The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 2091 Let's Wait and See

Vicky stopped for a second. "I'm not trying to do anything. I just miss you, Charles. I miss you so much, and maybe we can have lunch together? Is that okay?" "You want to have lunch now? It's not lunch time yet," Charles replied quickly. He tried to keep his tone indifferent. Deep down, he was so disgusted by this woman.

"I know. I can wait until you get off work." She paused, her eyes widened as she remembered the cake she brought. "Please have a taste of this cake. I've heard only great things about its taste."

"I'm fine, Vicky. Save it for yourself." Vicky began to untangle the ribbon on the box when Charles covered her hand to stop her.

She gasped, surprised by his touch. "Charles! You...you're allowing yourself to touch me now?" Oblivious of Charles' real opinion about her, Vicky was overjoyed by Charles' touch. She continued to hold his hand, feeling the warmth of it as she glided the pad of her thumb on the soft skin at the back of his hand. "Do you know how much I want to be with you? You've grown more distant from me, and I have no idea how to get through to you."

Vicky's words made the hair on Charles' arm stand on end. There was something wrong with this woman. Did she take the wrong pill today? Or was it just her crazy showing?

"I still have a lot of things to attend to today. If that is all, please close the door when you leave." Charles drew his hand back and turned his attention to the paperwork in front of him. Vicky had overstayed her welcome.

As much as Vicky didn't want to leave, Charles had already shown her the door. But before she left, she had to make a last-ditch effort. "How about if you come for dinner tonight? It's fine if you don't want to have lunch with me. But maybe we could have dinner together. If you don't come, I'll... I'll lose what little appetite I have. I'll be upset if I don't see you tonight."

Charles frowned at Vicky's attempt to manipulate him. He had no idea what she was up to, but her persistence was starting to become suspicious.

"Fine. I'll come by for dinner," Charles answered.

Vicky lit up at Charles' assent. "That's great! I'm going to cook some dishes that you like. I'll make sure you'll enjoy everything."

"Fine. If that's all, I have work to do."

"Okay, I can take a hint. By the way, you should at least try the cake I brought you." Vicky tried to encourage Charles one last time before she left his office reluctantly. Charles' mood just got worse as he looked at the cake.

Soon after Vicky left his office, someone else entered.

"Charles, you need me?" David asked. He knew things were bound to get bad after Vicky's visit. Charles' mood always took a turn for the worse, and he had to bear the brunt of it.

Earlier, he felt relieved that Vicky's visit was shorter than usual. And yet, Charles still summoned him less than a minute after Vicky left.

David had no idea whether he should be happy or concerned.

"Get rid of that damn cake." Charles' words were clipped and brief.

Before he could rein in his tongue, David found himself replying, "Seems like a waste to throw it away. I heard this cake tastes amazing."

"If it matters so much to you, then you can have it. Just get it out of my face!"

Charles's voice dripped with barely held fury. Realizing his mistake, David turned his attention from the cake to Charles. His boss had already buried his head in the big pile of paperwork on his table. 'Fine. What a waste of delicious cake. Since the boss is not going to eat it, more for me, I guess,'

David thought to himself. Before Charles could take his words back, David took the cake from the table and left.

The second he walked out of Charles' office, a couple of colleagues descended upon him and the cake box on his arms. Curious, they asked what went on in their boss' office.

Ignoring their questions, David simply answered, "Charles is giving this cake for us to share."

"Wow! That's so nice of Charles. He's been so approachable recently. That's really amazing."

"Charles bought a cake for all of us? This has never happened before!"

"I agree! Don't get us wrong, Charles has always been good to us. But he's usually very professional and a bit distant with us. There's no reason for him to buy us cake. Come on, tell us the real story here." They began to discuss among themselves, and the incessant chatter started to drive David to the end of his patience.

"Hey, do you guys want the cake or not? Just take it or leave it."

"Of course we want the cake! Let me take it for you." Before David could even blink, his colleagues took the cake from his arms.

David shook his head, amused by their reaction.

