The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 550 Be My Stepmother

Charles smiled at Sheryl as he bid her good bye. Charlie was still holding her hands. Sheryl felt so much peaceful inside after having spent some time with Charles and Charlie. As for Charles, he did not want the moment to pass. "How about I pick you up at 7:00 tomorrow night?" Charles asked courteously. He had waited for his wife for the last three years. He could wait even longer only if it meant that he would be able to get her back in his life once again.

"Sher..." Charlie spoke with a sweet voice as he held her hand and kept swinging it in an indulgent manner.

The innocent smile and the earnest expectation in the boy's eyes melted Sheryl's heart. She nodded her head and agreed to meet them the next day.

Her reply brought a wide smile on the face of both father and son. They waved her as they got into the car. Charlie kept waving her with a smiling face for as long as he could see her. As for Sheryl, even she could not move from the place and kept waving him back. She could not understand why she felt so much at home and comfortable with them.

As Sheryl walked back to her room, she just could not get Charles's face off her mind. 'Where have I seen him before? Such a familiar face!' she thought to herself. His face kept flashing in her mind till the time she scolded herself to get over it. "Sheryl, what are you thinking about? He has his son, and you have a boyfriend and a daughter. You and him! Don't even think about it," said her practical mind.

But how could she negate the warmth she felt in their company? It was as if she had a very strong bond with both of them.

Charles and Charlie were unusually happy as they drove back to Leila's apartment. As he parked out side Leila's apartment and tried to get down, Charlie said, "Dad, I think you should rather avoid meeting her. Otherwise, she will think that you're willing to accept her."

"Did you... arrange for me to meet her deliberately?" Charles was rather taken aback by his son's statement. He could not help marvel at the intelligence and sensitivity of the three years old. 'Moreover, now that he is advising me not to meet his mother, I think he is supportive of me and Sheryl being together,' he thought to himself.

"Do you mean Sheryl?" Charlie asked. With the very mention of Sheryl, a pleasant smile graced his face. Charlie did not mince his words as he spoke, "I like her. If she has no problem, I don't mind her being my stepmother."

Charles stroked his son's hair affectionately. What more could he ask for? 'Charlie is happy to accept Sheryl. But how about her? Will she accept him with an open heart?' he wondered.

His mind went back to the time they spent together. It actually felt like they were one close knit family. Sheryl seemed to be fond of Charlie. But would she treat him in the same manner even after getting married to him?

Then suddenly a disturbing thought stung his heart. His heart ached to think how his wife has forgotten everything about her past. And he didn't know why and how she lost her memory. 'Will she blame me for what happened in the past once she gets her memory back?' he thought to himself.

As he watched Charlie climb up the stairs, thousands of thoughts came to his mind. Finally when he saw the lights in his son's room on, Charles started the engine and drove away.

His jaws stiffened as he turned the steering wheel. He had a score to settle before going back to home.

After searching four night clubs, he finally found Eric in the fifth one. As usual, he was in a private room having a good time. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like these places," Eric gushed cheekily as Charles barged into his room.

"I'm here for you," Charles replied in a stern voice and furious eyes ready to gobble Eric down.

His grave voice and red eyes scared the hell out of Eric.

"Me? Why..." Before he could even finish, Charles' fist landed on his cheek.

The semi clad girls in Eric's room literally freaked out. Eric's companions came forward trying to stop Charles. But Charles growled, "Get out of here, now!" He casted a glaring hideous glance on all of them and motioned them to move out of the room immediately.

"What's wrong with you, Charles?" Eric asked nursing his bruised face. He then turned to his companions and said in a cold voice, "Leave us alone now. It's between the two of us."

Eric had never won a fight with Charles even as kids.

Now, it was the first time that they had been challenging each other as grown ups. Moreover Eric didn't even know the reason behind Charles's uncontrollable fury.

Moments later than they were left alone, both of them got into a fierce fight until both of them laid on the ground with both their faces beaten black and blue.

After catching his breath for a while, Eric asked, "Can you tell why did you strike me?"

"Sheryl!" A word escaped from Charles's lips while he still laid face down. Charles's answer left Eric flabbergasted. He empathized with him as he understood the real reason behind his anger. "So... It looks like you found her," Eric giggled awkwardly. "I intended to tell you in a couple of days. I didn't expect you to replace her so soon."

"If I hadn't met her myself, when were you going to tell me about her?" Charles questioned, fuming with anger. "Nothing is hidden from you Eric. You know how I have been searching for her all these years. How could you do this to me? Why didn't you tell me that you found her?"

'Three years! I have spent three years searching for Autumn!' Charles became uncontrollable as he remembered the time he spent in despair. And now when his friend found her back, he didn't even bother to inform him. 'What kind of a friend he is?' Charles thought to himself.

"I ran into her in the hotel," Eric replied. Eric had become calm. He knew how much painful it was for Charles after his wife went missing. He realized that he should have informed him the first thing after he saw Autumn in Y City.

"Why didn't you tell me immediately?" Charles was still fuming in rage. He felt betrayed at the thought that Eric kept him in the dark.

Eric lowered his head and spoke in a calm voice, "I found that she had forgotten me. I was waiting to get the complete information about what happened to her. I was going to give you the good news very soon."

"So what did you get to know?" Charles asked with a frown. Charles helped himself get up from the floor, picked up a wine bottle, filled two glasses and then handed one to Eric. "Tell me now," he urged. He could not wait to know what Autumn went through three years back and why she had forgotten everything about herself. Besides, he was also worried about his children. What might have happened to them?

"I used a lot of sources to replace out about her. Her new name is Sheryl Xia. She is a model BM Corporation has invited for their show. She lives abroad with her daughter. She also has a boyfriend and they share good relationship. But I failed to get any more information," Eric replied frowning. 'All the information I have got about this girl spans just about three years of time. Her whereabouts before that is still a mystery, he thought to himself.

The news about Sheryl having a boyfriend was certainly not music to Charles's ears. He frowned as Eric broke the news to him. Then he made up his mind with renewed determination and said to himself, 'It doesn't matter. Even if she got married, I will steal her from her current husband.

She is mine and only mine. No one can take her away from me in this lifetime.'

"Why did she forget everything?" Charles asked. That was what he cared about the most. Half the mystery would be solved if he got the answer to it.

Eric shook his head and answered, "I don't know."

"What about her daughter?" Charles asked.

"I could not replace any information on her," Eric answered.

Eric seemed to get into a deep thought after this. 'Why am I not being able to get into the root of the matter? I don't know it for sure, but I have a strong intuition that someone does not want me to replace out the complete truth,' he mused.

Charles narrowed his eyes wistfully and echoed the same thought as Eric. 'Someone must be coming in the way of getting the complete picture of what happened three years back. But anyway, I will help her to get her memories back,' he resolved to himself.

When Charles got home, he found Gary sitting on the couch in the living room. After meeting Leila and Charlie at home the night before, Gary was waiting to speak to his grandson and figure out his thoughts about them.

Fortunately, today, just before he was about to go to bed, he saw Charles.

"You're back," Gary greeted in surprise. Charles wore a smile that had gone missing ever since Autumn got lost in a mysterious way three years back. Gary stared at his face to behold that smile and cherish the moment. Then he broke into a smile as well. 'How incredible it feels to see Charles to be happy again!' he thought to himself.

"It's so late, grandpa. Why aren't you in bed as yet?" Charles asked as he walked cheerful towards Gary.