The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 252 I Will Take Care Of My Husband

"Autumn, why are you so worried about Mr. Lu? He is just away on official business." Leila sneered and went on to add coldly, "Oh, I see. Mr. Lu is such a brilliant man. You may lack of the sense of security to be with a man like him. After all, for most women, he is Mr. Perfect. But you don't have to worry, because I will keep him company to ensure that he would not do things that he shouldn't do. If you know what I mean. So take it easy."

Autumn did not like Leila talking like this. Leila was acting like a presumptuous guest squeezing herself into the host's role. Who did she think she was? 'I am worried because you always cast your covetous eyes on him.' Autumn said in her mind.

"Really? That would be great then. Thank you very much." Indifferently, Autumn said, "Then tell him to call me later when he finishes his work."

Then she hung up the phone. Autumn was getting tired of doing nothing, but soon remembered that she still hadn't had dinner yet. The thought of this made her hungry so she put on her coat and went out. She should go and explore the area, try out the local culture of Japan since it was her first time to come here. Autumn went to an izakaya not far away from her hotel. An izakaya is a type of informal Japanese pub, where people prefer for after-work drinking. She chose a table and drank alone, enjoying her own casual moment there.

From time to time, some people would come to strike a conversation with her. Autumn would just show a soft smile, waving at them or shrugging her shoulders to tell them she was unable to understand what they were saying. Seeing this, they have no other choices but to walk away.

The izakaya was near the hotel where she lived. Autumn was not much of a drinker and she knew very well her own drinking capacity. She stopped drinking as soon as she felt a little tipsy.

On the way back to hotel, Autumn made a call to Leila again who was in the car with Charles and David. Leila saw on her phone screen that it was Autumn calling. Instead of picking up, Leila hung up the phone. She thought that it was not convenient for her to answer the phone at that time. Actually, Leila hated receiving any phone calls from Autumn.

Charles had just met an important customer earlier and was forced to drink too much during the meeting -- a typical part of meetings with the Japanese. He had fallen asleep in the car when Autumn called Leila. David heard the phone ring and looked over to Leila. "Is that your boyfriend calling you? Why don't you answer the phone?" David asked curiously.

"Haha, you are being funny. How could it be possible? You must know that I even don't have a boyfriend," replied Leila with a smile. She paused for a while and then continued, "It is just one of my friends. She is hard up recently, so she has been pestering me several times to borrow money." Leila tried to sound convincing.

"Really?" David didn't say anything else and looked ahead. Though it was easy for him to identify that Leila was lying, he did not make a big deal out of it. Instead, David showed an all-knowing smile and said, "You are beautiful and you are a confident and capable woman. Surely there are many brilliant single men out there ready to make you their queen. But why don't you have a boyfriend yet?"

Obviously, David was smart enough to see through Leila's love and adoration for Charles. However, David hoped that he could enlighten her not to do anything inappropriate. He actually liked Leila's excellent abilities, which was an asset to the company.

"Because I am a picky woman. What do you think?" Leila replied jokingly. Charles was sound asleep beside her. She took this opportunity to steal glimpses and loving gazes at him. If only David wasn't around, she would touch his beautiful face.

"If you say so." David smiled as he heard this from Leila. "But I think maybe you should lower your standards a little bit. Look at Mr. Lu who comes from a notable family, smart and very handsome, yet he was willing to marry Mrs. Lu who is not, in reality, a very remarkable woman. But as you can see, he lives a very happy and sweet life with her, " said David meaningfully.

"Yes, perhaps you are right," said Leila bitterly and looked away. 'How could Autumn get so lucky and marry someone like Charles? She is poor and comes from a family of questionable reputation. She isn't even that pretty. When it comes to beauty, I am way better in that area. It is really unfair.' Leila let out a sigh.

But as far she was concerned, this game was far from over. She was confident that as long as she spent a lot of time with Charles, he would eventually notice her and fall in love with her. Leila did not mind waiting for him... as long as she kept her focus toward her clearly defined goal.

