The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1998 What Was She Hiding

Isla was exhausted by her breathless rattle that was still to no avail. She finally pointed at Charles. "Say something!"

"What do you want me to say? Isla, you've been talking constantly from the moment you walked in. You didn't give me a chance to talk. What do you want me to tell you now?" Charles was annoyed.

The way Charles spoke, as if he was oblivious to what had happened was like a fuel to the fire. Her voice was loud and menacing this time. "You and Sheryl are divorced, for God's sake! Why did you ask your mother to see Sheryl? Why do you want to keep her tied to you and your family? When you're busy dating another woman, why can't you let her move on? Stop being selfish and leave her alone."

Charles didn't quite understand what Isla was saying. He stared at her with a blank face.

"Don't give me that look. Ask your mother not to see Sheryl again. Do you understand? You know what I would do otherwise," Isla warned Charles before storming out the office.

Charles was lost in thought, trying to figure out what had happened. When he put all the pieces together, he finally understood.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," said Charles, still lost in thought.

David was standing at the door, looking concerned.

"President Lu, why was President Zhao here? Is something wrong with President Xia?" David was shifting on his feet nervously.

Charles finally came to the present from his thoughts. He looked at David and nodded his head in exasperation. "I've no idea. She was furious. She stormed into my office and started yelling at me; I couldn't make out a single word she said."

And at that exact moment Charles' phone rang.

Charles furrowed his brows in confusion when he saw who was calling. He wondered why his client was calling at this time.

"Hello..."

Charles swallowed nervously as he answered the call.

His face had gone pale when he hung up.

"President Lu, what's the matter, is something wrong?" David couldn't help but worry.

"It's nothing. I want you to go back to the Dream Garden now!" Charles instructed David.

David grabbed his cell phone and called the driver immediately.

In the Cloud Advertising Company, Sheryl walked out of her office.

Before she walked any further, Phoebe stopped her.

"What's the matter, Phoebe?" Sheryl looked confused.

"President Xia, are you leaving? Where are you heading to? Do you want me to come with you?" Phoebe asked Sheryl nervously as she grabbed Sheryl's hand.

Phoebe couldn't forget what Isla had reminded her of. She'd not let Sheryl go out alone. If anything at all happened to Sheryl, she couldn't even begin to imagine what Isla would do to her. "Phoebe, you look tense. What's the matter? Did Isla tell you something?" Sheryl knew Phoebe and Isla very well. Working with them for many years had united them in every way. They were family. Sometimes an eye contact was all it would take to understand what they wanted to say.

"Um...What? N-No President Xia. President Zhao didn't say anything." Phoebe couldn't look at Sheryl. She averted her gaze, scratching her head.

Sheryl crossed her arms and looked at Phoebe intently.

Phoebe couldn't stand Sheryl's intense gaze. Her face flushed in embarrassment. She finally gave in. She shook her head in defeat. "Ah, alright, President Xia. Before President Zhao left, she gave me clear instructions to keep an eye on you. She asked me not to let you go out alone, no matter what."

"Oh! Did she say why?" Sheryl wondered what was going on in Isla's mind. Why would she say that to Phoebe?

"Sher, where are you going?" Isla asked before Phoebe could answer. She was afraid that Sheryl would get upset. So, Isla immediately came back to the Cloud Advertising Company the moment she left the Shining company.

Sheryl spun around and asked Isla, "Are you hiding something from me?" Sheryl stared into Isla's eyes, trying to read her thoughts. She only wanted to hear the truth.

"No, Sher. Not at all. I'm just worried that Melissa might come back again to bother you. Nothing else," Isla explained calmly. "So I asked Phoebe to keep an eye on you. I didn't want you to bump into her and get worked up." Sheryl saw the honesty in Isla's eyes.

She knew that she was telling the truth.

"Right, I believe you. Now that you're back, will you accompany me to the grocery store?" Sheryl looked at Isla expectantly. "I promised Clark and Shirley that we would have hotpot tonight. Their classes are about to finish. I should prepare everything before they're back. Oh, do you want to join us?" With Aron, the kids, and her in-laws gone, Sheryl knew that Isla was all alone at home. She thought it would be a great idea to invite her for dinner. It would be fun.

"Hotpot? Yeah sure, why not?" Isla agreed happily.

They drove to the grocery store, chatting on the way. Shopping was something they had always enjoyed. Two hours had easily passed with a blink of an eye.

As soon as they got back home, Sheryl asked Joan to pick up the kids. Once they were alone, Isla and Sheryl busied themselves by preparing dinner.

Isla couldn't stop smiling, looking at Sheryl's happy face. She silently prayed for Sheryl to be happy for the rest of her life.

The kids came back home with Joan when the two of them were arranging the food on the table.

"Mommy, you actually made hotpot?" Clark squealed in excitement, amazed by the opulent dishes that garnered the dinner table.

"Of course, I made a promise, and mommy never breaks her promise." Sheryl ruffled Clark's hair as she grabbed his bag.

"How was your day, Honey? Did you have fun?" Sheryl nudged the kids to the bathroom to clean up.

Isla followed the kids to the bathroom. "How was camping? Did you eat properly?"

Shirley chuckled. "Aunt Isla, Clark is so nice. He cooked food for me whenever I got hungry, and he shared his snacks with me. The other girls were jealous of me."

Shirley's remarks made Clark's face flush with embarrassment. "Shirley, you're my sister. I should take care of you."

"Aww...I'm glad that you guys had a great day." Isla smiled. "Clark, you've done a wonderful job taking care of your little sister." Isla's heart swelled with happiness. She was truly happy for Sheryl. "Sher, you're blessed to have such amazing children."

"Stop, Isla. You're embarrassing them." Sheryl ushered them to the dinner table.

Sheryl and Isla happily ate, listening to the kids talk on and on about the fun and adventure they had experienced today.

It was a happy day and Sheryl's face was beaming with joy. Isla didn't want to ruin it for her. She thought it was better not to mention anything about her going to the Shining Company.

"Aunt Isla, what are you thinking about? You look lost," Clark asked Isla as she was lost in thoughts, holding the chopsticks and staring at the food.

He served a generous amount of food to Isla as her bowl was empty. "Um...it's nothing, Clark. You're very thoughtful, thank you."

Isla smiled at Clark, touched by his sweet gesture.

Sheryl's heart melted. She was incredibly proud of her son's behavior. He was a gentleman, after all. She thought she'd tease him. "Clark, you've never done this for mommy." Sheryl pouted at Clark, giving a puppy dog face. Clark immediately walked from his chair and grabbed her arms. "Mom, Aunt Isla is our guest. We should be nice to her." Sheryl was surprised. Who had taught him all this, if she hadn't?

"Ah, Sher, Clark's right. You can't be jealous of me." Isla burst out laughing.