The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 576 A Fight

"Sheryl!" Leila shrieked out at the sight of Sheryl. Sheryl and her daughter were walking out of the hotel. Sheryl was taking Shirley out to grab some food. Watching Leila striding towards her furiously, Sheryl stopped and stared at her puzzled. Leila walked straight towards Sheryl and even before Sheryl could greet her she landed a tight slap on her face.

Leila's slap came as a hard blow on Sheryl as if she intended to take the life air out of Sheryl in that one blow.

Sheryl sank to the ground. She was completely flabbergasted. "Sher..." Shirley cried out with a concerned look. Shirley knelt down immediately and tended to her mom who was bruised and swollen on her face. "Who are you? Why did you strike Sher?" she berated Leila indignantly.

"Shirley, I'm fine," Sheryl assured her daughter, as she just got over the shock. Sheryl patted Shirley to comfort her, and then stood up slowly. Irritated by Leila's sudden attack, Sheryl frowned at her and asked, "Miss Zhang, what are you doing?"

"You know what you did. Do you need me to explain it to you?" Leila sneered. "You should feel lucky I just slapped you. I wish I could kill you now," she continued as she was still fuming and gritting her teeth. "Did I do anything wrong to you? Why did you hit me without a reason?" Sheryl snapped back with a frown. Sheryl stood straight and demanded an answer from Leila. Sheryl was far from being a gullible girl who would take such bullies lying down.

"Why the hell did you come back?" Leila asked as she walked up to Sheryl slowly. Looking at Sheryl safe and sound, standing right in front of her eyes, she was trembling with rage. She literally wanted to disfigure her. "You could have stayed in America to lead a happy life. Why did you return to snatch my happiness? Since you came back, everything has changed. You have even turned my son against myself. What do you want?" she spoke, her voice trembling.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Sheryl replied. She knitted her eyebrows as she stated, "I never stole anything from you. Nor did I alienate Charlie from you. There must be some mistakes." "Mistakes?" Leila snorted sharply. She turned to the passers-by and summoned loudly, "Everybody, this woman has her boyfriend and child. But she returned from abroad to steal away my man and son. Don't you think she is a shameless woman?"

Leila was dejected and completely broken as she went on venting out her anger on Sheryl. 'My son has deserted me, and my plan to get married to Charles is also spoiled. I want her to pay for what she did to me. I will never forgive her, never,' she resolved.

By this time a large crowd had gathered around them. People started whispering to one another while pointing to Sheryl. Noticing the reproachful glances of the strangers, Sheryl felt embarrassed. Her face turned red. She held Shirley's hand and said to Leila,"Miss Zhang, don't talk nonsense. I never did any of these. I will never admit anything I have not done."

Leila seized Sheryl's hand tight and raised her other hand in an attempt to slap Sheryl again. Little Shirley was watching the argument holding her mom's hand. The moment Leila raised her hand, she pounced on her and bit her hand hard. The bite was so hard that Leila glared at the little girl and pushed her away with the same hand while the other hand was still in the air.

Sheryl was only worried about her daughter. She tried to shrug away from Leila but her grasp was too tight to get freed so easily.

At last, she stopped struggling. 'It's okay as long as Shirley is safe,' she said to herself.

Sheryl closed her eyes and held Shirley tightly with one hand as she waited for the strike. However, Leila's hand didn't fall on her face. As she fluttered her eyes, she saw Anthony gripping Leila's hand. With a stern look, her boyfriend howled at Leila,"Are you out of your mind? What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Anthony," Leila greeted with a crooked smile on her face. "Please keep an eye on your girlfriend. Don't let her hook up with my man. You know what? She even hid my son," she continued. "Shut up!" Anthony yelled and glared at her with furrowed brows. Then he turned towards Sheryl, and asked in a concern voice,"Are you alright, Sher?"

