The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 702 Head Above Water

Kitty muttered those words on a challenging tone.

Charles answered with a half smile, "I don't play these kinds of games."

That idea was difficult to swallow for Kitty. She paused for a while, unsure of how to take his refusal. Everyone at the bars he frequented played that game. She had done her homework! So Charles straight out rejecting it was not something she had expected.

"Come on, Mr. Lu. We're here to have fun. If you refuse, we'll have to penalize you," Kitty insisted. She was a bit irritated by that point and was having a hard time hiding that.

"I'd rather accept the penalty," replied Charles nonchalantly, refusing to give in to her whims. It wasn't his intention to be a party pooper, but he was way too familiar with these kinds of mind games. Kitty had a feeling that Sheryl had something to do with it. So she gave her a dirty look, planning her revenge.

In the meantime, she had to deal with Charles. To make him feel the burn of his punishment, she had someone bring a bottle of vodka mixed with paint thinner. The concoction could make one extremely sick, especially if taken after other drinks. Kitty presented it to Charles in a blackmailing manner. "Well, if you continue refusing to participate and, therefore, dampen the mood of the party, you have to drink this. I like to call it the 'death trap'; it's 50% alcohol, and another 50% of... that chemical they use in paint. Can't remember the name right now, but anyway... you should think twice before making a decision." "I don't need to think at all. Let's get it over with," Charles declared. He opened the bottle right away. Annoyed, Kitty wished him a "bottoms up" right before he poured the whole thing down his throat. With a sarcastic tone, he then asked her, "Have I paid my dues now?"

Everyone at the party was silent. Charles' stubbornness made them quite suspicious. Noticing their looks, he responded with a harsh glance adding, "All right! We have had enough fun for tonight. Party's over! Now let's all get back to sleep. Tomorrow we're coming back to work after lunch."

Kitty, however, didn't care about his announcement. She had more reasons to rejoice, especially after seeing Charles drink that entire bottle. It was then time to take care of Sheryl, who just happened to be facing the pool and daydreaming. With quick feet, she took the chance and knocked her into it when nobody was looking.

Hearing the splash, Charles instantly looked back and saw Sheryl as she was falling into the water. Reflexively, he jumped right in after her.

He remembered Sheryl couldn't swim before she even began crying for help.

Her struggle led her to swallow too much water, both through her mouth and her nose.

The lack of air was slowly suffocating her.

But she was a fighter; she kept thinking of how to stay alive.

Through her coughs, tears, and hands splashing the waves, she could feel her body getting weaker, her energy getting lower.

Sheryl was on the verge of seeing death with her own eyes.

She desperately hoped that she could grab onto something that could help her stay afloat: a bar, a stair, anything. As the time lapsed, she felt the rest of her memory getting devoured by the water and her consciousness gradually disappearing like the mist under the sun.

Then a strong arm grabbed her by the hips, lifting her to the surface. She could breathe again. Her body responded by violently coughing out all the water.

Through the madness, she could hear Charles' soft but reassuring voice.

As he laid Sheryl on the ground, holding her head tilted upwards, he comforted her, "Sheryl, I'm here. Stay with me. You're okay now."

A strong sense of peace took over her mind and body, like a warm blanket on a cold night.

In her dreams, every time she would get into any kind of danger, Charles was always beside her. That day he proved that he was there in real life as well.

As Sheryl was recovering, Kitty strolled over to seemingly check on her. "Oh, my god. Sheryl, are you okay? You can't swim? Now I understand why Mr. Lu would rather drink that than play the game." Sheryl was still coughing, though not as much. When hearing Kitty's words, she quickly looked up at her with blazing eyes.

Her look frightened Kitty for a second. Impulsively, she reacted, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Why am I staring at you?" asked Sheryl rhetorically. After a short sarcastic laugh, she commented, "Kitty, you should know why yourself."

"What? I don't know. You are being so ridiculous!" retaliated Kitty. She kept evading Sheryl's glances and then continued arguing in a louder voice, "This is what I get for caring about you?"

"Ha! Kitty," Sheryl struggled to speak. She didn't have the energy for a full-on argument. She also didn't use to care much about Kitty's earlier deeds. However, that time she had gone too far. She nearly killed her... on purpose!

So Sheryl decided to gather all her energy and addressed Kitty, "Would you give me an explanation as to why you pushed me into the pool?"

Hearing that her fall was not an accident, Charles turned furiously toward Kitty awaiting a good explanation. Although, truth be told, no excuse would be good enough to lessen his anger. He nearly lost Sheryl again. He would be damned if he let Kitty go that easily!

What surprised him the most was that she had dared to do such a thing in front of him and that she was so blatantly denying it.

With a raspy, aggravated voice, he ordered Kitty, "Talk! What do you have to say about it?"

Frankly, he was not expecting nor waiting for an explanation. Kitty was already guilty in his eyes. Sheryl's words were enough for him to blame her, as she had no reason to lie.

"Mr. Lu, please don't trust her words. Why would I do such a thing?" Kitty pleaded. Seeing no change in his attitude, she hastily added, "There were so many people beside the pool; the floor is so wet. She must have fallen accidentally. It's just easier to blame it on me since she obviously can't stand me. Low blow, Sheryl! Low blow!"

At that point, Kitty tried to pull a confident look and force herself to make eye contact with Sheryl. She knew that Sheryl wasn't the most assertive person and figured she could easily break her down. This time around though, Sheryl straightened up and looked Kitty right in the eyes. It could have been the adrenaline from the shock or the fact that Charles was there.

Either way, that attitude suited her much better; so much better, in fact, that Kitty swallowed hard and had to reinforce her argument, "Sheryl, I know you don't like me much. But to fabricate such serious charges against me! Now, that's too much! Mr. Lu and many other witnesses were here. Can anyone testify? Did anyone see me do anything? Do you really think I'm such an evil person? Although I don't like you either, I wouldn't go as far as to kill you. What you're saying is totally absurd! You have no basis for your accusations." Kitty went on and on. She was putting on such a good act. After finishing with Sheryl, she moved on to persuading Charles, "Mr. Lu, please don't listen to her. I saw her slip and fall into the pool by herself. I don't know why she keeps insisting that I pushed her."

"Stop this nonsense! You know as well as I do that you did it. I saw you!" Sheryl exclaimed, interrupting her. That statement took Kitty by surprise. In her rush to move away from the scene, she had missed the moment when Sheryl turned around right before falling; Sheryl even caught Kitty's giggle as her back slammed against the water's surface. So Kitty's hypocrisy was truly disgusting to her.

Seeing how Kitty kept quiet, perhaps thinking about her next move, Sheryl continued, "Just stop pretending, Kitty. The truth always comes out." Sheryl was so assertive that Kitty could hardly think of anything else to say. For a moment, it felt like she had no escape.

Soon enough, however, she realized that it was Charles whom she had to convince, not Sheryl. So she quickly directed all her explanations toward him.

With sad eyes, almost full of tears, she stepped up her game. "Mr. Lu, I know you and Sheryl are together. I realize it's hard for you not to trust her. But please, for a second, put on your boss hat and look at the situation objectively. Whose explanation makes more sense?"