The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 621 Best Friends Talk

Sheryl really didn't know how to deal with Charles, especially when he started to become shameless. She tried to argue for a while until they had reached an agreement. Eventually, Charles won. Sheryl must come to his house to make breakfast before 8:00 a.m. She also needed to prepare lunch and dinner for him. Finally, she could only leave once Charles had fallen asleep.

For her convenience, Charles told her that she could bring Shirley along. Although all his conditions sounded ridiculous to her, Sheryl was left with no other choice but to agree. After all, he saved her life. After their talk, Sheryl sent Charles to his home and made dinner for him. She waited for Charles to finish eating before she bid goodbye, "I need to go now. Shirley is waiting for me at home." Charles understood and didn't asked her to stay anymore. "Okay. But don't forget to come and make breakfast for me tomorrow morning," he reminded her in case she had forgotten their agreement. Sheryl just nodded her head without saying anything.

As soon as Sheryl walked out of the house, Charles collapsed on the sofa. He took a deep breath hoping that it could ease the pain. All the while, he just pretended not feeling any pain in front of Sheryl so not to make her feel guilty. But the truth was, the pain on his back was already killing him. He was so hurt that he couldn't even bend his back.

Seeing Charles in a painful and miserable situation, Charlie hurriedly took the bottle of antiseptic and some medicines, and then ran to him. "Dad, please lay on your stomach. I'm going to treat your wounds. It will help you feel better," he urged his father worriedly.

"I'm fine, son," Charles said to him with a smile. As much as possible, Charles didn't want to worry Charlie. "The doctors have already treated my injuries. They said, all I need to do is rest now. So, don't worry about me. You go upstairs and take a shower before going to bed."

Charlie shook his head at first but finally obeyed his father's order. He retreated hesitantly looking back at Charles with his every step.

Earlier, Gary was also stunned when he saw Charles come back with Sheryl. He just didn't ask earlier because Charlie was still there. But now that Charles was all alone, he went to him as he couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. "What happened between you and Autumn?" Gary inquired. Gary noticed that Charles and Sheryl were somewhat arguing earlier. So he was concerned. "I noticed that she was upset. Was she okay?"

"It's nothing, Grandpa," Charles replied with a faint smile. Charles knew that Sheryl was upset because he forced her to come to his house and take care of him. However, since Sheryl also agreed, Charles felt a slight trace of hope that he also held a place in Sheryl's heart.

Thus, he felt satisified of the result of their conversation earlier. Although they argued at first, at least they later came to an agreement. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

"Autumn will come over to take care of me from tomorrow on," Charles informed Gary. "Grandpa, please remember that her name now is Sheryl. Please watch out and don't ever call her Autumn," Charles reminded his grandpa. As much as possible, Charles wanted Sheryl's stay in his house smooth and peaceful. And calling her with another name might confuse her and might cause some misunderstandings. What was hilarious was, when Charles had married Autumn, they all had called her Yvonne as she had been a substitute bride. Now, they still couldn't call her by her real name because she lost all her memories. Instead, they must call her Sheryl. Three different names, people would think, belonged to three different women. Where in fact, those names belonged to only one person.

"Of course, my boy! I'll surely keep that in mind," Gary promised. He even patted his left chest as a sign of promise. Gary then became serious when he said, "Charles, I don't know what your plans are. But please, you must hurry. You should get back together with Sheryl as soon as possible. With you living separately will not do any good to Charlie and Shirley. The four of you deserve to have a complete and happy family. I hope you could do that the soonest."

"Talking about Charlie, I remember something," he continued. "It's been a while since the last time Leila came here. I replace it surprising. Isn't she cooking any plans right now? I think you need to pay attention to that woman. Charlie is your son and I won't let Leila take him away again."

"Yes, grandpa. Take it easy. I've already arranged several people around Charlie to guard him. I promise you, I won't give her any chances to take Charlie away," Charles assured Gary. Charles heaved a deep sigh before he continued, "To be honest, I knew that it also wasn't easy for Leila to raise Charlie alone for many years. That's why I've prepared a big sum of money for her. I'm planning to give it to her as a compensation."