Charles worked overtime today. He locked his office, his car keys in his hand. There were still a few clerks hanging around the office, and he nodded his head at them as he passed on his way to his car.

It wasn't until he was at the elevator that he realized they didn't respond at his nod. Come to think of it; he had not seen them smiling for a while now.

Leaving his sad realization behind, he got into his car. The dinner with Vicky was a lot more depressing than his employees' lack of satisfaction. He wanted to go to the villa Vicky was staying at and replace out what she was up to. But for some reason, he found himself driving to the hospital.

After he had parked his car, he went straight to the ward where Sheryl was assigned to.

However, before he could even make it to Sheryl's ward, he saw Damian walking towards him.

Their paths crossed in the corridor. Standing a few feet from each other, both men glared daggers at each other.

Damian must have visited Sheryl earlier. Charles could only guess that things were improving between Sheryl and Damian. Otherwise, the man would not have visited Sheryl.

Seeing Charles set the alarm ringing in Damian's head-he must not let Charles get to Sheryl's room. If Sheryl saw Charles, then she would surely welcome him back into her arms and get back together with him.

He could only guess what was running through Charles' head, seeing him coming from Sheryl's ward. But the truth was he had not even entered Sheryl's ward yet. He was unable to do anything but watch her from the outside. His fear had kept him from barging through her door and replaceing out how she was doing.

He hated himself for being a coward.

It was as if fate was playing with him. Just when he had decided to turn around and leave, there was Charles in all his glory.

"Hi, Charles. Long time no see. What a pleasant surprise," Damian greeted Charles as he walked towards him.

Charles' face grew sullen as he knew that Sheryl would not have ended up in a hospital ward if it weren't for this man.

Charles had the incident between Sheryl and Damian investigated. It appeared that the world had misunderstood Damian when all the man had done was to save Sheryl. Even when Damian was cleared, Charles still couldn't help but hold a grudge against him.

"Did you come to visit Sheryl?" Charles asked.

Damian nodded with a smile on his face, "Yes, Sheryl needed to rest, so I left."

He was not lying; Sheryl was indeed sleeping.

Charles felt his chest tighten at what Damian had just implied. So Sheryl had forgiven Damian. Damn!

But why?

How could she forgive Damian? Charles couldn't help but compare himself and Damian. How could Sheryl be so harsh with him and yet still so unwilling to forgive him after all this time? Charles' face grew even darker, "How dare you show your face to Sheryl?"

"Why can't I be around Sheryl? I have done nothing to hurt her. Stop confusing me with you. You're the one who is constantly hurting her. You made her leave you with a broken heart, remember?" Damian replied, equally as dark.

Charles smirked. "How would you know? How dare you speak nonsense here?"

"I know you're the one who made Sheryl sad and desperate. Not me. That's all I need to know, and I don't care about the rest," Damian said, trying to provoke Charles on purpose.

Charles stared at Damian while nodding. "So, are you saying that Sheryl has forgiven you now?"

"Not yet. But at least she's willing to listen to me. Give it some time, and I believe that we can take our relationship to another level," Damian said with much determination in his voice.

Charles also gave a cold smile. "Love is different from forgiveness. Many people spend so much time together, but they do not fall in love. My advice? Just give it up. Sheryl is not going to fall in love with you." "Who are you to say that?" Damian grew irritated. He knew Charles was right. Sheryl was not in love with him now. Not now, not ever again.

But none of that mattered. As long as he kept loving Sheryl, and he stuck it out, Sheryl would be touched by his determination and fall in love with him someday. Eventually.

Charles smirked. "Let's wait and see then." With that said, he turned away from Damian and walked towards Sheryl's ward.

Damian thought about it for a second. He wanted to follow Charles and see if Sheryl would be willing to see him. He had to know if Sheryl still had feelings for Charles.

However, he did not dare to do it. On his visit today, there were several things he found he wasn't ready for. Maybe that made him a coward. But he feared if he saw something, anything, between Charles and Sheryl, he might not be able to survive the heartbreak.