The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 653 I Won't Let You Go

"We're here," Charles told Sheryl as the car parked outside a dilapidated warehouse. He got out of the car, went around to the passenger side, pulled the door open and said, "You can get out now." "Where are we?" Sheryl asked. There was a certain?hesitation?in her voice. The place was unfamiliar to her but she could feel a familiar sense of fear instinctively. It was as if something untoward and terrifying was about to happen.

"Don't be afraid. I'm with you," Charles comforted her and held her hand. "Come on, I'd like to show you something." Charles' gentle voice allayed Sheryl's fear.

She looked up to him. His eyes seemed to be so magical that Sheryl plucked up enough courage to face her fear. Holding Charles' hand, she got out of the car. For some reasons, she just trusted Charles.

She could not bear to see the slightest hint of sadness in Charles' beautiful eyes.

Charles then led her to the warehouse. While holding her hands, he could feel that Sheryl's hand was still as soft and comfortable as it had been three years ago.

It was about a ten-minute walk from the parking area to the gate of the dilapidated warehouse. Sheryl didn't say a word along the way. The closer she got to their destination, the more upset she felt. Had Charles not been by her side, she might not have had the courage to go on.

"Here we are," Charles said when they arrived at the gate. He then turned to look at Sheryl and asked, "Do you remember this warehouse?"

"What is... this place?" Sheryl questioned. Her high-pitched voice denoted her panic. Her face was white as a sheet and her lips trembled with fear. She had dreamed of this place many times before and they were nightmares for her. She didn't expect to be in front of this building right now.

"What the hell is this place?" she cried out and tightened her grip on Charles' hand. When Charles noticed her uneasiness, he put his arms around her.

"Don't freak out. Let's go inside and have a look," he said softly.

Charles knew very well that this warehouse was Sheryl's worst fear. The reason why he brought Sheryl here was for her to finally conquer her fear. He wanted Sheryl to realize that this place was not as scary as she thought.

This was also one of the ways that he could make Sheryl feel that no matter what would happen in the future, he would always be there for her. He would face all the difficulties with her.

In her terror, the sense of suffocation that she felt in her nightmares swept over her. She didn't even know how she got into the warehouse. As she looked at the familiar surroundings, she shivered. Charles held Sheryl in his arms again and caressed her back to calm her down. "Don't panic. It was all over. I'll never let it happen to you again," he said lovingly, as if soothing a child. Being in Charles' arms for a good while, Sheryl finally calmed down a bit. When she found her voice again, she whispered, "Why did you bring me here? What is this place? Tell me, please." "This was the last place my wife went before she disappeared," replied Charles in an unwavering voice. But Sheryl knew that no one could ever understand his grief. "Why... Why did she come here?" Sheryl asked gently, looking into Charles' eyes.

She felt awful that she needed to ask someone else about something that should have been her own experience. More than anyone else, it should have been her who knew the whole event.

"I don't know. That was already three years ago and she was pregnant when it happened." Charles tried to recall his memories of that event. "One day, she said that she would be meeting a friend. After that, she just disappeared. No one knew where she'd gone. I tried my best to replace her. I even resorted to the underworld but what I found was only this place." Charles took a deep breath, as if to subdue the agitation he was feeling.

"When I got here, I saw nothing but some traces of blood on the ground," he continued to recall.

Sheryl's heart sank while she was listening to Charles narrating the story. According to him, she was pregnant with Shirley when she disappeared.

His pregnant wife suddenly disappeared and he spent a lot of time and efforts to look for her only to replace traces of blood on the ground. How desperate he must have been at that time. Sheryl could not even try to imagine how Charles had managed to get through those hard times.

She still couldn't remember why she left Charles. And until she found out, she would never admit to Charles that she was Autumn Zhao.

She looked at Charles and saw that his cold face was full of sorrow. Well, the pain of losing a love one was already enough to break anyone.

"Do you love her so much?" Sheryl asked quietly after a moment of hesitation. Before, when Isla and Charles talked about Autumn, she would only take it as a simple story. But now that she already knew that she was Autumn, she wanted her memories back. She was more eager to know everything now.

Whatever happened in the past, be it good or bad, was an integral part of her.

"Yes, I love her very much," Charles answered earnestly with a small nod. "She's the only woman I've ever loved in my life. I love her eyes, her eyebrows, her lips, her smile, everything about her. I would do anything for her. I could take all her pains and sufferings as long as she just comes back to me."

Charles looked at Sheryl seriously with a strong affection in his eyes as he said those words.

Sheryl felt that she was about to fall into his sweet words. She blushed and her heart rate doubled when she heard Charles confessing his love for his wife. Shyly, she quickly looked away. "What if she comes back to you?" she asked, still looking away. "Can you guarantee that she will never be hurt again?" This time Sheryl had a bitter smile on her face.

"Yes, of course," Charles immediately answered. "If she comes back to me, I'll tell her how much I love her and I'll take care of her for the rest of my life," he added solemnly. "But..." Sheryl was touched by Charles' words. She felt a warm current flowed through her heart when she found out that Charles had been thinking about her for the past three years. She then took an inquiring glance at Charles and questioned, "But what?"

"She has been missing for three years. I don't know if she could still come back." Charles looked at Sheryl in dismay.

"What do you mean?" Sheryl frowned at what she heard. "Are you giving up now?"

"No, I'm not," Charles instantly denied. "Although I haven't found her in the past three years, I've come to meet you. I know you are a gift from God. Sheryl, I won't let you go this time."

Charles clutched Sheryl's hand and looked straight in her eyes. "Whoever you are, I know that you're the one for me. From now on, I promise to protect you and I'll never let you get harm. Please, just give me a chance to love you," Charles begged.