The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 2112 What Was She Hiding

When Clark's teacher ushered him towards the school gate, Isla was already waiting for him.

"Aunt Isla, why are you here?" Clark's surprise was replaced with excitement as he squealed and ran towards Isla.

Clark and Shirley were always fond of Isla. It was not only because she was their mother's best friend, and they got to see each other often, but because Isla treated them as her own children. She would always spoil them by bringing them snacks and presents every time she visited them.

Isla walked up to the teacher and told her that she would be picking up the children. She held Clark's arm gently and looked at him. "Where is Shirley?"

"Shirley is sick. She's in the hospital now. Didn't mom tell you that?" Clark said innocently.

Isla was stunned. She hadn't known a thing about Shirley. She had thought that Shirley was at school. Even Sheryl hadn't said a word about her daughter. Isla thought that something must be wrong.

Otherwise, there wasn't a reason for Sheryl to hide this from her. The more she thought about Sheryl hiding this from her, the more confused she became. It was normal for kids to catch a cold or a fever, but being hospitalized wasn't normal. She wanted to immediately run to the hospital and see if Shirley was okay.

Isla squatted down and looked into Clark's eyes. "Clark, why is Shirley staying in the hospital? How is she doing now?"

"Shirley and I went to the Dream Garden. Shirley was saying that she had a stomach ache after dinner. Dad took her to the hospital," Clark answered. "I don't know why she got sick."

Isla was shocked. "You went to the Dream Garden to have dinner last night? Was your mom okay with it?"

Clark nodded. "Yes. Grandma and dad picked us up from school yesterday. Mom agreed to us having dinner at the Dream Garden." Clark looked at her with an innocent, curious look. "Aunt Isla, what's wrong with that?"

Everything was wrong about that. It made no sense to Isla.

Isla stood up. She still hadn't gotten over the shock. She couldn't comprehend as to why Sheryl's attitude towards Charles would change all of a sudden.

Sheryl was supposed to keep the kids as far away from Charles as possible. Why on earth would she let Charles take the kids with him?

Or had something happened that she wasn't aware of?

The endless possibilities drove Isla mad. She was mad at Sheryl for letting the kids have dinner with Charles.

Charles was not only a terrible husband but also a terrible father. First, he cheated on Sheryl. And now, he couldn't even take care of his child. What could Charles possibly have given to Shirley that made her fall sick?

Isla was shaking with rage. She asked Clark to get into the car and drove to Sheryl's apartment.

Clark was terrified on their way home as he could see Isla's eyes redden with anger. He was worried that he had said something wrong that had annoyed Isla.

Isla was grumpy until she realized that Clark had been silent all this time. The boy usually didn't shut his mouth, and it was a ritual for him to tell Isla about everything he had learned in school. He was unusually quiet throughout their drive home. She looked at Clark and found him sitting upright and tense.

That was when it dawned upon her. She had scared the poor boy. A wave of shame washed over her. She smiled at Clark. "Did I scare you, Clark?" she asked softly.

"N-no, not at all." Clark nodded. He thought for a while and asked, "Aunt Isla, are you worried about my sister?"

"""'Yes, I am, Honey. You and Shirley are my babies, and it breaks my heart to hear that Shirley is hospitalized. I won't let anyone pick on you," Isla said sincerely.

Clark shook his head vigorously. "But no one is picking on us, Aunt Isla." 'Except for those annoying kids in class who say that we don't have a father. I don't like them.' Clark stopped himself from saying it out loud when the images of the kids mocking him and Shirley floated in his head.

Clark lowered his head, trying to suppress his frustration.

But Isla had noticed it and thought that she had upset the boy. "Clark, how about we go to the amusement park when Sheryl is free?" Isla asked, trying to cheer him up.

Isla couldn't think of any other way to cheer Clark up. Things like toys and chocolate that children usually loved had never caught his attention. An amusement park was the only thing he had always been fond

of.

