The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 238 Let Her Go

After Charles had finished talking, Andy pulled Abby to the side, "Abby, just forget it. Don't worry about her."

"But..." Abby seemed a little hesitant. Arthur Zhao, who was standing beside them, spoke in a cold voice, "Just let her go."

Charles took Autumn's arm to leave. After their departure from the Zhao family, Autumn finally calmed down, but remained silent still. Instead of taking Autumn back to Dream Garden, Charles drove her to a secluded park. Charles turned his face to Autumn and said, "How about going for a little walk?"

"Okay." Autumn gently nodded her head in agreement. She didn't want to go back so early as well, because she was afraid that her Grandma would ask her what had happened. Autumn unlocked her seat belt and got out of the car. She walked around the park with Charles, hand in hand.

There were very few visitors in the park, as it was already time for supper. The cool breeze over the lake blew into her face. Autumn felt serene and tranquil. She glanced at Charles's face and asked, "You know about it all along, don't you?"

"Yes," Charles answered firmly. Charles shook his head and added, "It was Grandma who told me about it."

"It was Grandma?" Autumn was surprised to hear that. She stared at Charles in front her, and wondered why Grandma chose to tell him about it.

"Autumn, I'd like to have a word with you." As they sat on a bench along the road, Charles began to explain, "Firstly, the reason why the Zhao family invited you to their home today was to tell you the truth about your family. The truth is you have more relatives, besides Grandma. You have two Grandparents and a younger Aunt. I don't understand why you are unwilling to accept them. In my opinion, having relatives can only do you more good than harm."

"You don't understand me at all." Autumn smiled bitterly. She said to Charles with a hint of anger, "I have been living with my Father and my Grandma since my birth. Had they not kicked my father out, my father wouldn't have died young; my grandma wouldn't have fallen ill. It's all their fault. I hate them."

Autumn smiled at Charles and said to him, "I don't understand what they are planning to do by acknowledging my existence now. Neither will I return to that home, nor will I recognize them as my family." "Autumn, your words seem to go to extremes." Charles frowned at what Autumn had said and added, "They are your family members, why would they want to harm you?"

"Why not?" Autumn sneered, "You have no idea what kind of life I've had with my father. If they really cared about my father and I, how could they bear to sit back and watch, while we lived such a painful life? And my Grandma. Look at her health condition now. If they had done something to help with her illness, she could have lived a healthy life."

"But they didn't even know what kind of predicament you were in." Charles frowned, "Autumn, I can see that you detest the Zhao family; I wonder if someone had said something to make you feel that way?"

"No." Autumn went silent with a grim look on her face. Soon she admitted that she was a little influenced by what Wendy had said, but she also had a grudge against the Zhao family. Then she took a deep breath and said, "It's getting late. We should get back home."

Autumn didn't feel like continuing the conversation with Charles, so she changed the topic. Charles just wanted Autumn to be calm, so he decided not to force the conversation and went back home with her. When they arrived, Autumn went straight to her Grandma's room. She asked her, "Have you been feeling better, Grandma?"

"Much better." Emily leaned against the bedside with a face that was as pale as porcelain. With just one look at Autumn she had perceived her mood. Concerned, she asked, "What's the matter, Autumn? Is something bothering you?"

"I..." Autumn mumbled. Autumn fidgeted anxiously, wanting to ask her Grandma why she hadn't told her about the Zhao family before. However, taking Emily's health into consideration, Autumn fought back the urge to ask her questions regarding the matter and calmly said, "No, Grandma, everything is all right with me. Just get some rest."

Soon after, Autumn walked out of Emily's room, leaving her to rest. She spent the whole night restlessly wondering how to confront Cindy and the Zhao couple in the future, but alas she failed to replace a reasonable solution to her worries.

The next morning, Arthur arrived just after Autumn had woken up. She got dressed and came down to meet with Arthur. Her voice turned cold, as she asked him, "What are you doing here, Mr. Zhao?" "Last night you said that your Grandma wasn't feeling well, so I decided to come over and check up on her." Arthur sighed, and then said to Autumn, "I know that you are angry with me and you don't want to see me, but your Grandma's health is of the utmost importance right now. For her sake, please put your grudges aside for now."

Autumn frowned with displeasure and paused for a moment to think. She concluded that Arthur was right about the fact that her Grandma's well-being was everyone's primary concern at the moment. Having acknowledged that, she said to Arthur, "Follow me."

Arthur followed Autumn into Emily's room. Over the past few days, Emily had been facing difficulties with her condition, so she rarely went out of the room. She was lying in bed, when Autumn walked in with Arthur.

"Grandma." As Autumn drew the curtains aside, she said to Emily, "Doctor Zhao is here to visit you. Since you are reluctant to go to hospital, I have decided to invite him over."

"Doctor Zhao..." Emily struggled to get up. She could barely see the blurry figure standing in front of her. Recently, she had been having trouble seeing things clearly, but she didn't tell Autumn because she didn't want her to be worried.

"Autumn, I'm feeling a little hungry now, could you please go and fetch me a bowl of porridge?" Emily asked Autumn, suggesting that she was feeling better.

"Yes, my pleasure, "As soon as Autumn left the room, Emily tried to get a hold of Doctor Zhao's hands, but she struggled to replace them due to her impaired vision.

"Emily, you are..." Doctor Zhao stretched out his hands, waving them in front of Emily's eyes, only to replace that she couldn't see anything. "You can't see my hand right now, can you?"

"Yes, you're right, I am blind." Granny smiled bitterly, "I can hardly see the things I could see the day before yesterday. I'm running out of my time; I know that. At first, I had planned to visit you even though you didn't come to see us. I don't have much time, and Autumn is... What's your plan?" asked Emily.

Arthur Zhao sighed and replied, "Don't worry about that, for now, just let me have you examined." "It's useless." Emily sighed, "I'm quite clear about my own physical condition."

"Arthur, the only person I'm worried about the most is Autumn. I hope that she will return to the Zhao family one day, so she will have a family to look after her. Only then can I leave this world with a peaceful mind." Emily held Arthur's hands firmly and said, "I can't allow Wendy to kick her around anymore. Neither will I let her have any relations with Wendy. As long as her surname is 'Ye', Wendy will always have an excuse to get involved with her."

"I know it." Arthur sighed, adding, "Yesterday, my family wanted to tell her the truth about everything, but... she wasn't willing to listen to me and eventually her resentment got the best of her, so we decided to put it all on hold."

"Wh... What?" Emily's face turned pale, "You're saying Autumn is reluctant to go back to the Zhao family? But, why?"

"I don't know the reason behind it either. But if I had to guess, I'd say that Wendy must have said something to dissuade her in advance." Arthur Zhao frowned, "I have met with Wendy before. I can tell that she doesn't want Autumn to reunite with the Zhao family."