"I'm fine," Sheryl replied. She stooped down and checked on her daughter. After making sure Shirley didn't get injured, she stood up and explained to Leila in a very calm voice,"Miss Zhang, I'm not going to repeat myself. I didn't steal your man. Nor did I hide your son. If you continue to behave like this, I'll call the police."

Sheryl picked up her daughter. "Now that Charlie is missing, you should look for him. Why did you come to me?" she reasoned with Leila.

"He had never done this before. He never ran away from home before he met you. You must have said something to him. Otherwise he wouldn't have left me," Leila continued to blame her. Pointing to Sheryl, she shrieked hysterically, "You are responsible for all this. It's all your fault. You're such a bitch."

"Are you done now?" Anthony growled at Leila. He snatched Leila's hand and shoved her away from Sheryl. "Get out of here right now. Or I'll teach you a lesson," he threatened her.

Leila noticed Sheryl from a distance and thought that she might not have hidden Charlie. Still before walking away, she glared at Sheryl furiously. "I'm warning you. If I replace you have anything to do with Charlie's disappearance, I will not spare you," she warned as she walked away.

Sheryl turned her face away from Leila and remained silent. As Leila went out of sight, Anthony came closer to Autumn and tried to give her a hug just to make her feel safe and comfortable. However, Sheryl walked away carrying Shirley in her arms. "I need some time alone," she said to Anthony.

Anthony nodded his head in agreement. Sheryl carried her daughter inside the hotel. Anthony observed the receding figure of Sheryl and felt miserable for the humiliation she had suffered. The more he thought about it, the more furious he became. Basking in rage, he drove straight to Shining Company. He held Charles responsible for the entire debacle.

'I must meet Charles and warn him to stay away from Sheryl,' he told himself.

He barged into the company. Before reaching Charles' office, he was stopped by David. "Hello sir, do you have an appointment? If not, please come here another day. Our CEO is busy now," David said to him politely.

"Charles, I need to see you," Anthony shouted looking towards Charles' office. With a sniff, he continued, "If you're a man, just come out. You said you love her. Is this how you love her? How can you allow her to be bullied like this?"

Charles got really miffed to hear the loud noise inside his office. He recognized Anthony's voice. He opened the door and said to David, "Let him come in."

"But..." David uttered in hesitation. 'This man looks hostile to Mr. Lu. What if he hurts my boss? How can I let him in?' he looked troubled as he thought.

"Just let him in. It's okay," Charles commanded. Charles was really looking forward to meeting Anthony. He could not wait to get the opportunity to make it clear to Anthony that his wife belonged to him no matter if she had forgotten her past and embraced a new name and identity.

Following Charles's orders, though with a hesitation, David moved aside and made way for Anthony to go inside Charles's office. Fuming with anger, Anthony stepped into Charles's office and slammed the door behind him. As impatient as Charles was to meet him, Anthony also could not wait any longer to get even with him. The moment the two came face to face with each other, Anthony blew a punch on Charles's face.

Charles dodged his attack briskly. "Thank you for looking after my wife and child these years. But now I will take care of them," he spoke in a very cool voice.

"Stop it!" a panic-stricken Anthony shouted as he came over to Charles. He could not understand why Charles still behaved in such a composed manner after his wife had left him for so many years. 'Isn't he supposed to break down? Isn't he supposed to be exasperated and heartbroken? Why is he still confident that Sheryl will come back to him?' Hundreds of questions ran back and forth in his mind, making him puzzled and frustrated all the more.

Anthony was oblivious of the time Charles had spent in despair without Autumn. But Charles would never show the delicate side of his mind to his rival.

"You're such a bastard!" Anthony sneered, as he gnashed his teeth. As he spoke, he came at Charles and attacked him with full strength. Overcome with hatred and anger, he had no choice but to beat up Charles to vent his feelings.

Charles avoided his attack at first. But noticing Anthony was serious, he decided not to dodge anymore. The two men were caught into a fierce fight in a matter of few seconds beating, punching, kicking each other and literally trying to pull each other apart.