"I think that's just right." Gary nodded in agreement. He knew that money couldn't buy everything but he coudn't think of anything else to give her except money. Somehow, it could help Leila live a better life. "You'd better go to sleep early to recover quickly," Gary then urged Charles before he went out for a walk.

On the other hand, Sheryl called Sue after she left Dream Garden. She found out that Sue and Shirley were still with the Zhao family, so she took a taxi to go there and pick them up.

Sue was still having dinner with the Zhao family when she got there. They were chatting cheerfully. But she noticed that Shirley was already yawning so she urged Sue,"It's getting late, Mimi! We'd better go home now."

"Right, right! Let's go now," Sue replied and stood up. Then she turned to the Zhao family and said, "Thank you so much for taking care of Shirley. You're all so nice and kind to her."

"Oh no, don't mention it please. We also had a great time with Shirley. She's so adorable!" Abby answered with a smile. "Shirley's really a good girl and I would love to spend more time with her," she added. "Thank you, Abby! Thank you, Amy! I really appreciate everything you've done for me," Sheryl replied as she looked at them gratefully. Amy then reminded Sheryl that she would come tomorrow morning to pick Shirley up. But Sheryl turned her down. "It's alright, Amy. I can take care of Shirley for a few days. But, thanks anyway." "Why?" Amy was obviously surprised.

"I will take a few days off," she answered. "What happened, Sher?" This time it was Sue who jumped on her feet right away asked. "I didn't hear you mention it today at work. Is there anything wrong?" Sue couldn't help but worry.

"No, relax! I've just decided it earlier before I came here. I just feel like I want to take a short break. I also called Miss Ye on my way here and she agreed," Sheryl explained to Sue. Then she turned to Amy again. "You've done such a big favor to me all this time, and I really don't know how to thank you."

"Forget it! I love this little girl and it'll break my heart if I can't see her anymore," Amy said with sadness in her eyes. She felt disappointed when she heard that she couldn't take Shirley tomorrow. However, she tried not to show it on her face.

After saying goodbye to the Zhao family, Sheryl left with Sue, holding Shirley in her hand. Sue was really curious about what happened between Sheryl and Charles. So when they reached home, she was intended to ask. However, before she could say anything, Sheryl interrupted her,"I'll take Shirley to bed now. Leave your door unlocked and I'll come over later."

Sue nodded her head and left. She could have all night to know everything from Sheryl later so she didn't ask her questions anymore.

After giving Shirley a bath, Sheryl read some bedtime stories for her. The moment Shirley fell asleep, Sheryl slipped out of the bed. She knocked on Sue's door and let herself in before Sue could even answer. Collapsing on the sofa, she complained to Sue,"I'm totally exhausted!"

"Yeah, it must be really hard to raise a child alone," Sue replied as she closed the door. Then she poured a glass of wine for Sheryl and handed it to her. "I bet you need a glass of wine."

"You're so kind! Thank you so much." Sheryl immediately took it. It had been a long time since the last time she drank wine. She avoided to drink because she needed to stay sober all the time to take care of Shirley.

"I think I know why you feel exhausted. When Anthony was around, it was always him who took care of Shirley so it was much easier for you. But since you came here, you need to do everything by yourself. And what was worse, Shirley got sick. Now you've come to realize how difficult it is to be a single mom, right?" Sue analyzed the situation for her. Then she clinked her glass with Sheryl's.

Sheryl nodded with a smile and said, "You're right. Anthony really helped me a lot. If not for him, I don't know if I can survive all these alone."

Thinking of Anthony, Sheryl thought of how she could pay him back after everything he had done for her and Shirley in the past three years.

"Since you know, you'd better be nice to him. Anthony is a great man so please cherish him as much as you can. Don't do anything to hurt him. I'm watching you," Sue warned Sheryl, half-joking.