The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 623 Can't Run Nor Hide

Staring at Sheryl, Sue could not help but laugh. She then advised her cautiously,"Sher, if you don't like Anthony that much, then you should let him go. Such a great man like him deserves better, someone who can truly love him wholeheartedly. It's the right thing to do." Sue's heart had been yearning for Anthony for all those years. So she cheered at the thought of him possibly being available in the near future. She remembered what Holley had once said to her. As long as Anthony was Sheryl's boyfriend, she couldn't do anything to hurt Sheryl.

But if Sheryl didn't even like Anthony at all, then staying together would make them both unhappy in the long run. 'In that case, should I go for it? It may be my only green light. I'd rather fail and get hurt than hold back and regret it later,' Sue told herself.

Reflecting on her friend's words, Sheryl kept silent for a moment but soon after snapped out of it, reinforcing her determination. "I promise, Sue. I would never do anything to hurt Anthony as long as he doesn't wrong me himself. So stop worrying and please, just trust me." Sheryl's tone was a bit too assertive as if she had felt somewhat attacked by Sue's comments.

Sue had had one cup too many that night. Realizing that, Sheryl got up determined to leave. As she threw her coat on, she addressed Sue,"You had way too much to drink. It's late. Just go to bed and get some rest."

"Sher!" Sue called out, stopping Sheryl from leaving. She attempted to stand up, stumbling over her chair. Disoriented, she looked vaguely in Sheryl's direction trying to focus on her face and politely asked by waving her finger in the air,"Please wait a moment."

She then wobbled over to Sheryl and tried to persuade her, "I can ignore the fact that you will go to take care of Charles. I can also keep silent if Anthony asks me. But..."

Sue hiccuped and quickly continued with her thoughts, "Could you please just think about what I said to you just now? Please just let Anthony go if you really don't love him."

Without a second thought, Sheryl dismissed Sue's request,"You are so drunk." She edged past her and went straight to the door.

As much as she tried to ignore her words, they had actually hit a nerve.

Sheryl had mixed feelings about it. Was Sue right? Was leaving him the right thing to do? She spent the whole night contemplating that question.

The next morning, Sheryl woke Shirley up really early as they had to walk the long road to Dream Garden. On the way, she quickly bought some breakfast for Charles, in hopes to do everything just right during her first official day as a caretaker.

"Mom, where are we going?" Shirley asked bleary-eyed. She had not had enough sleep. With unsteady steps, she grabbed Sheryl's hand as they were walking.

Sheryl knew exactly what to say, "Don't you want to play with Charlie? I am taking you to see him." She then looked at her daughter expectantly. As if on cue, Shirley's eyes opened widely and she could no longer hold her excitement.

Since Charles had given her the house keys, Sheryl didn't bother to ring the bell. She just opened the door and started preparing breakfast, while Shirley quietly sneaked upstairs.

A few minutes later, she came back down together with Charlie. Wearing the cutest onesie, Charlie stood still in front of Sheryl, eyes full of sadness. He then proceeded to confess,"Sher, I thought you disliked

me."

"Why do you say that?" Sheryl wondered all confused. She stared deeply into Charlie's eyes and asked him again on a softer tone, "Why do you have this feeling?"

"Because..." Charlie began explaining. He paused to organize his words. His frown deepened but he bravely continued, "You refused to see me when dad took me to see you earlier. So I thought you had gotter tired of me." The little boy felt truly dejected and sad.

Sheryl hadn't realized how much her actions had hurt Charlie. She crouched down to him, and smiled gently, while reassuring him,"Trust me, I love you to the moon and back."

"Really? Do you love me just like you love Shirley?" inquired the boy on a more hopeful tone. His eyes were brighter, filled with expectations and longing.

"Yes, I like you as I like Shirley," Sheryl nodded and replied decisively. She didn't know why Charlie's deep eyes affected her so much.

"What about me?" Charles' voice interrupted the moment. Leaning against the kitchen door frame, he had been silently watching Sheryl answer Charlie's questions. Sheryl looked up and for a short moment fel as if under a spell. Even tired and injured, Charles was still striking. Wearing sumptuous silk pajamas, he stood confidently beside the door, looking Sheryl up and down. Seeing her long pause, he rephrased his question, "Do you also love me as you love them?"

"Keep dreaming!" Sheryl replied after a short huff. "Breakfast is ready. You can serve yourself," she went on instructing Charles.

Sheryl had planned to buy only soybean milk and fried cheese sticks. But after thinking about it more, she eventually decided to boil the congee and pan-fry some eggs. Unsatisfied by her comment, Charles decided to use his injury to his advantage. Staring at her disappointedly, he started falsely complaining,"Look at the injury on my back. How could you bear to let a patient serve himself?"

"You..." commented Sheryl with a fiery look. She was annoyed by his pretenses but had to get the congee for him.

Charles laughed lightly at Sheryl's frustration. By that point, he had worked up an appetite so he began digging in and stopped teasing her.

On the other side of the room, Shirley was following Charlie around like a shadow, even when he went to brush his teeth. But when going to the toilet, he had to push her out gently and said shyly,"A boy and a girl can't be in the same restroom together."

Shirley obediently stood in front of the door and waited for Charlie. Her face lightened up as soon as he got out.

"Charlie, why do you have a picture of me on your wrist?" asked Shirley curiously. She had spotted the birthmark on Charlie's wrist and thought it looked like her name.

The birthmark, however, looked more like a smiling face to Charlie. So it took him a few seconds to realize what she was talking about.

"What you saw was my birthmark. I've had it from the day I was born," explained the boy. He then raised his wrist and pointed it out to Shirley.

"What is birthmark?" she asked inquisitively again. Just as Charlie was about to elaborate, Sheryl picked up Shirley stating, "Oh child of mine, the questions that come up in your pretty head... How do you think of so many questions? Quick, go over there and eat your breakfast."

Then, Sheryl suddenly caught sight of the boy's birthmark. That was the first time she noticed it even though she had known Charlie for such a long time. Confused, she blinked twice, trying to tie it to an event or a memory.

Eventually, it hit her. She had often dreamed about someone taking away her baby when she was giving birth. In her dream, the baby had a birthmark on his wrist just like Charlie's.

This realization gave her goosebumps. All that time, she had believed that it was just a nightmare. She had also asked Anthony about it, but he said that she was just being oversensitive. She grazed a finger over Charlie's mark and felt like she was reliving her dream.

Suddenly, she felt under the weather. A whirlwind of emotions overtook her and she couldn't stand up any longer.

As she knelt down, Sheryl's heart leaped into her throat. Her mind was going haywire, and a strong headache began creeping in. She seemed to see the past, or perhaps another dream.

She tightly clasped her head in her hands. Charlie and Shirley got absolutely terrified at the scene.

Charles was also frightened. He wasn't sure what had happened.

Concerned, he shouted from the kitchen, "Sher, what's wrong with you?" He rushed to her quickly, and disregarding his back injury, he picked Sheryl up and laid her on the couch. He then poured a glass of water for her and asked again,"What happened to you? Are you hurt?"

Sheryl looked pale and kept sweating. She could hear Charles' words but couldn't say anything at all. She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.