The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 45 I Can Afford You

"Yvonne eloped with Joe, and after a while, the two came back. Yvonne has now asked to break up with Joe, but Joe wasn't in favor of same. After he blackmailed her for a large sum of money, he agreed to leave her alone." Mr. Zhang drank some water, and then proceeded further,"Joe told us that Wendy didn't stop her when Yvonne decided to elope from home in order to escape marrying you. After she left, Wendy threatened Autumn to marry you. She blackmailed Autumn with her grandmother. But as for her grandmother's whereabouts... Mr. Lu, I need some more time to investigate."

Mr. Zhang gave Charles a momentary glance, and then continued, "Mr. Lu, now Autumn's photo is in your hand. As for the real Yvonne... the Gu family must have destroyed all her photos, so I didn't get any photo of her."

Charles laughed coldly, and said, "You don't have to investigate about the real Yvonne." 'The real Yvonne... must be the one bearing Autumn's name.

Now, all my doubts have been erased. I finally understand why she always looked unhappy. She probably.. was worried about her grandma all this while.' Charles pondered.

Noticing Charles' concerned expression, Mr. Zhang continued, "What else do you want me to investigate?"

"Nothing more for now," Charles replied. Charles put these papers away, and said to Mr. Zhang seriously,"Get your pay from David and you can leave. By the way, I don't want others to know about this."

"I assure you that I will keep it to myself. It's my duty." Mr. Zhang stood up and said, "Mr. Lu, I have to leave now. Please give me a call if you need my help any further."

Charles nodded and said, "Okay, I will." After Mr. Zhang left, Charles called Autumn again and she answered the phone this time.

"Hello..." Hearing her voice on the phone, Charles felt relieved. He asked in a serious tone,"Where are you right now? I called you many times. Why didn't you answer the phone?"

"I..." Autumn had planned to lie to him that she was in the office. Although she was fired, she didn't want to bother him with it. Then she gave up on that thought. She guessed that Charles already knew about her leaving the job which is why he cancelled the cooperation with Cloud Advising Company. "I'm on the street," she continued.

She carried her baggage and walked aimlessly on the streets. She didn't know where to go.

"Tell me the exact place, and I'll come and pick you up." Charles said, "Send me the address right away and I'll come now."

Charles received Autumn's message immediately after he hung up the phone. Knowing where she was, he drove his car immediately. When he reached there, he found Autumn sitting on a bench by the roadside.

She sat there alone, and had a lot of baggage with her. She looked lonely and sad.

Charles pulled over, and then walked up to Autumn. As Autumn sat there with her head bowed down, she saw his shining leather shoes and slim long legs. Then she raised her head and caught the sight of Charles' angry face.

She managed a smile and greeted,"Charles."

Though he was angry, he didn't lose his temper at the sight of her. He knew she was sad but still smiled at him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. Noticing that her eyes were red, Charles knew that she must have cried a lot. He said in a soft tone, "Come, let's go home."

Charles held her hand and put her baggage in the car. Autumn didn't say a word. After they got in the car, Charles fastened her safety belt. She was silent all the way.

Charles took her to Dream Garden. Chris and Gary were surprised when they saw Autumn and Charles. Curious as they were, they didn't ask them questions when they cast a glimpse of Autumn's baggage. Charles took her upstairs.

Charles grabbed her hand and placed her on the swing in the balcony. He asked, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Autumn whispered, "You might already know everything."

Charles said calmly,"But I want to hear it from you."

Autumn lowered her head. After hesitating for a while, she said, "I quit my job."

"It's okay. I can afford you." Hearing this, Autumn couldn't resist her grievance and burst into tears. When Charles saw her crying, he knew she wanted to be comforted. Then, he sat beside her, and held her to his breast. He calmly said, "Why are you crying? It's not a big deal. I'm a CEO and I can afford you very well."

Upon hearing this, Autumn smiled through tears and said, "You're being over confident now."

"I'm telling you the truth." Charles said confidently, "Don't worry. I could afford you even if you didn't work a day in the future."

After she heard Charles' words, Autumn felt much better. All the grievance she had suffered from Wendy disappeared suddenly.

She calmed down. After pausing for a while, she asked Charles, "Don't you want to know the reason why I quit my job?"

Charles replied coolly,"It's your decision. Ye.. Yvonne, I'll support you no matter what decisions you make. As for job... you can join Shining Company if you want."

"I have no such intentions," Autumn said, shaking her head, "I will take a break for a couple of days, and then look for work myself."

Charles frowned and asked, "Why do you push yourself so hard?" "With my help, she could easily get a job. Why did she refuse my help?' He wondered.

"Pushing myself too hard? I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. Autumn had already been accustomed to living on her own. She continued,"Perhaps I've gotten used to it."

"But now you have me. You can share some of your burden with me." Although she was touched by Charles' words, she still said No with a smile.

'This happiness doesn't belong to me. Let me be selfish for a while, just for a few minutes.

I have to return him to Yvonne one day.' She reflected.

Seeing Autumn in his arms, he wanted to ask her about her true identity but he resisted. 'She will tell me herself some day.

Be slow. Take it easy.' He thought to himself.

When Charles realised that Autumn was now calm, he asked, "You went to your home today, right?"

Hearing this, Autumn suddenly raised her head. She panicked and asked, "How do you know?" 'How does he know about it? Did he replace something?' She wondered.

"The place I picked you up is close to your home. When I saw you sitting on the bench, your eyes were red. Did they bully you?" Charles wrinkled his brows, and said, "This morning, I told... her that I can't hire her as my secretary. I want a competent secretary and not just someone with a beautiful face."

"I understand," she smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. They didn't bully me."

"Charles." After a hesitation, she proceeded, "Actually you don't have to cancel your cooperation with Cloud Advertising Company. I proposed this case, and you liked it. As for the implementation, Paula can do it well..."

Charles shook his head and said, "I never wanted to cooperate with Cloud Advertising Company. I gave them a chance only because you worked with them. I don't care who will be handling this case now, but the woman Cloud Advertising Company sent... I don't like her at all."

Charles calmly said, "Don't worry about it. I know what to do. Don't bother yourself."

Hearing his words, Autumn didn't say anything further. She stayed in Charles' arms silently, enjoying this pleasant and peaceful moment that she had stolen for herself.

Later, Chris asked them to come downstairs and have dinner. Learning that Autumn had lost her job, she comforted her and said that Charles could afford her anyway and she has nothing to worry.

Hearing this, Autumn grinned and said, "How do you both say the exact same words? Your brother already said this to me before."

Chris laughed and said, "Becasue we are a family."

Being around such loving family members drove away all her sadness. Their comfort and encouragement did cheer her up.

'I just lost a job. It's not a big deal.' Autumn thought to herself.

While having dinner, Charles received a call from Yvonne. Having known her real identity, Charles became more sick of her. Yvonne told him that she would come to the company tomorrow in a soft tone over the phone. Charles just coldly said that he knows about it and then hung up the phone.

Autumn heard their conversation. 'Perhaps Wendy managed to persuade her to work.' She reflected. She lowered her head and ate without saying a word.