The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 496 A Horrible Dream

"What are you talking about? Are you serious?" When Anthony heard that Autumn's baby was taken away by Leila, he was in great shock. Worried, he immediately asked Autumn, "Why are you so calm? Why

didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

It was Autumn's baby, her own flesh and blood. How could she be so composed?

Autumn didn't answer his question but smirked. "Anthony, I am tired. I just want to take a break."

Autumn stayed in the bed, turned her back and stopped listening to him. Anthony furrowed his eyebrows, stared at her for a while and finally left in frustration.

After Anthony left, Autumn cried incessantly.

How could she not be upset about her baby being taken away from Leila?

Charles had a horrible dream that night in which Autumn smiled brightly at him. He reached out to hold her, but she just ran away with a soft smile. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to catch her. "Autumn, wait for me please," he pleaded. Autumn, however, just grinned and was reluctant to reach out to him. Though she was pregnant, Autumn was robust in Charles's dream which stunned him greatly.

He reached out to stop her but failed. "Autumn, you are pregnant. Stop jumping and running around. You have to take care of yourself."

Autumn wore a smiling face while she stood from a distance. Though she was quite close to him, Charles wasn't able to touch her.

Worried, Charles said in a soft tone,"Autumn, come here please. I promise to always keep you company and I will never leave you alone ever again. Please don't leave me. Give me one more chance. Let's fix this."

Autumn ignored his words and remained quiet. Slowly, she seemed drifting away which made Charles feel that he was going to lose her soon. He tried his best to reach out and embrace her, but Autumn soon disappeared from his sight.

It frightened him to wake up from this nightmare. The moment he opened his eyes, everything was a blur.

He found that he was on a drip, lying on a hospital bed. He tried to pull himself up. Charles pulled the needle off from his arm. He thought he couldn't be just lying there while Autumn was still missing. "Charles, where are you going?" As soon as Chris came back from the nurse station, she saw Charles sitting on the bed and was about to get up. Chris rushed to him and said, "Charles, you are still weak. You have to take some rest. You can't go out yet."

Charles ignored her words since he was so absorbed in his own thoughs. He was determined to replace Autumn back.

Charles clenched his hand into a fist, and his fingernails had burrowed in his palm, but he couldn't feel any pain.

"Charles, you can't go on like this. You have to accept that Autumn might not come back anymore," persuaded Chris. She felt sorry for her dear brother.

Fortunately, Sam got back in time and helped Chris convince Charles. "Charles, I got some clues about the accident. If you would relax for a bit, I will give you an update and hand all the materials to you." After hearing the news, Charles decided to lie back.

'Autumn, wait for me. I will replace you soon, Charles thought to himself.

Chris immediately asked the nurse to check on him. The nurse was able to put the drip back in place. "Sam, could you please hand me the materials now?" said Charles in a husky voice.

Sam's eyebrow was knitted into a frown. After hesitating for a while, he finally handed the paper to him. "I have taken the blood on the ground for a DNA testing and found out that it was Autumn's blood. We stil couldn't replace out where Autumn went though. The security cameras were all broken at the time of the accident," Sam reported.

"I have asked people to take a careful examination of Autumn's car and found that the accident was because of a brake failure. It seems that someone tried to kill Brent deliberately but there were no witnesses," Sam added. The person who did this was very careful and no matter how hard Sam tried, he only found very few clues.

"Thanks, Sam. Did you get some lead about Autumn's whereabouts?" asked Charles anxiously. He held on to the paper in his hands and hoped for Sam to say something positive.

"Not yet." Sam replied briefly while Charles heaved a sigh.

Ironically, perhaps the best news for Charles right now was getting no news from Autumn at all. She may still be alive.

Sam tried to tell Charles not to entertain too much hope. It had been a long time since the accident happened. If Autumn was still alive, she must have been found, since they had searched the area inch by inch.

Charles was not convinced and just ignored Sam's theories.

Charles clenched his hands and told Sam,"I shouldn't have let Ferry go! He is a wretch!"

"Charles..." Chris frowned slightly and turned to Charles. "I know you're frustrated now, but there is no way to fix the situation. It was an accident. Accept it and move forward. You have to let it go. Let yesterday rest, and live for today."

"Move forward?" Charles snapped and replied, "It is easy for you to say, but she is my wife and she is pregnant. Now, you're telling me to move forward and let it go? Do you think it is possible for me to give up everything so easily? Didn't Autumn treat you as her own sister, Chris? How could you say something like that?"

"I..." Chris was too shocked to utter a single word as she heard Charles's sentiments.

Chris was upset about what happened to Autumn as well, but she had to pretend to be adamant for Charles. As his sister, Chris also hoped that he'd be able to survive and eventually move on. She didn't expect Charles would take it the wrong way, though.

"That's enough. Stop arguing," said Sam. He tried to pacify the situation. "Perhaps she is still alive," said Sam.

"Not perhaps. She is still alive. I know it." Charles replied, totally convinced that Autumn was still alive.

He was full of conviction but people could see such sorrow from his eyes.

Charles then looked up at Chris and said to her, "I will replace her sooner or later. I have to replace her no matter what."

Sam was stunned by his staunch words and all of a sudden, Sam was enlightened and realized why Autumn married Charles and not him. It was because Charles was better than him. 'Charles is of true metal,' Sam thought to himself.

"Charles, I'm always here to support you, no matter what," said Chris. She smiled softly at her brother and decided to give him some encouragement. Now that he thought Autumn was alive, she was willing to help him replace her. After all, Chris also hoped that Autumn and her babies would still be alive.

"But you have to promise me something," added Chris. "No matter what kind of decision you'd be making, you have to take good care of yourself. Grandpa is so worried about you that he could not sleep well these days. He even often sheds tears at home. How do you feel about that?" she asked as she took a glance at Charles.