"So I think people should not always be overly ambitious. After all a girl as lucky as Mrs. Lu is rare. There is only one Mr. Lu in this world and no one else like him is likely to come along. What do you think?" David asked, staring directly at her. Though David was not sure if Leila would read between the lines and see what he's trying to tell her, he still gave it a try. His loyalty to Charles was remarkable. He didn't want anyone else to make a mess of his life.

When the car reached the hotel, David got off the car first. He opened the door for Charles and helped him out. Leila also held him at his other side. As they were about to reach the lobby, David's phone rang. I was from a customer who needed his help. David was trapped in a dilemma.

The customer asked him to deal with some emergencies. This required David to leave the hotel premises. David was now worried about Charles who was still completely drunk and unconscious. He felt uneasy to let Charles stay at hotel alone.

"What's wrong?" Leila asked seeing David frown. She was delighted when she learned that David had to leave to deal with some customer issues. They had been in Japan for a few days now, but she never got the chance to be alone with Charles. Now that Charles was drunk and unconscious, Leila would seize this perfect chance to get close to him. It meant that she could do anything she wanted to do to him. It was even possible to have sex with him.

"Well, what should I do then?" Though Leila was rejoicing and was wild with excitement inside, she didn't show it. "Mr. Lu is totally drunk, and he needs you to take care of him. How may I take care of him if you have to leave?"

Neither Leila nor David knew how to deal with the situation. When they walked into the hotel lobby, Autumn had woken up from a nap as she was tired from the long journey. The couch was at the corner of the lobby so they did not see her.

Leila was making David's predicament worse. He frowned and hesitated. If he asked Leila to take care of Charles, Charles would be furious when he woke up to see that David had left him to Leila.

David was at a loss for what to do. After a bit of hesitation, David decided to take Leila with him. He was almost sure that something bad would happen if he left the two of them alone together. "Leila, help me carry Mr. Lu back to his room and then you have to go with me as well." said David.

"But Mr. Lu needs someone to take care of him. We can't just leave him alone." Leila's brows knitted into a big frown. "I am really worried about Mr. Lu. He is drunk. He needs to be properly looked after. Please let me stay with him."

"There is no need to worry about anything. Mr. Lu has already fallen asleep. What kind of care does he need? He will be fine. Nothing is going to happen to him, I'm sure." David replied calmly, determined to keep Leila away from Charles that night.

"David, I think I should stay here to take care of him instead of leaving him alone," insisted Leila. She was getting irritated.

"Don't worry about him. I will be here to take care of him. Just go and do what you need to do." Autumn's voice came from behind them. She stepped between Leila and Charles and then held him. Surprised and embarrassed as she was, Leila stepped back. She couldn't look directly at Autumn.

"Mrs. Lu! Why are you here?" David was astonished but asked Autumn cheerfully. "When did you arrive? I am so pleased to see you here! You saved me from a very tight situation." He couldn't hide his relief. "I am here to attend a meeting and represent our company so I thought of surprising my husband. I didn't expect him to be occupied by work all day, so I waited for him here." Autumn replied with a soft smile. "Autumn, let me help you," said Leila. She reached out and was about to hold Charles. Leila was completely shocked at Autumn's unexpected arrival. Now, her plans have been disrupted and her dream of having Charles to herself was shattered.

Autumn gave her a fierce look from head to toe and said, "Thank you. But there is no need for you to help me. I will take care of my husband."

Though Charles was not heavy, he was tall, and it required a lot of strength for her to hold him up. Even so, Autumn declined Leila's help and insisted on doing it herself. Autumn was thankful that she came here today. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't.

"Autumn, what's wrong? Are you angry at me?" Embarrassed yet indignant, Leila faced Autumn. She will have to give a good excuse and explain why she didn't answer the phone when Autumn called earlier, but... Try as she could, no ideas were coming to her head. 'What should I do? How could I explain it to her?' Leila was in near panic.

"Be angry with you? Why would I?" Instead of losing her temper, Autumn stayed calm and replied coldly. "I always know that Charles is very busy with his work. But now that he is drunk, I can only ask you to help him manage the rest of his work here." Autumn's voice was polite but her irritation at Leila was evident.