The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 2077 Drifting Apart Gradually

Charles wasn't planning to go to Sheryl's room. All he really wanted was to pass by and make sure that the past incident wouldn't happen again. What he didn't expect was for Sheryl to walk out of her ward,

especially this early in the morning.

The two stood there like flustered teenagers, as silence fell on them.

"What are you doing here?" Sheryl broke the silence.

Charles coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to pay you a visit. Can't I?"

"You do what you do." She shrugged, averting her gaze at something else. She just couldn't bring herself to talk to him face to face. Whenever she'd see his familiar smile, she'd only be back to her awkward self again.

With one look at his smile, Sheryl couldn't help but scowl. 'Did he come here just to laugh at me?'

"Sheryl, can't we talk?" Charles frowned, eyebrows furrowing when he noticed Sheryl's darkened expression.

"Mr. Lu, I have nothing to discuss with you." Sheryl put a hand on the door to support herself as she backed away, raising a hand to further keep herself from Charles. She just couldn't be at ease with him, at least, not right now.

"Sher, I care for you." Charles moved forward, running a hand through his hair. He just didn't understand why Sheryl hated him this much. Where did he go wrong?

"If you don't have anything else to say, then I suggest you go home. You look tired." Sheryl pointed at the door, gesturing for him to leave. However, he didn't move one inch from where he was standing. Charles stared in disbelief. He didn't know what to do anymore, or how to explain himself to Sheryl when he didn't know what was going on. He loved her, and he never forgot about her, but this time around, maybe she was the one who had forgotten.

Looking at her reddened face and angry glare, he felt helpless. Back then, Charles would wrap himself around Sheryl to comfort her. However, now, it seemed as if they were on two opposite ends of a plane.

"I..."

Sheryl interrupted, sneering. "What do you want? I've told you to leave, haven't I? Leave, Charles."

One look at her, and he knew she was serious.

Knowing that he couldn't convince her otherwise, he gave a sigh and left the hospital without turning back. Maybe it was better this way.

Standing at the entrance of the hospital, Charles kept silent, a dark look grazing past his face.

If looks could kill, the car in front of him would've already erupted into flames, David observed-hesitating as he stood beside Charles. Taking a chance, he asked bravely, "Mr. Lu, what happened back there?" Charles raised his head as if broken from a daze. "I don't think she has feelings for me anymore." He sighed. "We're drifting apart."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu. I'm sure she'll understand your intentions, sooner or later." David didn't know what to say. There was a reason why he didn't pursue being a relationship adviser, given his lack of knowledge on these things. He patted Charles' shoulder, albeit awkwardly.

Charles stayed silent, continuing to stare in the direction of Sheryl's ward before turning to David.

"Let's go back to the Shining Company."

"Yes, Mr. Lu."

Charles was frowning the whole drive. David didn't know what else to do but drive as fast as he could. He didn't want to see his boss like this. He knew how important Sheryl was to him.

In the ward, Sheryl was also feeling anxious after Charles had dropped by. As much as she tried to steady herself, she just couldn't calm down.

Though a part of her knew of Charles' intentions towards her, she just couldn't help but distance herself from him.

Every time she saw him, all she could think about was Vicky-how the woman wrapped herself around his arm and declared him as hers. She just couldn't stop blaming him for what had happened, for what they had become.

Isla was breathless when she came back into the ward, holding a plastic filled with bread. One look at Sheryl and she knew something was wrong. "What happened?" She neared her, noticing her pale face. "Nothing. You're pretty fast." Sheryl forced a smile, plopping back on the bed.

"Don't lie to me. I can see it in your eyes. What happened?" She repeated, narrowing her eyes at her.

"Nothing, really. Do you want me to be sad?" Sheryl joked, waving her hand dismissively.

Upon hearing her words, Isla felt a bit ashamed. She rubbed her neck apologetically. "No, I am just... Sorry, I just thought you weren't being honest with me."

"Sure, sure. Now give me the food." Sheryl changed the topic. If Isla were to dig deeper, Sheryl wouldn't know what to say anymore.

"I'm hungry too. Let's have dinner." Isla hurried to get the plates from the counter.

While eating, they continued to talk about each other before switching the topic to Phoebe and Josef. They were the happiest people out of their friends. "Josef is incredible to Phoebe. You've exceeded yourself." Sheryl clapped her hands.

Isla snorted in her noodles, tilting her head back in pride. "Obviously. I wouldn't introduce some douche to her. Besides, Josef is Aron's cousin, so I know him."

Seeing Isla's face, Sheryl couldn't help but laugh out loud, almost spitting some rice back into her bowl. She giggled, coughing through the meal.

Isla hadn't seen Sheryl smile in ages. Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel accomplished, continuing to talk to Sheryl about the people around them, hoping to keep her spirits up.

During the whole afternoon, Isla chatted with Sheryl. Nick and Phoebe had also popped in for a visit.

Though she was happy to see them, Sheryl couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at having them all crowd around her. She knew they were worried, and she hoped that they'd be a bit more relaxed. Everyone had tried their best in keeping her from the Internet, but Sheryl wasn't stupid. She knew that there must be hundreds of articles out about her now, probably bashing her endlessly. "Go back to you work, Isla. I'm tired. Thank you for today." Sheryl yawned.

"Are you really tired?"

"Yes, Isla. I'm exhausted." Sheryl emphasized, leaning back on her pillow as she succumbed to the warmth of her bed.

Isla stared at her before nodding slowly. "Okay, I'll leave now. Take care of yourself, yeah?"

After Isla left, Sheryl didn't go to sleep. Though she was tired, she couldn't help but start thinking of Damian and what he had done.

At the same time, Damian was also thinking of what he had done to Sheryl. He had done all he could to try and fix what had happened, even starting to communicate with his other relatives and friends to remove the news about Sheryl from websites.

Though he wanted to fall in love with Sheryl, Sheryl didn't like him. He knew that Sheryl didn't like these types of gossip. Besides, this did nothing but make their relationship drift apart.

"Editor Li, you must know about the news about me and Sheryl. Please help me to remove it." Damian called the editor of the newspaper company.

Editor Li was a relative of theirs, and though they weren't close, Damian knew he had no choice but to turn to him on this matter.