The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 636 We Won’t Accept Her

"Mom, I..." Anthony said reluctantly. He initially wanted to tell his parents about Sheryl. But on second thought, he decided to just mention it after dinner. His mother didn't like Sheryl and he didn't want her to think that his intention of coming today was not to visit them but to talk about Sheryl.

So, instead of continuing his conversation with his mother, he decided to just shut up.

"That's enough!" Carlson approached them to alleviate the situation. "Laura, please take it easy. Anthony's just arrived. Don't mention those unhappy things and just leave him alone. I bet he's already starving after such a long trip. Is our dinner ready?"

"Right, right! I almost forgot that your favorite chicken is stewing on the stove. I'll go and check it," Laura blurted hurriedly with a big smile. "Have a seat, son. Have some fruits first while waiting. Dinner will be ready in one minute," she added before hurrying back to the kitchen.

After Laura rushed to the kitchen, Anthony sat on the sofa with his father. He took a strawberry to his mouth. With his father siding him just a moment ago, Anthony thought that he maybe could accept Sheryl faster than his mother. Suddenly, he remembered something so he reached out for his suitcase and took out a watch that he bought from abroad. It was actually a limited edition watch and he waited for three months before he could get it. "Dad, I remember that you mentioned last time that you wanted this watch. Sheryl bought it for you. You know what? It took her three months! Please try it. I believe it will suit you perfectly!"

Carlson took the watch and examined it with an expressionless face. A moment later, he raised his head and looked at Anthony. "So, you came here again because of that woman, right?"

"Dad!" Anthony couldn't help to raise his voice. He frowned and added, "Please don't talk that way about her. Her name is Sheryl. And I love her." Anthony's voice was firm.

"All right," Carlson said disapprovingly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Son, I don't care what her name is and I don't want to hear anything about her, especially from you. Don't waste your time on me. Anyway, your mom won't accept her and neither will I." "Look at this watch. Do you think I'd believe she could afford it? As far as I've known, she's merely a fameless model. Laura and I won't change our attitude towards her even if she would buy expensive gifts for us every time, especially when we're full aware that you are the one paying them for her."

Anthony was a little embarrassed. He had thought that his parents might be pleased if he sent them gifts on behalf of Sheryl. It turned out that they had seen through him and nothing had really changed. "Dad, please! You were always supportive of me regardless of my decisions since I was a little boy," he reminded Carlson. "Please stand up for me again this time and help me convince mom to accept Sheryl,' he pleaded. "She's the one that I have been waiting for," he earnestly said. He was really hoping that his father would take his side this time.

"Listen, son. It's different this time," Carlson retorted. "This time, I'm siding with your mom. We won't accept her as long as we're alive. Don't ever think about it!" There was a note of finality in Carlson's voice. "Dad, please..." Anthony didn't want to give up. Anthony wanted to convince his father more but they were interrupted by Laura's cheerful voice from the kitchen, "Come on here now! Dinner's ready! Go wash your hands first."

However, neither Anthony nor Carlson replied to her. They didn't even stand up from the sofa. After getting no response for quite a while, Laura came to them. She felt that the atmosphere between the father and son was weird so she immediately understood that they might have a misunderstanding. She walked towards Carlson and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "Save your words for now, Carlson. I won't forgive you if you piss Anthony off this time. Have you forgotten how he ran away from us the last time? Come on!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Carlson replied coldly. "Let's have dinner first," he then stood up and directly went to the dining room. He was too annoyed to explain everything to his wife.

Laura turned to Anthony. She grabbed his hands and said, "Son, you know your father. He's a great man, except for his bad temper and his big mouth. If he said anything unpleasant, please don't bother yourself arguing with him, okay?"

"Mom, we're good here. Let's have dinner first," Anthony consoled Laura as if nothing had happened. He still held on the hope that his father would take his side later.

Laura made a table full of dishes for Anthony and she urged him to eat more. She kept on putting different food in his plate. Looking at the pile of food in front of him, he complained, "Mom, stop picking up food for me anymore. Look at my plate! I already don't know which one to eat first." "Please help yourself with the dishes. And Dad too!"

"Alight, alight! I'll help myself now. Please have as much as you could, son. You must have missed my cooking when you were abroad," Laura said in watery eyes. She never averted her eyes from her son since he sat down in front of the dining table. She felt extremely delighted as his son had come back after a long time.

"Laura, here, take some fish," Carlson said and put some fish in her plate. He noticed that his wife had barely eaten.

"Okay. Thank you, darling!" She nodded to him with a smile. Then she turned her eyes to her son again. Seeing the soy sauce on the corner of his lips, she shook her head and commented, "Look at you! How old are you this year, son? You still eat as messy as a little boy. Please pay attention to your image. Here, wipe your mouth." She took a piece of tissue and handed it to him.

"You should blame nobody but yourself, Mom. All the dishes you prepared Are so delicious that I couldn't wait to eat them all," Anthony flattered his mom while wiping his mouth. Actually his mind wasn't in the food. He was still wondering how to tell his mom about Sheryl.

"Please take as much as you could, son. You have lost some weight." Laura eyed him. "You look thinner than the last time I saw you," she added as she watched him lovingly. Her son was her pride since he was a little boy. He got high marks at school, treated people well, and did his job outstandingly.

However, things changed the moment he met Sheryl. It seemed that his ascending life suddenly halted and then turned to a different direction. Thus, Laura hated Sheryl. She was thinking that his son's bright future would be ruined by her.

She had always hoped that her son could replace a girl that was well matched to their social and economic status to be his wife. Or at least, she had to be a nice girl living a clean life. Not an unmarried woman with a three-year-old daughter.

To her disappointment, her son loved Sheryl and wanted to marry her. She had persuaded him countless times to leave Sheryl and replace another girl but she'd never succeeded. The moment she learned that Anthony was coming back, she was determined to talk to him again about it and make him change his mind. Although his son was a grown up man and had his own mind, she believed that he would change if they would keep pressing him.

The atmosphere in the dining room was great so Anthony tried to say something about Sheryl. However, his father would keep on interrupting him every time. He already felt frustrated but he couldn't just offend his father openly in front of the dining table. Thus, he was left with no choice but to wait for the right timing again.

He knew that his mother would ask him to sit down and catch up later after dinner.

Just as he expected, Laura walked out of the kitchen with a plate of fruits after she washed the dishes.

"Come here, son. Let's have some fresh fruits," she said as she walked to the sofa.

"Mom, I'm stuffed. I couldn't take anymore," Anthony refused as he patted his stomach gently. But, seeing the disappointed look from his mom's face, he hurriedly took the plate from her hands and put it on the coffee table. Then he held her hands and sat on the sofa with her. "Mom, please take a seat. It's been a while since we chatted the last time. I bet there are lots of things we need to catch up on!" "You're right," Laura agreed with a smile. Patting his hands, she asked, "How long will you stay this time, son? You must stay here longer this time. You just never know how much I've missed you!" "Maybe... two or three days, mom," Athony replied absentmindedly. But then he quickly explained, "I need to go to Y City for some important matters. But I promise, I will come back again soon." She was sort of depressed upon hearing his words. She asked, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm sort of busy, mom. You know what a businessman is like, right?" Anthony tried to comfort his mom. "Mom, listen. I'll come back the moment I get things settled there, okay?" he assured her.

Then he took the set of skin care products from the table and gave it to Laura. "Mom, this is for you. It's a gift from Sher. She personally picked it up for you. They're bestsellers and I believe you'll love them." "She will buy you another set when you consumed all this," he added with a smile.