The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 2010 Lost Her Courage

With one glance at her watch, Sheryl groaned and gritted her teeth. A few more minutes left, and she'd be late. Her walk kicked off to a run as she raced down the crowded streets, sifting her way through the people, before finally arriving at the cafe. 'Finally,' she thought in relief. Panting, she pushed the door open.

As Sheryl entered, she surveyed the area-sensing the peaceful atmosphere as she saw people sipping from their coffee mugs and typing on their laptops. Near the window frame sat Melissa, hands clasped around a mug. Without much thought, Sheryl headed her way.

Melissa couldn't help but feel a bit giddy when she saw Sheryl enter the cafe. Lowering her mug, she waved in greeting.

She didn't know why Sheryl wanted to meet with her, given their relationship, but a part of her felt that it was because of what she had done to Belinda.

'It'll be fine,' Melissa thought optimistically as Sheryl neared. 'Everything will go as planned.'

"Sher, sit over here."

Melissa motioned to the seat opposite her. Beaming, she started, "This cafe is famous for its milk tea, so I've ordered their best seller for you." She pushed the untouched cup towards her, its tapioca pearls pushing towards the glass from the movement. "Try it."

"Thank you so much, Aunt Melissa."

Taking her seat, Sheryl smiled back. She sipped from the straw before turning her attention back to Melissa. "Jackson came to talk to me earlier," she said casually. "I have a feeling you know what it's about." Melissa shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling much warmer than she was before. Pulling her collar, she sat back, a bit straighter this time. She hadn't done anything wrong, so she had nothing to feel sorry for. "Yes, I didn't see anything wrong about it." Her nose wrinkled. "That man is engaged, and he still tries to be with you. What is he thinking?"

Sheryl blinked at her bluntness. It was something she wasn't expecting, that was for sure. A wave of frustration rushed through her, and she couldn't help but sigh-somehow, this felt like deja vu. "Aunt Melissa, why exactly did you talk to Belinda? I've already divorced Charles-I feel nothing for him anymore. And Jackson, not that it's any of your business, Aunt Melissa, but he's just my business partner. But even if I replace someone in the future, you still have no right to interfere with who I'll choose."

Sheryl had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Somehow, the sweetness of the milk tea contrasted with her sour mood. She took another sip, trying to remind herself that Melissa was still older than her. "Well, did you replace someone? Did you?" Melissa demanded.

'How could Sheryl be in love with someone else?' Melissa couldn't help but think. Her face flushed, impatient from the entire exchange. 'This is getting ridiculous!'

"No one. I'm just saying for the future." Sheryl clarified, a hand rubbing her forehead as she sighed.

"Even then, I can't let anyone just take you away! You're part of the family-the Lu family." Melissa emphasized, hoping that Sheryl would finally get the point. 'She is as impossible to talk to as Charles,' she thought.

Even if Melissa was acting out, Sheryl couldn't help but feel a bit, touched by her words.

Despite her strong insistence of being very involved in Sheryl's life, it was a sign that Melissa really liked her.

That was true enough. Melissa was a fan of the two of them from here on out, but it seemed as if she was the only one who wanted them to get back together. Charles wasn't doing anything to win Sheryl back, and at this point, it felt as if Sheryl had also given up on her son.

Sheryl shook her head, frowning. "Aunt Melissa, look. I hope you understand, but this is my life," she said firmly. "As of now, it shouldn't affect you either way, and if you try to threaten the people in my life or me, I will call the police."

"Sheryl..." Melissa was lost for words, reeling back from Sheryl's words.

She never thought that Sheryl would be this harsh, or at least be this direct to her. Melissa paid attention to her cup, avoiding her gaze.

"Please, don't hold this against me, but there's truly nothing between me and your son now. You're really just wasting your time and effort." Sheryl softened, not wanting to upset Melissa as much. She really did appreciate Melissa's thoughts, and she knew that her heart was in the right place, but this was already too much. It had to be stopped.

"Oh...I see... Thank you for your time." There was a sense of defeat in her voice. Melissa slowly stood up, taking interest in the floor rather than looking at Sheryl. Without another word, she grabbed her handbag and strode off, her heels clicking on the tiles as she did.

Watching Melissa's back as she walked away, Sheryl wanted to catch up with her and try to explain her side of the story a bit more nicely than she had done. However, she stopped herself. There was no need for it anymore-it would just be more complicated if she did. It would be better like this.

Once Melissa left the cafe, she couldn't help but lean on the side in disbelief.

It was ironic how back then she went through so much trouble to break them apart, and now that they were apart, all she wanted to do was bring them back together. And even then, it was to no avail. Bothered, Melissa grabbed her phone, dialing Charles' number.

At the other end of the city, Charles was having a meeting. After seeing the Caller ID, he quickly ended the call and continued with his presentation, motioning for David to give her another call. Nodding, David left the meeting room and dialed Melissa's number.

"Hi David, is Charles with you?" Melissa questioned.

"Yes, Ma'am," David replied. "Charles is in a meeting right now. Do you need anything?"

"No. I'll just call him back later." All Melissa wanted to do was to tell Charles what had happened, but a part of her didn't want to anymore, remembering the time that they disagreed over this very thing. "Okay. I'll tell him."

"Thank you."

The call did nothing but make her feel even more disturbed about the whole thing.

'I did all of this for my son. I did all of this for his happiness, for the both of them, nobody else's,' she convinced herself. Melissa had done absolutely no wrong if all she wanted was to protect her son, and that was something she'd continue to tell herself till the end of days.

Melissa glanced at her watch, noticing that she still had time to do other things. 'I could go play Mahjong,' she mused before shrugging. After a few seconds of deliberation, she found herself calling a cab to go back to Dream Garden.

After the whole exchange, Sheryl finally returned to her company, still slightly out of her thoughts.

"Hey! You're back. Jackson was looking for you. Why did you meet with Melissa? Is she up to something again? What does she want?"

Isla was like a cannon, bombarding her with loads of questions the moment Sheryl showed up. After hearing from Phoebe where she had gone to and what had happened, Isla couldn't help but worry for her. "You told her, didn't you?" Sheryl mockingly glared at her assistant.

"Ms. Xia, it's not my fault." Phoebe smiled sheepishly, raising her hands in surrender. "Ms. Zhao forced me to tell her. She's been asking all day, so I just had to!"

"Yeah." Isla was quick to defend. "It's not her fault, Sher. Now, tell me!" Isla took Sheryl's arm, shaking it to prompt her into speaking.

Sheryl sighed, knowing that nothing would escape Isla's questioning. Surrendering, she finally answered, "Yes, Jackson has already talked to me about what Melissa had done, but everything's fine now. I've already handled it."

Isla crossed her arms, looking her up and down. She knew it wasn't as simple as that, but after a minute of staring her down, she found absolutely nothing. Isla couldn't help but sigh. "You sure? Everything's really fine?" Isla insisted.

"If it wasn't, would I still be here talking to you?" Sheryl waved her hand exasperatedly.

"You're sure?"

Isla asked again. Sheryl let out a noise rolling her eyes. "Look, I've got things to do, okay?" She gathered the papers on the desk. "Just go do your thing, I'll talk to you later." "Okay, okay. Fine."

Isla put on a knowing smile, backing away. She held her hands up in the air in defeat. There was nothing else to do to convince Sheryl to tell her what had happened...At least, for now. Relieved by the response, Sheryl smiled and walked back to her office.

She took out her phone, finger hovering on the numbers to dial Charles. However, after a few seconds of staring at the screen, she placed her phone back on the desk, deciding against it. 'It was something worth telling another day,' she thought. With that, she returned to her work.