent after Leila made her request. With a frown, Charles finally raised his head to look at Leila. Still, he said nonchalantly, "I am not a doctor. Having my company won't treat the pain in your foot."

Clearly, Charles was indirectly rejecting her unreasonable request. Leila knew it but still answered with a feigned smile, "I am scared to be alone in this room. I need a man to accompany me."

"I have a meeting soon with an important client. I can't stay here now." Charles stopped talking, being absorbed in relieving the pain on Leila's foot.

Leila failed again. She didn't want to give up now, but she couldn't see even a glimpse of hope. Seething in anger, she bit her lips tightly.

Her head kept spinning for a practical and impromptu idea. She even thought about vamping Charles by using her sensuality, as she used to do whenever he was drunk. But with Charles in a sober mind, it would surely fail, so she dropped the idea. Thinking that she would lose the rare opportunity of sleeping with Charles again if she failed to keep him by her side tonight, Leila frowned and thought that Sheryl might still stand a chance to get back to Dream Garden.

Just the thought of it made her tremble.

"Are you feeling cold?" Charles asked. Noticing how Leila's body shivered, as he put the cold compress onto her foot, Charles thought that she must have failed to adjust to the low temperature. "Not at all! It just feels a little painful," Leila replied, shaking her head. Realizing that Charles cared about her feelings, she felt something stir in her heart.

Hearing Leila was fine, Charles continued applying the cold compress on her foot. He ceased to overthink anything. Another silence set in. Suddenly, they heard a string of moans from the next cabin. Feeling bashful, Leila quickly glanced in Charles' direction, curious to replace out his reaction.