Clark's eyes lit up just the way Isla had expected them to. "That would be great, Aunt Isla. I've been thinking about going to the amusement park with mom and dad," Clark squealed in excitement. Mom and dad?

Isla swallowed the anger that was forming in the pit of her stomach. There was no way that she would let Charles join them.

But Isla hadn't said a word. She nodded, flashing a fake smile. As long as Clark was happy, she would do anything, even if that meant she had to spend time with Charles.

As soon as they had arrived at Sheryl's apartment, Isla got out of the car and walked to Clark's side to open the door for him. Clark hopped out of the car and walked towards the door.

Sheryl had just arrived home from the hospital. When she got out of the car, she bumped into Clark and Isla in the driveway. Clark looked over his shoulder and saw Sheryl. He ran to her in excitement. "Mom, you're home!" He grabbed Sheryl's hands. "How is Shirley? Is she doing okay?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. "When can she come home? I miss her."

"She's fine. Don't worry. The doctor said that she could be discharged from the hospital tomorrow." Sheryl patted Clark's head. Sheryl turned towards Isla. "Thank you for driving Clark home." She smiled gratefully.

Isla sneered and looked away. Isla was mad at Sheryl for not telling her about Shirley. This wasn't the first time Sheryl had hidden something important from her. Sometimes, Isla couldn't help but feel that she was being pushed away by her, and Sheryl never considered her as a friend because friends were supposed to share their happiness and troubles; but Sheryl had never done that.

Sheryl shook her head and smiled at Isla. "Clark, go wash your hands. There is fruit on the dining table. Finish them like a good boy," she said, ruffling Clark's hair.

"Uh-huh, see you later, Mom. See you, Aunt Isla!" Clark ran into the house.

"See you!" Isla grinned at Clark.

As soon as Clark was gone, the smile on Isla's face disappeared. "So what happened?" she asked coldly.

Sheryl shook her head. She knew that Isla had sensed that something was wrong.

"What do you want to know?" Sheryl asked, rolling her eyes.

Isla glared at her. "Have you changed your mind? Are you going to get back with Charles now, huh? Have you forgotten what he has done to you?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I haven't," Sheryl answered curtly.

"Then why would you let Shirley and Clark go to the Dream Garden to have dinner with him? I am confused. If it was just a casual dinner, then why the hell was Shirley hospitalized?" Isla's voice had grown louder with every word.

"It's nobody's fault, Isla." Sheryl shrugged. "You know Shirley, she can't eat anything cold. After dinner, she had dessert, and she ended up having a stomach ache."

"No matter what you say, it's Charles' fault, Sheryl. He's the father of your children. Shouldn't he know about that? And look at you. You're defending him now, Sheryl? I can't believe it. I am very disappointed in you." The more Sheryl spoke, the angrier Isla became. She wanted to confront Charles and slap him in the face.

"No one would have thought that such a thing would happen, Isla. Moreover, what's done is done. Shirley is better now. We'll be more careful in the future." Sheryl touched Isla's shoulder in an effort to calm he down.

But Sheryl's words hadn't reached Isla's ears as her brain was fuming in anger. How could she stand up for Charles? That scumbag. Poor Shirley was in the hospital because of him. "So you're still going to let Charles see the kids in the future?" Isla screamed. "Haven't you had enough already? How much suffering are you going to put your kids through?"

"It's not that serious..." Isla was overreacting and exaggerating everything. Sheryl didn't know what to do to calm her friend down.

Isla got furious, seeing Sheryl defend Charles. "You have a kind heart that softens easily, Sheryl. If you had listened to me and cut your ties with Charles a long time ago, none of this would have happened." "Isla, Charles is still the father of my children." Isla's inability to understand annoyed Sheryl.

"So what?" Isla could be extremely irrational when she was mad. She wouldn't think twice before saying a word.

"So what do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do? I want to tear him into pieces!" Isla spat.

Sheryl broke into a fit of laughter after hearing Isla's remark.