The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 603 A Talk Between Father And Son

"Enough, Leila!" Charles shouted. Charles shook her hands off and said, "I think you could clearly see now. My son and I don't want to be with you. So, if I were you, I would leave now and think over the offer. Once you've decided, you could come back anytime and tell me."

Charles threw her a contemptuous glance before getting in the car and leaving.

When the father and son entered their home, Charlie rushed to his room to take a bath. Charles followed inside Charlie's room and patiently waited for him to finish. He turned off the lights inside the room, leaving only the bedside lamp on. When Charlie went out of his bathroom, Charles softly said, "Charlie, dad wants to have a talk with you."

"Sure dad," Charlie replied. His voice was so calm.

Charles hated Leila because of the countless evil things she had done in the past especially to Autumn. He even felt a little annoyed to Charlie knowing that he was Leila's son. However, Charles later on realized that Charlie had nothing to do with Leila's deeds.

It was true that Leila raised Charlie alone. They depended on each other for some years. Charles knew Leila cared about Charlie. It was very clear that she loved this boy very much.

Of course, Charles expected Charlie to love Leila back as much as she loved him. That was why he was confused when he heard what Charlie said to Leila earlier. If Charlie loved his mother, why would he refuse to live with her?

"You and Leila..." Charles hesitated for a moment. He found it difficult to utter his question.

But Charlie was a smart boy. He could already sense what was Charles trying to ask. "You wanted to know why I chose to live with you rather than Leila, right?" he asked. Charlie was in his pajamas and his face was still reddish like an apple because he just finished a warm bath so he looked very cute.

Although Charles was a little embarrassed, he nodded his head. Charlie guessed it right. He only wished that they would be able to solve this problem tonight, or else, he wouldn't be able to sleep.

"Actually, I didn't know either," Charlie answered honestly. Charlie tilted his head and gave Charles an earnest look. Then he continued,"I have never liked her. Since I was young, she kept on telling me things about you. Then she wanted me to convince you to accept her once we were together. She badly wanted to be with you and she wanted to use me as her way to live here. She kept on repeating it to me over and over again. She was really annoying."

Because of what Leila did, little Charlie couldn't help but also hate Charles. Until it came to the point that every time Leila mentioned Charles' name to him, he would just keep quiet and wouldn't react anymore. Leila noticed the sudden change on his behavior so she minimized mentioning Charles' name in front of him.

"Before we met, I hated you, because Leila had nothing to say to me except about you. I got tired of hearing your name and listening to her stories about you over and over again for many years. But now that we are together, I can understand why Leila keeps on going after us. I know she isn't afraid that I might forget about her. What she fears is that you will never care for her at all anymore because you've already gotten me." Charlie paused for a moment and smiled bitterly. Then he continued, "I can tell that you don't love her. You didn't even know that you had a son before you found out about me. And Leila is already getting crazy. I've found her actions ridiculous so I want to stay away from her."

What Charlie said to Charles was half-truth. He couldn't tell Charles the real reason why he refused to live with Leila. Deep inside, Charlie suspected that he wasn't Leila's son. However, he didn't have any proof yet so he couldn't tell Charles about it.

"So, did she really treat you well?" Charles asked. Charles was worried that Leila might maltreat Charlie in the past so he asked with full concern.

"Not bad," Charlie answered. Then he added, "If she hadn't been so annoying, greedy and selfish, I would have had liked her."

Charles smiled and thought, 'Even a child like Charlie could tell what was wrong with Leila. Sadly, Leila herself couldn't admit it.'

Feeling relieved, Charles decided to end their conversation so he said, "Okay. It's getting late. You'd better go to bed now." Charles tucked Charlie to bed. When he was about to hide Charlie's hands under the quilt, he noticed a black mark on Charlie's wrist. He tried to wipe it thinking that it might just be a dirt.

However, Charlie stopped him. "You couldn't wipe it out because it's a birthmark."

"Really?" Charles was a little surprised. Charles checked it in the dim light and saw that it looked like a smiley. However, the mark was very light so it was not so discernible. Charles didn't mind it that much so after making sure that Charlie was already lying comfortably, he went out and closed the door carefully behind him.

On the other hand, when Leila left Dream Garden, she didn't go straight home. Instead, she stopped at the side of the road and decided to call someone.

She dialed a number on her phone. It had been a while since the last time she called this number. She thought she would never contact this person again for the rest of her life. But now that she didn't have any choice, she needed him again.

The call got through immediately and a man answered with a harsh and cold voice. Leila couldn't help but shudder when she heard it. "Ferry, I met some trouble."

She told everything to Ferry and he said something to her in response. She kept on nodding her head while listening intently. Before she hang up, she said, "Okay, I know what to do now."

'Now that Charles has blocked all my way out, I wouldn't just let him go that easy. Not even Sheryl,' she swore to herself.

After the call, she decided to head home directly.

The next morning at the hospital, Shirley was playing on the bed and Sheryl was brushing her teeth, when Amy arrived with a breakfast for them.

Shirley, who looked more energetic now, immediately gave Amy a big smile when she saw her entering the room.

Although they had only known each for a short while, Shirley could already tell that Amy liked her.

"Hello, Shirley! Look at what I brought you," Amy said with a bright smile, pointing to the food she prepared for her. Shirley's face showed a delighted expression when she saw the food. Then, Amy began to feed her. When Sheryl finished brushing her teeth, she said to Amy,"Amy, you shouldn't spoil Shirley that much. She actually knows how to eat by herself."

"Don't mind it, Sher. I also like what I'm doing," Amy replied. Then she added, "Besides, Shirley's still a little girl and she still needs our care."

Sheryl had no other choice but to let Amy do what she wished to do. Actually, she also found Shirley acting weird recently. Shirley had been eating her meals by herself even when she was small. But since Amy started feeding her, she also started to act like she couldn't really eat by herself alone. Sheryl could feel that Shirley liked the way Amy was pampering her.

A little while later, Sue arrived. She immediately dragged Sheryl to the corner of the room after she greeted Amy. She then reported to Sheryl,"Sher, Mr. Han informed me that we will be having a meeting this afternoon. I tried to ask a leave on your behalf since Shirley is still in the hospital but he didn't allow me to do so. He said you must also attend the meeting."

Sue frowned when she remembered her conversation with Mr. Han. Then she added,"He said that this will be the first meeting after we signed the contract with BM Corporation so it would be inappropriate to ask for a leave at such a crucial moment."

"I know that," Sheryl answered with concern. "But as you can see. Shirley hasn't fully recovered yet. I can't just leave her alone in this hospital to attend the meeting. What should I do?"